Africanis is originated from South Africa but Azawakh is originated from Mali. Africanis may grow 15 cm / 5 inches shorter than Azawakh. Africanis may weigh 20 kg / 45 pounds more than Azawakh. Africanis may live 3 years less than Azawakh. Both Africanis and Azawakh has almost same litter size. Africanis requires Low Maintenance. But Azawakh requires Moderate Maintenance
Africanis is one of the original African breeds. This breed was not shaped by humans, but they went through the process of natural selection. Humans did not affect this breed by standard breeding practices. Through the history, this breed became stronger and stronger because only the strongest of the breed survived. Africanis descent is the early dog that is originally from ancient Egypt. Approximately 4500 BC was the period of first data about this breed.
As time passes through, Africanis became more and more popular through the whole continent. This breed migrated with people for thousands of years, and now, a modern Africanis is similar to Greyhound dog. The original Africanis can be found in tribes and more traditional people. One of the oldest breeds in the world is one of the lasts that has been recognized by Kennel Union of Southern Africa.
Azawakh dog was bred by the nomads in Africa. They were originally bred to be a guard dog. But, they realized that their body shape and bone structure allows them to run really fast (some say that they can run at the speed more than 65 km/h. This fact made them ideal for the hunting. Nowadays, they can be found across the globe but they are still very rare kind of a dog because they can survive and adapt to very high temperatures but they are very intolerant of low temperatures. Male Azawakh is slightly bigger than a female dog, with a greater instinct for guarding, hunting and taking care of the family and the pact.
Africanis origins from South Africa. The average Africanis weights 25-45 kg, with a height of 50-60cm, while females are slightly smaller. They are medium sized dogs who are friendly, but also independent and territorial. They can are good pets for training, but it requires persistent work.
The lifespan of Africans is 10-12 years, but lifespan always depends on health, genetics, and care of the dog. Therefore, if they are healthy and well cared they can live longer than average.
Litter Size variates a lot, so female can have 2-8 puppies.
Azawakh is a large dog breed placed in a family of the hounds. It looks almost like any hound we know – slim, with long and skinny legs, with a big-boned chest with a stomach placed up with the spine. They have thin and a bit longer tail, narrow nose and small skull in a triangle shape. Their body may look skinny but it is just the way they should look. Actually, you could probably see the bone structure of the adult Azawakh because they, like any other hounds, have specific muscles – very thin and flat. They can be found in many coat colours like sand, fawn or dark fawn, even brown. Their coat is very short, usually with white marks on the neck, chest and all four paws. In Africa, Azawakh can be found in a diversity of colours.
Africanis is a very good and healthy breed. They are very intelligent and friendly breed. They are not an aggressive breed, but they tend to protect the master. Africanis is a natural guard dog. This breed is used to being alone because for the centuries they migrated close to humans, but they also have been independent.
Training Africanis is not very hard. They tend to learn very quickly. Positive training with awards is the best way to train your Africanis. The old-fashioned way of training dogs with punishment is not recommendable for Africanis. They are intelligent breed who requires patience and constancy.
They are very good with other animals too, but they need proper socialization. Africanis requires daily exercise so if you keep your dog in the apartment it should have few daily walks. Africanis can live in the apartments though.
Overall, they are very healthy breed, so with regular vet checks and proper care, they are perfect pets for the whole family since they are great and gentle with small children and kids.
Once Azawakh is a part of the family, he will try to find his place. If you teach him that you are the main figure, they will be obedient and affectionate pet. They love children, and they will surely be always close to them, guarding them and making sure they are safe.
canine freestyle sports, heelwork to music competitions.
If your Azawakh pet is trained well and socialized, they can fit in almost anywhere. Some will say that they hate cats, but there are some cases where they were raised with them and they did just fine. They will be quite tolerant of a stranger in your house. Since they get attached to the family, it is not recommendable to consider this breed as a new-owner kind of pet.
Once you set yourself as a pact leader, you will have almost no problems with training your dog various tricks. Azawakh is an intelligent breed, they learn quickly and they will be more than happy to show you every day what they have learned. It is necessary to start socializing your Azawakh dog while he is still a pup. They don’t respond well to harsh methods of teaching so you should really avoid them.
The great thing about Africanis is that this breed is very healthy. Thousands of years of evolution made this breed one of the toughest breeds in the world. They can survive very tough conditions. Africanis has a very healthy immune system too. It evolves so strong that there are no internal or external parasites that can harm the dog.
The Azawakh breed is very rare and this kind of information cannot be still guaranteed. If they are bred with a healthy family, they are usually very healthy and don’t need much of the vet care. Some of the diseases that were found in a medical history of this magnificent dog report heart problems (usually caused by their super high need of daily activity), problems with the thyroid glands, and skin diseases caused by the increased secretion of the thyroid glands which causes their skin to become dry and in some cases even the loss of the hair.
Africanis has used to eat everything, so this breed does not require any special treatments. 2-2.5 cups of dry high-quality food would be more than enough to have healthy and well feed the dog. But have in mind that feeding the dog depends on daily activity and size. If the dog is more active, an extra cup wouldn’t be a problem for a dog to eat.
Africanis puppy should eat more times per day than an adult dog. 3-5 meals per day of quality dry food are good measure to feed your puppy Africanis.
Since Africanis has short hair they are very easy to groom and care. Few brushes on a weekly basis with occasional bathing would be more than enough to have a clean and healthy dog.
The Azawakh bred has a high risk of the obesity. They must be fed with special care since the food they eat can affect the thyroid glands function. They should never be overfed by average dry dog food. You will be advised to give them food with little percentage of the protein. They drink a lot of water and they like the dairy products. Their meals shouldn’t include fruits and vegetables, and some grains (millet, rice). They do not need to eat a lot of meat, but you can add some chicken in their meals.
Puppies should be fed three times per day. Their portions should be small and diverse. Keep in mind to feed them at the same time each day because their metabolism will be formed by this. Adult dogs are fed two times per day, at the same time as well. After the meal, let them rest for an hour or two and never give them meals right after high physical activity.
If you want your Azawakh dog to be healthy and happy make sure you provide them with enough space to run, explore, dig holes and always have some fresh water. They don’t need regular vet checks, but if you notice some changes in their digestion, lower activity or skin abnormalities, it is very important to take them to the vet station. They should never be kept indoors, so if you are living this kind of life maybe this kind of dog is not for you. But, if you are super active and if you have a couple of hours per day to spend with your Azawakh, maybe you can make him feel a lot better.
Since they like the warmer climate, you can take them running with you. They will be a great companion while you bike and leave them leash free but only if he is trained to stay by your side. If you have a yard, make sure to leave some areas free for digging and hiding their special toys or treats. They are extremely playful and cheerful, so they will wander off in no time. Some of the Azawakh dogs were great on the hiking trips, so you can try this daily activity once you train him to listen to you.