The Afghan Hound breed of dog is an aristocrat; his whole appearance one of dignity and aloofness. He has a straight front, proudly carried head, eyes gazing into the distance as if in memory of ages past. The striking characteristics of the breed -- exotic "Eastern" expression, long silky topknot, peculiar coat pattern, very prominent hipbones, large feet, and the impression of a somewhat exaggerated bend in the stifle due to profuse trouserings -- stand out clearly, giving the Afghan Hound the appearance of what he is, a king of dogs, that has held true to tradition throughout the ages. The Afghan Hound's head is of good length, showing much refinement, the skull evenly balanced with the foreface. There is a slight prominence of the nasal bone structure causing a slightly Roman appearance, the center line running up over the foreface with little or no stop, falling away in front of the eyes so there is an absolutely clear outlook with no interference. The under-jaw of the Afghan Hound breed of dog shows strength, its jaws are long and punishing, and its mouth level, such that the teeth from the upper jaw and lower jaw match evenly. The Afghan Hound's mouth is a difficult one to breed. A scissors bite is even more punishing and can be more easily bred into a dog than a level mouth, and a dog having a scissors bite, where the lower teeth slip inside and rest against the teeth of the upper jaw, should not be penalized. The head of the Afghan Hound breed of dog is surmounted by a topknot of long silky hair. Its ears are long, set approximately on level with outer corners of the eyes, the leather of the ear reaching nearly to the end of the dog's nose, and covered with long silky hair. Afghan Hounds' eyes are almond-shaped (almost triangular), never full or bulgy, and are dark in color. The nose is of good size, black in color. Faults--Coarseness; snippiness; overshot or undershot; eyes round or bulgy or light in color; exaggerated Roman nose; head not surmounted with topknot. The neck is of good length, strong and arched, running in a curve to the shoulders which are long and sloping and well laid back. Faults--Neck too short or too thick; ewe neck; goose neck; neck lacking in substance. The back line should appear practically level from shoulders to loin. The loin should be strong and slightly arched, falling away toward the stern, with the hipbones very pronounced; well ribbed and tucked up in flanks. For the Afghan Hound breed of dog, the height at the shoulders equals the distance from the chest to the buttocks. Faults--Roach back, swayback, goose rump, slack loin; lack of prominence of hipbones; too much width of brisket, causing interference with elbows. The tail should be set not too high on the body and have a ring or a curve on the end. It should never be curled over, rest on the back, or be carried sideways, and it should never be bushy. The forelegs of the Afghan Hound breed of dog are straight and strong, with great length between elbow and pastern; elbows well held in; forefeet large in both length and width; toes well arched; feet covered with long thick hair; fine in texture; pasterns long and straight. The pads of the feet are unusually large and well down on the ground. Shoulders have plenty of angulations so that the legs are well set underneath the dog. Too much straightness of shoulder causes the dog to break down in the pasterns, and this is a serious fault. All four feet of the Afghan Hound breed of dog are in line with the body, turning neither in nor out. The hind feet are broad and of good length; the toes arched, and covered with long thick hair; hindquarters powerful and well muscled, with great length between hip and hock; hocks are well let down; good angulation of both stifle and hock; slightly bowed from hock to crotch. Faults--Front or back feet thrown outward or inward; pads of feet not thick enough; or feet too small; or any other evidence of weakness in feet; weak or broken down pasterns; too straight in stifle; too long in the hock. Hindquarters, flanks, ribs, forequarters, and legs are well covered with thick, silky hair, very fine in texture; ears and all four feet are well feathered. However, from in front of the shoulders; and also backwards from the shoulders along the saddle from the flanks and the ribs upwards, the hair is short and close, forming a smooth back in mature dogs: this is a traditional characteristic of the Afghan Hound breed of dog. The Afghan Hound should be shown in its natural state; the coat is not clipped or trimmed; the head is surmounted with a topknot of long, silky hair - that is also an outstanding characteristic of the Afghan Hound. Showing of short hair on cuffs on either front or back legs is permissible. Fault--Lack of shorthaired saddle in mature dogs.