Breed profile · Hound Group · the sleek, blushing sighthound of Malta

Pharaoh Hound

The Pharaoh Hound — the Kelb tal-Fenek, the “dog of the rabbit” of Malta — is a medium-sized sighthound of noble bearing, graceful, well balanced, and very fast, with hard, clean-cut lines, large upright ears, amber eyes, and a short glossy coat of tan to rich chestnut with a white star on the chest. It hunts by sight and scent and sound, it blushes rose when it is excited, and it is the national dog of Malta. The AKC calls it the ancient “Blushing Dog” of Malta, “an elegant but rugged sprinting hound bred to course small game over punishing terrain.”

Do you have a photo of a Pharaoh Hound in the American show ring? We’d love this page to lead with one. If you have a show photo you’d let us use, email it to [email protected] — tell us the dog’s name and the show, and it may be featured here. Please only send photos you took yourself or have the photographer’s permission to share, and tell us the photographer’s name. We couldn’t find a public photo of a Pharaoh Hound in the American show ring that we were free to share, so the photo leading this page was made with AI. We’d much rather lead with a real one — if you’re a club member with an approved photo, we’d love to feature it.

1. Breed at a glance

Size, coat, and temperament facts are from the AKC standard (approved May 10, 1983; effective April 3, 1989). Weight (45 to 55 pounds) and lifespan (12 to 14 years) are from PetMD, Pharaoh Hound Dog Breed Health and Care.

2. History

On Malta the breed is the Kelb tal-Fenek — the “dog of the rabbit.” The prevailing theory, told by the AKC, is that Phoenician traders, sailing the Mediterranean from what is today Lebanon some 2,500 years ago, brought Egyptian-type hounds with them and left them on Malta, where they were used as rabbit hunters. The dogs are still worked there today, in teams, over rocky terrain divided by stone walls, hunting at night — and, in the Maltese style, with a ferret wearing a tiny bell to flush the rabbit out of its hole while the dogs listen for the bell. (Sources: AKC, Pharaoh Hound History: The Dog That Hunts With Ferrets; Dogs Australia, Pharaoh Hound.)

The breed’s standing on its home island is official, not folkloric: the Maltese government minted a silver coin featuring a Pharaoh Hound in 1977, and in 1979 the Pharaoh was named the national hound of Malta. The name, though, is an English invention — the breed was still the Kelb tal-Fenek until it reached England, where fanciers saw the resemblance to the dogs in Egyptian tomb paintings and to Anubis and renamed it the Pharaoh Hound. (Sources: AKC, Pharaoh Hound History; Furry Critter Network, Pharaoh Hound.)

The modern history is short. Pauline Black introduced the breed to the United Kingdom in the early 1960s — her husband was the general in charge of the British troops stationed on Malta — and the Kennel Club recognized it in 1974. The first Pharaoh Hound was imported to the United States in 1967, by Ruth Taft Harper with the help of Pauline Black and her husband. The Pharaoh Hound Club of America was founded in 1970, the AKC put the breed in the Miscellaneous Class in 1973, recognized it in 1983, and entered it into Regular Classes in the Hound Group in 1984. (Sources: AKC, Pharaoh Hound History; Kennel.com, Pharaoh Hound Dog Breed Information and History; Furry Critter Network, Pharaoh Hound.)

One honest correction to the romance: recent DNA analysis shows the breed is a more recent construction, developed out of different lines of European hunting dogs, rather than a direct and unchanged descendant of the hounds in Egyptian tombs. The resemblance is real; the unbroken 5,000-year line is not. (Source: Dogs Australia, Pharaoh Hound.)

3. The standard and why it’s written that way

• General appearance — grace, power, and speed. The standard opens with the whole dog: “General Appearance is one of grace, power and speed. The Pharaoh Hound is medium sized, of noble bearing with hard clean-cut lines — graceful, well balanced, very fast with free easy movement and alert expression.” (Source: AKC standard.)
• Size — dogs 23 to 25 inches, bitches 21 to 24 inches. “Height — Dogs 23 to 25 inches. Bitches 21 to 24 inches. All-over balance must be maintained. Length of body from breast to haunch bone slightly longer than height of withers to ground. Lithe.” The body is lithe, the brisket deep, almost down to the point of elbow, with a moderate tuck-up. (Source: AKC standard.)
• The head: a long, lean, chiseled blunt wedge. “Skull long, lean and chiseled. Only slight stop. Foreface slightly longer than the skull. Top of the skull parallel with the foreface representing a blunt wedge.” The eyes are amber colored, blending with the coat, oval and moderately deep set, with a keen intelligent expression; blue eyes are a fault. The ears are medium high set, carried erect when alert but very mobile, broad at the base, fine and large. The nose is flesh colored, blending with the coat — no other color. (Source: AKC standard.)

• Coat — short and glossy, no feathering. “Short and glossy, ranging from fine and close to slightly harsh with no feathering.” Color runs from tan to rich tan and chestnut, with white markings allowed only as follows: a white tip on the tail, strongly desired; white on the chest (called “the Star”); white on the toes; and a slim white snip on the center line of the face. Flecking or other white is undesirable — and any solid white spot on the back of the neck, shoulder, or any part of the back or sides of the dog is a disqualification. (Source: AKC standard.)
• The tail: whip-like, below the hock. Medium set, fairly thick at the base and tapering whip-like, reaching below the point of hock in repose, carried well and curved when in action; it should not be tucked between the legs, and a screw tail is a fault. (Source: AKC standard.)
• Gait — free and flowing, head held fairly high. “Free and flowing; the head should be held fairly high and the dog should cover the ground well without any apparent effort. The legs and feet should move in line with the body; any tendency to throw the feet sideways, or a high stepping ‘hackney’ action is a definite fault.” (Source: AKC standard.)
• Temperament, in the standard’s own words. “Intelligent, friendly, affectionate and playful. Alert and active. Very fast with a marked keenness for hunting, both by sight and scent.” (Source: AKC standard.)
• The blush. The standard does not name it, but the breed’s most famous trait is written into its coloring: with no black pigment in the skin, the flesh-colored nose and the inside of the ears flush a deep rose when the dog is excited or happy. (Sources: AKC standard; AKC, Pharaoh Hound History.)

4. Temperament & living with one

The AKC sums the breed up in a sentence: the Pharaoh Hound is “an elegant but rugged sprinting hound bred to course small game over punishing terrain. Quick and tenacious on scent, these friendly, affectionate hounds settle down nicely at home.” The parent club says the same thing in warmer terms — this is an active, high-energy breed that needs to exercise and play hard to stay physically and mentally fit, and it is very people-oriented: “a pharaoh hound does not make a good ‘outdoor’ dog. They are very people oriented and need to be active family members in order to thrive.” (Sources: AKC Pharaoh Hound breed page; Pharaoh Hound Club of America.)

That affection comes with volume. Like all breeds that hunt in packs, the Pharaoh Hound can be quite vocal — the parent club notes “a wide and interesting variety of sounds that they make” — and PetMD’s breed guide calls them “very vocal dogs, especially when excited or during play.” A Pharaoh Hound that is bored or under-exercised will find its own entertainment, and it will be loud about it. (Sources: Pharaoh Hound Club of America; PetMD, Pharaoh Hound Dog Breed Health and Care.)

The prey drive is not a quirk to train away; it is the breed. As sighthounds they were bred to hunt by sight, so they are highly responsive to small, fast-moving objects and animals, and they need a fenced yard or a leash outside — the breed club recommends a 6-foot fence. They do well with children and other dogs, but homes with cats and other small animals need slow, careful introductions. Training takes patience: like many sighthounds they were bred to think and act independently, but they are intelligent and eager to please, so they pick up cues quickly with positive reinforcement — provided the session is somewhere free of distractions, because a passing squirrel will end it. (Source: PetMD, Pharaoh Hound Dog Breed Health and Care.)

And then there is the blush. When a Pharaoh Hound is excited or happy, its flesh-colored nose and the inside of its ears turn a rosy pink — possible because Pharaoh Hounds have no black pigment in their skin. Some of them smile, too: when their positive emotions are roused, it is not unusual to see them wag their entire body, along with their tail, and show every tooth in their mouth. (Source: AKC, Pharaoh Hound History.)

5. Grooming

• Low-maintenance coat. Thanks to the short, fine coat, Pharaoh Hounds are low-maintenance in terms of grooming. They do shed, but not as much as many other breeds. A weekly brushing is usually enough to remove dead hair and keep the coat sleek and shiny, and the breed only needs a bath when it gets dirty or smelly — which is rarely. (Source: PetMD, Pharaoh Hound Dog Breed Health and Care.)
• Ears and eyes, checked routinely. Routine ear cleaning with a veterinary-approved cleanser helps prevent infections — ask your vet how often. Because the breed is susceptible to PRA, watch for any changes in the eyes or vision, such as cloudiness, discharge, or trouble seeing at night, and contact your veterinarian if you notice them. (Source: PetMD, Pharaoh Hound Dog Breed Health and Care.)
• Nails, teeth, and the rest. The short coat means grooming is the easy part of owning a Pharaoh Hound; the work is exercise, not brushing. Keep nails trimmed, teeth brushed, and the dog itself tired — a well-exercised Pharaoh Hound is pretty laid-back at home, and an under-exercised one is not. (Source: PetMD, Pharaoh Hound Dog Breed Health and Care.)

6. Health testing

• Four tests for a CHIC number. For a CHIC number, the Pharaoh Hound needs four evaluations: a Patella Evaluation, a Hip Evaluation, an Ophthalmologist Evaluation, and a Thyroid Evaluation. That is the parent club’s list on the AKC’s Hound Group health-testing page. Breeders must agree to have all test results, positive or negative, published in the CHIC database. (Source: AKC Hound Group Health Testing Requirements.)
• Hip and elbow dysplasia. Both are inherited orthopedic conditions that can affect Pharaoh Hounds; hip dysplasia leaves the hip joint unstable and loose, which can eventually cause arthritis and limited mobility. Exercise habits, weight, and nutrition can make both worse. (Source: PetMD, Pharaoh Hound Dog Breed Health and Care.)
• Patellar luxation. Pharaoh Hounds can develop luxating patella, an inherited condition where one or both kneecaps pop in and out of place. It may cause the dog to favor one leg and can predispose them to other knee injuries and arthritis; depending on severity, surgical correction may be recommended. (Source: PetMD, Pharaoh Hound Dog Breed Health and Care.)
• Progressive retinal atrophy (PRA). PRA is a group of degenerative diseases of the retina that eventually cause blindness; night blindness is often the first sign. It is inherited — both parents must carry the gene — and a DNA test can screen for the defective gene in potential carriers. Regular eye examinations by a veterinarian are the best early detection. (Source: PetMD, Pharaoh Hound Dog Breed Health and Care.)
• Anesthesia sensitivity. The single most important anesthetic consideration for a Pharaoh Hound is its sighthound physiology: the extremely low body fat percentage means fat-soluble anesthetic drugs like barbiturates are processed differently than in breeds with more body fat. Tell every veterinarian who treats your dog that it is a sighthound. (Source: Furry Critter Network, Pharaoh Hound.)
• Cancer. The breed has an elevated risk for certain types of cancer, including hemangiosarcoma, mast cell tumors, and mammary cancer, so regular health screenings matter — early detection and treatment can significantly affect prognosis. (Source: PetMD, Pharaoh Hound Dog Breed Health and Care.)
• Lifespan: 12 to 14 years. The average Pharaoh Hound lifespan is 12 to 14 years, about typical for medium dog breeds, and the breed is generally considered healthy. (Source: PetMD, Pharaoh Hound Dog Breed Health and Care.)

7. The annual Pharaoh Hound specialty dog show

A specialty is the breed’s All-Star show — its Super Bowl. Once a year, the best Pharaoh Hounds from across the country, and often from around the world, come together in one place.

The Pharaoh Hound Club of America’s national specialty: a one-day independent specialty with puppy and veteran sweepstakes, obedience, rally, junior showmanship, and the AKC National Owner-Handled Series. The 2024 national: Friday, August 2, at Run Wild Dog Sports in Auburn, Washington, with 39 dogs in conformation. The 2022 national: Friday, April 15, at Oak Canyon Park in Silverado, California, with 34 dogs in conformation. The 2027 national: Friday, April 2, at the Gwinnett County Fairgrounds in Lawrenceville, Georgia. AKC event record: no PHCA national specialty for 2025 or 2026.

The standard, in brief: a medium-sized hound of noble bearing, graceful, well balanced, very fast, with free easy movement and an alert expression. Dogs 23 to 25 inches at the shoulder, bitches 21 to 24 inches. Short, glossy coat, tan to rich chestnut, with white markings limited to a white tip on the tail, a white star on the chest, white on the toes, and a slim white snip on the center line of the face. Amber eyes. Large, erect, very mobile ears. And the famous blush — nose and ears flushing rose with excitement.

The 2024 National Specialty — Friday, August 2, 2024, at Run Wild Dog Sports, 35612 212th Way SE, Auburn, Washington, an independent specialty with puppy and veteran sweepstakes, obedience, rally, junior showmanship, and the AKC National Owner-Handled Series. Entries closed Wednesday, July 17, 2024, at noon PDT. Event Chair: Cindy Bennett. Superintendent: BaRay Event Services. The national ran alongside a Western Specialty the next day, Saturday, August 3, at the same site. (Sources: AKC event search, event 2024283607; 2024 premium list.)

National specialty judges: Ms. Robin K. Riel — all regular and non-regular conformation classes. Mr. Michael Savage — puppy and veteran sweepstakes. Mr. Richard J. Lewis — junior showmanship and all obedience and rally classes. Best Junior Handler: Cameron Kerridge; Reserve Best Junior Handler: Rhys Goldman. (Sources: 2024 premium list; AKC event search, event 2024283607.)

Results (2024 national). Best of Breed: not confirmed in an official source as of November 2026. The judging program lists 50 dogs and 83 entries for the Friday national day across all competitions; the AKC event record lists 39 dogs and 39 entries in conformation. (Sources: 2024 judging program; AKC event search, event 2024283607.)

The 2027 National Specialty: a one-day event on Friday, April 2, 2027, at the Gwinnett County Fair Grounds, Lawrenceville, Georgia, as part of the Gwinnett County cluster. Superintendent: Onofrio Dog Shows. Judges, AKC event number, entries, and closing date not yet published as of November 2026. (Source: AKC Upcoming National Specialties.)

Past national specialties: 2022

Pharaoh Hound Club of America — ph-club.org

8. Regional specialties through the year: smaller regional shows

The national is the anchor, but the breed’s year also runs through regional specialties — smaller regional shows, not the national — held by the parent club and regional Pharaoh Hound clubs around the country. These are the 2026 regionals verified from club sources so far:

Three PHCA specialty events verified for 2026 so far:

• PHCA specialty — Friday, July 10, 2026, Castle Rock, Colorado: judge P S Lambie, 36 entries (16 dogs, 20 bitches), at the Douglas County Fairgrounds Indoor Arena, 500 Fairgrounds Drive. Entries opened June 1 and closed June 24, 2026. Superintendent: Onofrio Dog Shows. Best Junior Handler: Cameron Kerridge; Reserve Best Junior Handler: Rhys Goldman. Best of Breed not confirmed in an official source as of November 2026. (Source: AKC event search, event 2026283604.)
• PHCA specialty — Saturday, July 11, 2026, Castle Rock, Colorado: judge Ms. A H Roth, 35 entries (34 competitors), at the Douglas County Fairgrounds Indoor Arena. Entries opened June 1 and closed June 24, 2026. Superintendent: Onofrio Dog Shows. Best of Breed not confirmed in an official source as of November 2026. (Source: AKC event search, event 2026283605.)
• Designated specialty — Friday, December 4, 2026, Oaks, Pennsylvania: a PHCA designated specialty with sweepstakes at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center, 100 Station Avenue, held with the South Jersey Kennel Club show. Entries close Wednesday, November 18, 2026, at noon. Superintendent: Jim Rau Dog Shows. (Source: AKC event search, event 2026283606.)

Past regional specialties: 2024 · 2023

More regional specialties will be added here as their programs are verified — this section is built from show data, not guesswork. Browse upcoming show weekends →

9. Clubs

• Pharaoh Hound Club of America (parent club) — the only national Pharaoh Hound breed club recognized and sanctioned by the AKC, whose duty is to preserve and protect the breed and its official breed standard. Founded in 1970, it runs the national specialty each year it is held, keeps a preferred breeders list of members who have signed its Code of Ethics, runs an annual health survey of its members, and publishes the PHCA Scribe newsletter. (Sources: Pharaoh Hound Club of America; PHCA, Membership Benefits.)
• Pharaoh Hound Owners of the NorthEast (PHONE). The regional club for Pharaoh Hound owners in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Delaware. Its members are involved in conformation, obedience, lure coursing, racing, rally, agility, tracking, musical freestyle, and therapy work. (Source: Pharaoh Hound Owners of the NorthEast.)

If you are new to the breed, the national specialty itself is the better first stop than a breeder’s website: the people there have owned, shown, and worked Pharaoh Hounds, and they will tell you the truth about the exercise, the voice, and the prey drive before you fall for a puppy.

10. Rescue

• PHCA rescue. The Pharaoh Hound Club of America runs the breed’s rescue program through its rescue committee, chaired by three regional representatives so that rescue situations get covered wherever they arise. Very few Pharaoh Hounds enter the rescue program in a typical year. Anyone interested in adopting a rescued dog has to submit an adoption application, and approved adopters are given whatever history is available. (Source: Pharaoh Hound Club of America.)
• The 2023 rescue of 25 Pharaoh Hounds. In late June 2023 a PHCA rescue committee member spotted a Craigslist ad for a pair of 7-month-old Pharaoh Hound pups — and it turned out to be three litters, 22 pups, plus the parents, in South Carolina. The club’s rescue committee coordinated the pickup over the July 4th weekend, raised $22,000 from individuals plus a $23,000 AKC rescue grant, and had 65 applications to foster or adopt. By the end of July every puppy was thriving in a new home. It is the largest rescue the club has ever handled — the club’s own words at the time were “we’ve never had more than three rescues a year.” (Source: AKC, Exodus: Behind the Epic Rescue of 25 Pharaoh Hounds.)
• Adults, usually. A rescued Pharaoh Hound is usually an adult, and it will arrive with its temperament visible before you commit. What you get in return is a dog whose character you can see before you commit and a lower price. Either way, be honest with yourself first: a Pharaoh Hound needs daily hard exercise and play, a securely fenced yard — the breed club recommends a 6-foot fence — and an owner who understands a vocal, independent, high-prey-drive sighthound rather than expecting a dog that stays quietly in the yard.

11. Breeder vs. rescue: honest guidance

• If you buy: start with the parent club, the Pharaoh Hound Club of America, and its preferred breeders list — breeders on it have signed the club’s Code of Ethics. Ask for the parents’ health results — patellas, hips, eyes, and thyroid at minimum — and look the results up in the OFA database yourself. Expect to wait for a puppy from a careful breeder: a good breeder will have the answers, will ask you as many questions as you ask them, and will take the puppy back for its whole life if you cannot keep it. This is a rare breed — expect a puppy to cost in the region of $1,500 to $2,500, and expect a wait.
• If you rescue: a rescued Pharaoh Hound is usually an adult, and it will arrive with its temperament visible before you commit. What you get in return is a dog whose character you can see before you commit and a lower price. Either way, be honest with yourself first: a Pharaoh Hound needs daily hard exercise and play, a securely fenced yard, and an owner who understands a vocal, independent, high-prey-drive sighthound rather than expecting a dog that stays quietly in the yard.
• One breed, one standard — and not an Egyptian relic. The name invites the Egypt story, and the dogs do look like the hounds in Egyptian tomb paintings — but the breed as it exists today was shaped in Malta, and modern DNA work shows it is a more recent construction out of European hunting dogs than the ancient-Egypt story suggests. Judge the dog in front of you against the Pharaoh Hound standard, not against a tomb painting.

12. Claim this page

Sources

• AKC Pharaoh Hound breed page — akc.org/dog-breeds/pharaoh-hound
• AKC, Pharaoh Hound History: The Dog That Hunts With Ferrets — akc.org/expert-advice/dog-breeds/pharaoh-hound-history-rabbit-dog
• AKC Official Standard of the Pharaoh Hound (approved May 10, 1983; effective April 3, 1989) — images.akc.org/pdf/breeds/standards/PharaohHound.pdf
• AKC Hound Group Health Testing Requirements — akc.org/breeder-programs/breed-health-testing-requirements/hound-group-health-testing-requirements
• AKC Upcoming National Specialties — apps.akc.org/apps/events/conformation/national_specialties.cfm
• 2024 national, AKC event search, event 2024283607 — apps.akc.org/apps/events/search/index_results.cfm
• 2024 premium list — apps.akc.org/apps/eventplans/eventsearch/blocks/dsp_generate_pdf.cfm
• 2024 judging program — apps.akc.org/apps/eventplans/eventsearch/blocks/dsp_generate_pdf.cfm
• 2022 national, AKC event search, event 2022283607 — apps.akc.org/apps/events/search/index_results.cfm
• 2024 Western Specialty, AKC event search, event 2024283609 — apps.akc.org/apps/events/search/index_results.cfm
• 2023 PHCA specialty, AKC event search, event 2023283602 — apps.akc.org/apps/events/search/index_results.cfm
• 2026 Castle Rock specialties, AKC event search, events 2026283604 and 2026283605 — apps.akc.org/apps/events/search/index_results.cfm (2026283604)
• 2026 Oaks designated specialty, AKC event search, event 2026283606 — apps.akc.org/apps/events/search/index_results.cfm
• Pharaoh Hound Club of America — ph-club.org
• PHCA, Membership Benefits — ph-club.org/membership-benefits
• AKC, Exodus: Behind the Epic Rescue of 25 Pharaoh Hounds — akc.org/expert-advice/news/epic-rescue-of-25-pharaoh-hounds
• Pharaoh Hound Owners of the NorthEast (PHONE) — phownersne.weebly.com
• PetMD, Pharaoh Hound Dog Breed Health and Care — petmd.com/dog/breeds/pharaoh-hound
• Dogs Australia, Pharaoh Hound — dogsaustralia.org.au/BrowseBreed/browse-a-breed/98/Pharaoh-Hound
• Kennel.com, Pharaoh Hound Dog Breed Information and History — kennel.com/dog-breeds/pharaoh-hound
• Furry Critter Network, Pharaoh Hound — furrycritter.com/pages/descriptions/dogs/p/pharaoh_hound.htm
• Pets Adviser, Pharaoh Hound at Westminster 2014, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons — commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2014_Westminster_Kennel_Club_Dog_Show_(12451664855).jpg