Pharaoh Hound
Graceful, gentle, independent and quiet at home. From Malta.
Houndmedium breedMaltaStandards checked
Standards checked: this profile's facts are checked against the breed standards of the AKC, The Kennel Club and the FCI, as described on our methodology page.
Gallery
Real photos from licensed sources only, each credited to its creator.
Photos show different individual dogs from licensed libraries, not one dog growing up. Stage labels are approximate, the way a careful editor would judge them.
About the Pharaoh Hound
The Pharaoh Hound is a medium sized sighthound from Malta, developed to course game by sight at full speed, from hares to gazelles depending on the homeland. Gentle, quiet and undemanding indoors, explosive outdoors. Sighthounds suit calm households and owners who understand the off switch is built in.
History
Sighthounds are the oldest recognizable dog type, coursing game in the deserts and steppes of the ancient world long before written breed records. The AKC recognizes the breed today, and its standard is the reference most US breeders work to.
Personality
Graceful, gentle, independent and quiet at home is the record's Pharaoh Hound, Malta's national dog: the Kelb tal-Fenek, a rabbit hunter of ancient type, all elegance, amber eyes and tall ears, famous for blushing when happy. Pharaohs are sweet, sensitive and playful for sighthounds, affectionate with family, serenely independent in thought and famously clean and quiet indoors. They bond deeply and communicate in looks, leans and the blush. Puppies are leggy, bright charmers; adults are graceful, devoted companions that gallop gloriously and rest beautifully. Owners describe living with a gentle work of art that occasionally levitates after rabbits.
Temperament and traits
Energy (3/5)
Trainability (2/5)
Grooming needs (3/5)
Shedding (3/5)
Barking (2/5)
Good with children: Good with children
With other dogs: Usually good with dogs
With strangers: Reserved with strangers
Apartment life: With enough exercise
Coat and care
Coat: Short, fine, glossy coat lying close to the skin, with no feathering. Shedding is light and grooming minimal, though the thin coat feels the cold.
Colors: The standard accepts a range of colors and patterns, and individual markings vary a lot.
Measure meals rather than free feeding; this breed does best on a routine of consistent meals, training in short sessions and daily exercise matched to its type. Brush weekly and check ears, teeth and nails as part of the routine. Thin skin and low body fat mean coats in cold weather, soft bedding for bony joints, and care with anaesthetics, which sighthound bodies handle differently.
Exercise and grooming
Exercise
Forty five to ninety minutes a day in the sighthound pattern: a glorious gallop in a fully secure area, long walks, and then hours of elegant rest. Gentle, quiet and undemanding indoors, explosive outdoors, per the overview: the Pharaoh Hound is Malta's rabbit hunter, coursing by sight on rocky island ground with famous agility. Sighthounds are sprinters, not marathoners: a glorious daily run, then hours of professional sleeping, per the overview's pattern. Recall off lead needs secure spaces, because the chase instinct is total. Puppies romp in bursts. The breed blushes: nose and ears flush pink with excitement, which owners watch for as an exercise happiness gauge.
Grooming
Brush weekly and check ears, teeth and nails as part of the routine, per the care notes: the short, fine tan coat is among the easiest in the index, a mitt, an occasional bath and done. Thin skin and low body fat mean coats in cold weather, soft bedding for bony joints, and care with anaesthetics, which sighthound bodies handle differently, per the care guidance. Nails need trims on elegant feet, and teeth benefit from brushing. Puppies need kind nail habits. Owners rate the Pharaoh's grooming total as nearly nothing: all the elegance, none of the laundry, which suits a dog depicted in tomb art.
Training and daily life
Training
The train score sits low and means independence, the sighthound pattern: Pharaohs were bred to course alone at distance, deciding at speed without consultation. They learn household routines, lead manners and house rules quickly under kind, consistent handling, and they are famously clean and polite. What they will not offer is repetitive obedience or a recall that competes with a rabbit, so the essentials are a harness trained loose lead, a reliable wait at doors, a settle, and secure ground for the gallop. Play rewards work well with this bright breed. Gentle owners earn a courteous, serene companion of unforgettable elegance.
Living with a Pharaoh Hound
The Pharaoh Hound suits calm households that want an elegant, gentle piece of living antiquity. Graceful, gentle and quiet at home in the record's sighthound formula, good with children, usually good with other dogs and reserved with strangers, it rates flats as possible with the programme delivered. Sighthounds suit calm households and owners who understand the off switch is built in, per the overview. Expect grace, stillness, a famous blush and a dog that folds itself onto soft furniture with sculptural elegance. Owners describe the gentlest of hunters: a dog that has shared homes since antiquity and behaves like it, with perfect, quiet manners.
What a Pharaoh Hound costs
Food cost
About $33 per month for a typical 50 lb adult eating roughly 3.1 cups a day of a standard quality food ($1.60 per lb). Full breakdown in our food expense calculator.
Activity and exercise
Plan 45 to 90 minutes a day of walks, play and training. Under exercised dogs of most breeds invent their own projects, and they rarely pick good ones.
Insurance cost
Typical US range $34 to $60 per month for accident and illness cover. Estimate only, based on market ranges for this breed's risk profile; see the insurance estimator and the insurance guide.
On the monthly figures above, a typical adult year runs to about $393 for food and $408 to $720 for insurance, before routine vet care, grooming and gear. Year one costs more: vaccinations, spay or neuter surgery, a crate, bedding and training all land at once.
Growth: puppy to senior
How weight typically builds with age for a medium breed, and when full size arrives.
| Stage | Age | Typical weight |
|---|---|---|
| Puppy | 8 weeks | about 6 to 8 lb |
| Puppy | 4 months | about 14 to 18 lb |
| Young | 6 months | about 23 to 29 lb |
| Young | 9 months | about 33 to 41 lb |
| Adult | 12 months | about 40 to 48 lb |
| Adult | 18 months | about 45 to 55 lb |
| Adult | Full grown | 45 to 55 lb (standard range) |
| Senior | From about 8 years | Healthy weight stays in the adult range; watch for slow gain or loss |
Growth pattern follows the size class growth curves published by the Waltham Petcare Science Institute, applied to the adult weight range in the breed standard. Individual puppies vary; steady growth matters more than hitting any single number, and your vet's growth checks come first.
Life stages
Puppies need socialisation, kind handling and normal careful sighthound growth, with secure areas established before the chase instinct fully switches on. Adolescents gallop first and think later, on secure ground only. Adults enjoy a long, sound prime: keep weight lean, coats on in cold weather and the runs glorious. Twelve to fourteen years puts senior status around ten: twice yearly checks with eye awareness, joint friendly exercise and warm, soft beds. Old Pharaohs remain graceful, gentle and devoted, blushing at their people to the end.
Health
Sighthounds are generally sound, long lived dogs. Eye checks are the routine screening, and their lean build and unusual blood values mean a vet who knows sighthounds is worth finding.
Conditions to know about
- Eye conditions: Eye checks are the routine screening for the breed, per the record. Sighthounds are generally sound, long lived dogs, and the Pharaoh shares that reputation in full.
- Sighthound blood values and anaesthetics: Their lean build and unusual blood values mean a vet who knows sighthounds is worth finding, per the record. Drug dosing and blood result interpretation differ from typical dogs.
- A sound, long lived hunter overall: The record's overall assessment is a generally sound dog, matching the breed's unexaggerated, ancient build. Keep the dog lean, warm in winter and exercised on secure ground, and the health programme is largely complete.
Facts follow the Pharaoh Hound breed standard (AKC, The Kennel Club and FCI standards agree on the essentials for this breed). Health notes summarize the conditions breed clubs and veterinary bodies most often flag for this breed. They are general information for choosing and caring, not a diagnosis or a substitute for your vet.
Gear for Pharaoh Hound owners
Our team is hands on testing products for this guide right now. Recommendations will only appear here after real testing, and this module will always carry a plain affiliate disclosure at the top.
Pharaoh Hound questions
How long do Pharaoh Hounds live?
A typical lifespan is 12 to 14 years. Weight control, dental care and screening for the breed's known conditions give a dog the best chance of reaching the top of that range.
How much does it cost to keep a Pharaoh Hound?
Food for a typical adult runs about $33 a month at a standard quality tier, and accident and illness insurance usually falls between $34 and $60 a month in the US. Try the full cost calculator for a complete year one and yearly picture.
Are Pharaoh Hounds good with children?
Good with children. As with every breed, supervise dogs and children together and teach children to respect the dog's space.
How much exercise does a Pharaoh Hound need?
Plan on 45 to 90 minutes a day, split between walks, play and training games. Puppies and seniors need gentler, shorter sessions.
Do Pharaoh Hounds really blush?
Yes: when excited or happy, the nose and ears flush a deep rose colour, a famous breed trait. Owners read the blush like a mood ring.
Is the Pharaoh Hound Malta's national dog?
Yes: the Kelb tal-Fenek, the rabbit dog, is Malta's national hound, an ancient island breed unchanged for centuries of rabbit hunting on rocky ground.
Pharaoh Hound or Ibizan, what is the difference?
Mediterranean cousins: the Pharaoh is smaller, always short coated and solid tan; the Ibizan is larger with smooth or wire coats in white patterns. Both are elegant, athletic, gentle rabbit hunters.