Pharaoh Hound Dog Breed Information

The Pharaoh Hound is the national dog of Malta, where the breed has been hunting rabbit on rocky Mediterranean terrain for at least two thousand years. The dog looks like it walked off a wall painting in an Egyptian tomb (tall, lean, amber-eyed, tan-coated, with large pricked ears and a high carriage), and the Maltese name Kelb tal-Fenek translates plainly as “rabbit dog”. In NZ the breed is genuinely rare; only a handful of registered NZKC litters appear across a decade and the breed is held by a small group of dedicated sighthound enthusiasts.

Adults stand 53 to 63 cm at the shoulder and weigh 18 to 25 kg, with males slightly taller and heavier than females. The short single coat is rich tan to chestnut with white markings permitted on the chest, toes and tail tip. The build is athletic and sighthound-leaning, but the breed hunts using sight, scent and hearing in roughly equal measure, which is unusual.

Personality and behaviour

Pharaoh Hounds are affectionate with their household, gentle with children they have grown up with, and tolerant of other dogs. The breed is sociable in the relaxed Mediterranean sighthound style, neither pushy nor reserved, and tends to greet visitors with curious interest rather than enthusiasm or suspicion. They are not natural guard dogs.

The trait that surprises new owners is the blush. When a Pharaoh Hound is excited, happy or anticipating food, the nose, the inside of the ears and the skin around the eyes flush a clear rose pink. It is the breed’s signature characteristic and shared only with the Rhodesian Ridgeback among recognised breeds. New owners catch the dog blushing the first time the lead comes off the hook for an evening walk and remember it as one of the breed’s most appealing quirks.

The second surprise is the smile. Many Pharaoh Hounds curl back the lips into a clear submissive grin when greeting people they like, which looks alarming to anyone who has not met the breed before but is a genuine social signal of warmth.

The third behavioural feature is prey drive. Pharaoh Hounds were selected for centuries to hunt rabbit at speed across rocky ground. A running rabbit, hare or possum triggers the chase response with very little training able to override it. Some Pharaoh Hounds are cat-tolerant when raised with cats from puppyhood; small running pets at ground level (rabbits, guinea pigs, chickens) are at structural risk regardless of training.

Bark level is moderate. The breed is not vocal in the Beagle or Finnish Spitz sense, but will alert on visitors at the door and on activity at the property boundary. Most owners describe the bark as appropriate rather than nuisance.

Separation tolerance is variable. The breed prefers company and tends to be slow-paced and quiet when alone but for moderate periods only. Long workdays alone are not the breed’s strength.

Care and exercise

Plan on around 60 minutes of varied exercise a day. The breed is a sprinter built for short bursts of speed rather than endurance, and most adults split the day between two lead walks, a weekend secure-paddock sprint, and a long sleep on the sofa. Like other sighthounds, the Pharaoh Hound is one of the easier medium dogs to live with in terms of daily energy demand.

The exercise constraint is fencing. A Pharaoh Hound at full sprint covers ground astonishingly quickly across rocky or open terrain. Off-lead work needs a fully fenced area; ordinary urban parks without fencing rarely work given the prey drive. A long line gives safe practice in unfenced reserves and many NZ owners book a Sniffspot or use a fenced sports field for weekend sprint sessions.

Grooming is the easiest of any medium breed. A weekly wipe with a hound glove handles the year-round shed. The thin skin tears on barbed wire, blackberry, gorse and rough fences; small cuts bleed alarmingly and need quick first aid. A styptic pen is a sensible item to keep at the door.

Dietary care is straightforward. The breed is not a glutton, holds condition well on measured meals and tends to live 12 to 15 years on standard NZ premium dog food. Two measured meals a day works.

The climate fit in NZ is the main practical care issue. The Pharaoh Hound is built for Mediterranean conditions: warm dry summers, mild winters, and a thin single coat designed to dump heat rather than retain it.

• Auckland and Northland. A good fit. The mild winters mean a single light coat is enough for most autumn and winter days, and the warm summers suit the breed’s heat tolerance. The dog still needs shade and water access on the hottest summer days; the lean build helps but does not make the breed bullet-proof.
• Wellington and Manawatu. A fitted coat for autumn and winter walks is needed. Wind chill is the main issue; the breed shivers in standing air at 12 degrees.
• Christchurch and Canterbury. Winter mornings are hard work without preparation. A proper insulated coat for walks, a fleece overall for indoor cold mornings and a raised padded bed off the cold tile floor are practical. Summer suits the breed well.
• Central Otago and Southland. The coldest regions need the most kit. A multi-layer setup (fleece base layer plus waterproof shell) is standard for Otago winter walks and a heated dog bed makes a real difference indoors.

Where to find a Pharaoh Hound in New Zealand

Three honest paths.

1. Registered NZKC breeders. The Dogs NZ breeds directory lists active Pharaoh Hound breeders. Numbers are very small: often no active litters at all in a given year and waitlists running 18 to 36 months when a litter is planned. Expect NZ$2,500 to NZ$4,000 per puppy. Reputable breeders hip score, eye test, and discuss the breed’s anaesthetic sensitivity openly.
2. Australian imports. Many NZ Pharaoh Hound owners have imported from Australian registered breeders. Import costs (transport, MPI requirements) add roughly NZ$3,000 to NZ$5,000 on top of the puppy price.
3. Sighthound rescue and rare-breed networks. Pure Pharaoh Hounds almost never appear in NZ rescue. Sighthound rescue networks occasionally have Pharaoh-cross adolescents from Australia. Adoption fees typically run NZ$400 to NZ$800.

Avoid any breeder advertising puppies at unusually short notice or without parent health screening; the breed’s small NZ population means responsible breeders are well-known to each other and to the Dogs NZ breed contact, who will verify a line’s reputation in a brief phone call.