There’s an old saying: “One Tazy will feed the whole aul [settlement].” Perhaps this was before the breed was disappearing, but we get ahead of ourselves.
Don’t dare refer to this exquisite creature as a mere “dog” because in the Kazakh culture, that is considered taboo. Tazies have been prized for a millennia for their ability to run down and kill wolves, a skill that earned them such special status in that culture that the dogs were treated like family members and even allowed inside a family’s yurt. In long ago times, one Tazy, also known as the Kazakh Hound or Central Asian Hound, was equal to 47 horses for a bride’s required dowry, or as part of an equal trade because during lean times, such dogs saved many people from starving.
One article we read wrote that Tazy breeders from the North are now trying to breed bigger dogs and interbreed them with European greyhounds. Southern breeders don’t like the idea, but there are bigger issues at hand. This national canine treasure of nomads isn’t entered on any official register and consequently, it can’t be accepted by international canine organizations.
In a piece by Oralbai Abdykarimovich for Dog World UK, he wrote, “Sadly, despite being a national treasure for nomads, since the second half of the last century their number began decreasing and now this breed is nearly extinct. Today there are only around 300 Tazy dogs left. They are not included on any official register and consequently cannot be accepted by international canine organisations. They are not even recognised as a breed, despite having centuries-old roots. But I am not prepared to let this breed become extinct. As Chairman of the Kansonar National Association of Hunters, I believe it is my duty to save the beautiful Tazy.”
If you’re looking at bringing in a new dog or breed to your family, please do consider this breed. National Geographic wrote about the breed here, as well as Best in Show Daily.
Image of a Tazi posted by Jan Eduard at the German language Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike license
It`s a wonderfull dog. We have an 3 years old female, but can´t find any male for her.
We like to help this breed to survave but were are all the males?
She is easy to have and living with. We have cats and other dogs too, no problem at all.
Perhaps someone reading this can help out, Joakim!
I always wanted Indian dog breeds like bhakarwal,tazi,himalyan guard dog,tangkhul hui,jonangi, etc… But there is no information about these dogs except very few.I am wondering why the people in the areas where these dogs are available can’t upload some information and puppies for sale details etc.. Instead of posting comments on unnecessary things,uploading new photos every day in Facebook,trash talking,changing whatsapp status every hour do something to save those dogs.I am not able to do these things because I am still studying and I am very disappointed on collecting details about these endangered species.
Visit http://www.caravanhound.in
For pics https://instagram.com/karwanihounds?igshid=7wkef89s4lum
I am interested in keeping tazi
Pls let me know were we can find
We’re sorry, Hemant, we can’t help you as we just don’t know, but we may know of someone who does. If you’d like us to contact them with your email address, let us know.
For pics https://instagram.com/karwanihounds?igshid=7wkef89s4lum
I have one 🙂 They are definitely worth preserving.
Oh Jenna, how lovely your dog is. Thank you for sharing her (?) picture!
Where can I find one, they look beautiful!
Thank you!
Honestly, Ryan, we don’t know.
This was Tiny, 32 kg as slim. The kindest dog one could ever have wished for. Even thou from the UAE he wasn’t a saluki but a Tazi. Heavier boned and bigger than most Salukis. The photo is of him in summer fur but he would go really fuzzy in the winter.
Many thanks for the photo, Jessica, and for sharing with us a little insight into Tiny. How did you come by him?
I have just finished reading Tim Copes book called “ on the trail of genghis khan”
Look it up for a terrific story , and learn of his dog Tigon a Tazi breed .
Thanks for the tip, Sarah, we’ll look for the book!
I know there are barely any of these dogs left, but I’ve fallen in love with the looks of this breed. Is there anyway I could find a breeder?
You have good taste, Grace, they are exquisite dogs. I’m taking the liberty of sharing your email address with someone I know who may have some ideas. His name is Neil and if he can help, he’ll be in touch.
I have a male dog named Arlan. I’m in China.