Crates come in a variety of styles and prices.

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1 CRATE 1 Crate training for any dog is a good idea. Not only does it give them a place to feel safe and at home, but helps you with potty training and times when you need them out of the way. If you train them early to enjoy their crates it makes it easier on everyone. Crates come in a variety of styles and prices. Metal Crates They can fold up for travel (work great for dog shows). Plastic Crates These are the Vari Kennel ones, these are great for home use. Soft Sided Crates - Can be used temporarily under a watchful eye. Dogs can tip the soft ones over or chew their way out some dog shows don t allow Soft Sided Crates. Make sure you get one big enough for them to grow with. The average Afghan male is around 27 tall Recommendations for wire crates would be 42L x 28W x 31H Vari Kennels would be the 400 or 500 size CRATE PAD Size to fit the crate. It s good to have a couple around in case water gets spilt. If you get the kind with removable covers you can wash easily. CRATE BOWLS 3.00 To attach to side of crate for water. At dogs shows never leave your water bowl in the crate with the dog while you are not there. MARTINGALE COLLAR Afghan Hounds as with all sight hounds do well in Martingale collars. These collars slip over the dogs head, no clips for attaching. The heads of sight hounds tend to be the same size as their neck, which makes it easy for them to slip out of a regular collar if they decided to try to get away. The Martingale will apply gentle pressure and tighten rather than let them slip out.

2 SNOOD You will mostly likely have a few of these. As with all long eared breeds their ears will drape in their food when eating. Putting a snood on them for dinner helps prevent their ears from getting eaten and keeping food out of them. You can get the fancy ones for show. You can use them when walking your Afghan to keep their ears from dragging in the dirt. BATH LEAD 7.00 Used to hold the Afghan in the bath tub during bathing. It s one piece with a sliding snap to help hold them tight. It s nylon so water won t affect it. HAND HELD SHOWER A hand held shower installed in your bathtub can be used for giving your Afghan a bath, if you are choosing to do your own grooming. These can come with and extra long hose. Raised tubs can also be purchased. CRATE DRYER Whether you show your Afghan or not, they will still required bathing and drying. A crate dryer is useful for winter baths. A crate dryer can attach to the side of your crate to help dry them. Make sure you don t over heat them in the crate with the dryer. I typically leave mine in for a maximum of 30 minutes and never leave them alone in the crate with the dryer. Always check on them about every 10 minutes or so. You will probably have to adjust the angle of the dryer as they will manage to curl up in a ball trying to avoid the warm air flow. PIN BRUSH The pin brush will be your best friend. Check your pins and replace the brush as needed. Always start brushing from the bottom working your way up to avoid breaking hair and causing pain.

3 SOFT SMALL SLICKER BRUSH This tool is great for sensitive areas like in the armpits and the hair between the feet and the hair around the front of the ears. HARDER LARGER SLICKER Use this tool sparingly only for the really tough mats. Then gently pick at the mat, always trying to save as much hair as possible. Some areas like the around the foot do better with this brush than other areas like the longer hair. MATT COMBS LARGE & SMALL This is another tool used in moderation to break apart larger mats with the large mat comb. Always start at the end of the mat and working towards the hair root. Tugging gently with your fingers to loosen it gently. I use the small one for mats between the toes. But always gently and hold the hair at the base where it meets the skin. Afghans feet are ticklish and they can pull away at any moment. TOENAIL CLIPPERS & STYPTIC POWDER I like the old clipper kind. I ve not tried the newer rotating filers but have heard stories about Afghan Hound hair getting caught in the rotating motor, so I stick with my old favorite. Keep some Styptic powder on hand in case you knick the quick. It will bleed terribly. Using one with Benozocaine will also ease the pain for the dog. Once you have clipped a quick, the dog will remember for the rest of their life and trimming can be a battle. So try to remember less is better and stay away from the quick. MINI CLIPPERS I use mini clippers about every 3-4 months to trim out the hair between the toes on the feet pads. The smaller head makes it easier to get between the toes. SCISSORS A good pair of scissors is a must. I use scissors to trim the hair around the feet and trim up the ear hair if it gets ratty looking at the ends. THINNING SHEARS Thinning shears can be used to clean up the tail. They can also be used after the regular scissors to take the edge off the cut.

4 STRIPPING KNIFE 8.00 The stripping knife can be used to clean up the saddle, neck and tail. Going with the direction of the hair gently pull the blade towards the rear. These wear out fairly quickly so you should keep a stock of them on hand. The tighter you keep the skin, the easier the knife will work PUMICE STONE 4.00 The pumice stone works well for cleaning up the saddle, neck and tail. It can be used in conjunction with the stripping knife or by itself. As with the stripping knife, the tighter you keep the hair, the more effective it will be. The stone works well for blending the saddle hair with the side hair. Going in the direction of the hair. It will leave grit on the dog, so only use the stone right before a bath. LARGE CLIPPERS 4 Sets of $30 each Size 10 Size 7 Size Size 40 for wound treatment Large clippers can be used to clean up the saddle, neck and tail. It can often shave (no pun) some time off the process, but always make sure to trim very little hair off keep them looking as natural as possible.. You can also use the large clippers to shave down your Afghan if you aren t showing and don t want to commit to the hair grooming. Keep a close eye on the temperature of the blade during shaving. It can become warm and burn the dog quite easily. You can purchase Cool Lube to keep the razor cooler or just take a break to let it cool down. Afghans look nice with & without hair. SHOW LEAD A good show lead will help you show your Afghan. Look for one that pulls less hair (finer) and one that will stay in place rather than slip and slide in the hair.

5 GROOMING TABLE WITH ARM If you choose to show your Afghan a grooming table with an arm is a great help. You can have the dog position at your height to more easily work on drying their coat and brushing them out. Teach your dog to stay on the table for safety. STAND DRYER The Stand Dryer is almost a requirement for showing an Afghan. Use the forced air you can blow dry out the dog while brushing to get your Afghan in the most presentable coat.