Pharaoh Hound: a glossy coat and active shared time
The Pharaoh Hound has a short, glossy coat and a body slightly longer than its height. The coat routine is relatively straightforward, while exercise planning needs more thought than simply choosing a home with a garden.
Appearance and height
FCI describes clean lines, an almost straight topline and short, glossy hair ranging from fine and close to slightly harsh, without feathering. Its height ranges are 56–63.5 cm for males and 53–61 cm for females, with no numeric weight range.
The earlier UK guide gives 56–63 cm for males and 53–61 cm for females. The upper male limit is therefore not identical. FCI places the breed in Group 5; the earlier UK guide places it in Hound. Both classifications can be shown without changing the breed’s identity.
A short-coat routine
The UK grooming category is weekly. AKC care advice offers light daily brushing or a heavier weekly brushing, bathing as needed, nail care and dental care. This gives a choice of practical routines rather than a reason to ignore the coat between baths.
Plan a routine that covers nails, ears and teeth as well as brushing. The AKC guide includes regular home dental care and a veterinary dental check at the annual visit. These are ordinary maintenance tasks alongside bathing when needed.
Exercise examples need context
The UK guide lists more than two hours of exercise, a large house, large garden and country setting. AKC gives more specific examples: 15–20 minutes of running twice daily for a dog that runs on its own in an enclosure, or walks of at least 20 minutes twice daily if it does not.
Those conditional examples are not the same measure as the UK daily category, and they are not a universal timetable. AKC also advises secure fencing and keeping the dog on a leash outside an enclosure. Plan the actual walks, shared activity and enclosed space available to your dog rather than averaging the two sources into a new exercise rule.
Compare size and coat
Cirneco dell’Etna have a smaller, square outline. Ibizan Hounds are slightly longer than high and have smooth, rough and long hair in the FCI description. The three share FCI Group 5, but a similar upright-eared appearance does not give them the same dimensions or grooming requirements.
Sources and further reading
Pharaoh Hound at a glance
These earlier UK breed guides are starting points for comparison. Details may have changed, and individual dogs vary.
- Breed group
- Hound
- Size
- Large
- Daily exercise
- More than 2 hours per day
- Grooming frequency
- Once a week
- Coat length
- Short
- Sheds
- Yes
- Suggested home size
- Large house
- Town or country
- Country
- Garden recommendation
- Large garden
- Lifespan
- Over 10 years
FCI breed standard
Standard guidance describes the breed ideal; individual dogs vary.
- Origin
- Malta
- Group
- 5 - Spitz and primitive types
- Section
- 6 - Primitive type
- Height
- Males: 56–63.5 cm; Females: 53–61 cm
- Weight
- Not specified in this standard
Official FCI standard (PDF)
Standard effective from 2026-09-08; checked 2026-10-15





