Pharaoh hound history: from Egyptian myth to Maltese hound

Part 1

Where the pharaoh hound name comes from

On its home island of Malta, this breed is called the Kelb tal-Fenek, and it is sometimes claimed that it descends from the dogs shown in ancient Egyptian tomb paintings. When the Kennel Club in the UK encountered the breed, it refused to use the Maltese name and chose Pharaoh Hound instead, because the dogs looked like the hounds in Egyptian art, even though there was no direct evidence linking the two. British fanciers leaned into that resemblance partly because Kelb tal-Fenek was unfamiliar and hard for English speakers to say, while Pharaoh Hound sounded exotic and memorable. If you own one of these dogs, it helps to know that the name describes an image, not a proven family tree.

The Kennel Club formally recognised the breed under the Pharaoh Hound name and approved a standard in 1974, which fixed the Egyptian story in an official document. From there, the name and its backstory were repeated in catalogues, show reports, and breed write-ups around the world. Before the breed was officially recognised, the name Pharaoh Hound had even been used briefly for a different breed, the Ibizan Hound, until the Fédération Cynologique Internationale reassigned it after 1977.

Part 2

What DNA studies actually show

For years, some sources described the pharaoh hound as one of the oldest dog breeds, largely because it resembles dogs painted on ancient Egyptian tomb and pyramid walls. A landmark genetic study published in 2004 by researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center found that the Kelb tal-Fenek and other similar Mediterranean hounds developed in more recent times and do not share a direct genetic lineage with ancient Egyptian dogs. A 2023 study of seven Mediterranean warren hound breeds found that the Kelb tal-Fenek had the greatest genetic distance of the group from the street dogs of Egypt. Other DNA research puts the breed's genetic split from the similar-looking Cirneco dell'Etna of Sicily at no more than roughly two hundred years ago, which points to recent regional development rather than an ancient royal bloodline.

Separate research on Portuguese native breeds found no genetic connection between Iberian dogs and dogs from North Africa. A University of Malta study published in 2018 also confirmed that the Kelb tal-Fenek is genetically distinct from the Cirneco dell'Etna, reinforcing its Mediterranean roots. So if your dog is a pharaoh hound, the genetic evidence points to Malta and its neighbours, not to the Nile valley.

Part 3

The Maltese connection: kelb tal-fenek

The Kelb tal-Fenek is a traditional breed of rural Malta, where it has long been used for hunting rabbits across the islands' rocky terrain. The Maltese name translates to rabbit dog. For generations, these dogs have worked Malta's rocky garigue and rubble-walled fields, valued by local hunters for their stamina, nose, and ability to handle difficult ground. Hunters would release pairs of dogs, let them locate a rabbit by scent, net the escape holes of its burrow, and then send in a ferret with a small bell so the one remaining dog could track its movement underground and catch the rabbit when it bolted.

For many years, the breed was found mainly on the Maltese islands before it later spread to other countries.

Part 4

From Malta to international recognition

1. The first two specimens of the breed were taken to Britain from Malta in the 1920s, but no litter was bred from them at that time.
2. Dogs were imported to the UK again in the early 1960s, and the first litter born outside Malta arrived in 1963.
3. The Fédération Cynologique Internationale accepted the breed as the Pharaoh Hound in 1963, under the patronage of the UK.
4. The British Kennel Club approved a formal breed standard in 1974.
5. In 1974, the Maltese government also named the Kelb tal-Fenek the national dog of Malta, and its image later appeared on a coin.
6. The first Pharaoh Hounds were imported to the United States in 1967, and the American Kennel Club recognised the breed in 1983.

Part 5

Distinctive traits tied to its history

If your dog is a pharaoh hound, one trait stands out: the nose and the inside of the ears turn a rosy pink when the dog is excited or happy. This happens because the breed has no black pigment in its skin. The build behind that blush is just as practical as the trait itself, since the breed is slender, fast, and built for chasing rabbits across rocky, uneven ground.

Part 6

Separating myth from evidence

It helps to remember that looking like a dog in an old painting is not the same as being descended from it. Genetic studies from 2004, 2018, and 2023 broadly agree that the modern breed developed in the Mediterranean in relatively recent centuries and does not read in the DNA as a direct descendant of ancient Egyptian dogs. So the fair way to describe your dog's history is as a working Maltese hunting breed with a striking resemblance to ancient art, rather than as a living relic of the pharaohs.