Dogs- Mudhol Hound

#ashokasays Did you know 305:

Dogs... They are among some of our best friends. And when it comes to having them as our pets somehow most of us are inclined towards having some "foreign" breeds like Labradors, Saint Bernads, German Shepherds, Dachshunds, Dobber Man  etc. All of them are very good breeds of Dogs. But somehow we don't seem to know out own country dog breeds. In fact some of them are great hunters too and some of them cute pets to have.
Let's look at one breed today. 

Mudhol Hound

The Mudhol Hound is one of the most versatile breed when it comes to naming the breed. You would not have come across any another breed with so many different names. This pure bred Indian breed is a type of sight hound. 

From 500 B.C. onwards, foreign invaders began coming into India to conquer and plunder. Along with them came their companion dogs. Many breeds such as the Saluki, Sloughi and Greyhound have been exchanged as gifts between the Indian, Persian, and Turkish kingdoms, the origin of the Mudhol Hound is probably from these dogs.

Over a period of time, these dogs took on the name of the land in which they lived. The Mudhol Hound was the name given to those dogs domiciled in the northern districts of Karnataka(particularly the district of Bijapur, of which Mudhol was a feudal state) and the southern districts of Maharashtra.
History says that Sri Srimanth Raja Maloji Rao Ghorpade presented a pair of hound puppies to King George the V.  His Royal Highness was so impressed that these puppies from Mudhol were called as Mudhol Hounds.
Chatrapathi Shivaji's loyal dogs were entombed near his own tomb at Raighad. The dogs depicted bear a close resemblance to the Mudhol. There is also the story of the hounds belonging to Shahuji Maharaj which fought and killed a tiger that attacked the king.
This breed thrives on human companionship and is tolerant of other dogs. The only thing that has to be kept in mind with a Mudhol is that he or she might snap at you if you are not known to it and want to touch him. Mudhols are fiercely loyal to their owners and can even attack strangers if they feel that the owner is in danger.  
The Mudhol hound is one of the most healthy dogs to have around and do not have any particular health issues attached to it. Their lineage and breeding has made sure that they can combat the Indian weather conditions.

Mudhol Hound breed of dogs are used for hunting and guarding in and around Mudhol town of Karnataka. The Mudhol Hound breed is also known as Caravan Hound and In the villages he is known as the Karwani. These hounds have a long elongated skull with a tapering muzzle. This helps to have a 270 degree field of vision. This is almost twice of what you and I can see. It would not be wrong to say that this hound can see behind its head also.

So next time you think of a dog to have a pet, you can consider Mudhol Hound too.

INCREDIBLE BHARATHA