Karnataka’s Mudhol Hound becomes first ‘desi’ dog to join Indian Army

The Mudhol Hound, also known as Caravan Hound is an Indian breed of dog of the sight hound type.

The Mudhol Hound from Karnataka will be the first desi dog to make it to the Indian Army. The Indian Army which uses German Shepherds, Great Swiss Mountain dog and Labradors is all set to induct the desi Mudhol Hound.

The dogs from Karnataka were trained in the Army's Remount and Veterinary Corps (RVC) centre in Meerut.

Six dogs have already been trained and they will soon be inducted into the Army at Jammu and Kashmir. The induction is likely to take place in December.

The Indian Army had expressed its desire to use the Mudhol sight hound for surveillance and border protection duties. It has obtained six Mudhol dogs for testing at the Army's Remount Veterinary Corps at Meerut.

The dogs were bred after selection, at the Canine Research and Information Centre in Thimmapur near Mudhol in Bagalkot district of Karnataka. The CRIC is a unit of the Karnataka Veterinary, Animal and Fisheries Sciences University, Bidar.

Know about the Mudhol Hound:

The Mudhol Hound, also known as Caravan Hound is an Indian breed of dog of the sight hound type. The feathered variety is commonly referred to as a Pashmi. It is also called Karwani. It is a common pet amongst villagers in India's Deccan Plateau, who use it for hunting and guarding.

The Kennel Club of India (KCI) and Indian National Kennel Club (INKC) recognize the breed under different breed names. The KCI registers it as a Caravan Hound while the INKC goes with the name Mudhol Hound.

The postage stamp with face value of Rs.5.00 was released by Indian Postal Department on 9 January 2005, together with 3 other dogs i.e. Himalayan Sheep Dog (Rs. 5.00), Rampur Hound (Rs. 5.00) and Rajapalayam (Rs. 15.00), in recognition of Mudhol Hound.

The Mudhol or Caravan hound has well-defined characteristics. The head is long and narrow, broad between the ears with a tapering muzzle. The jaws are long and powerful, with a scissors bite.

The nose is large and black. The ears are pendulous and hang close to the skull. The eyes are large and oval in shape, from dark to hazel. The expression is a piercing gaze according to Wikipedia. The neck is long, clean, and muscular, and fits well into the shoulders. The forelegs are long and straight. The back is long, broad and well-muscled.

The loins are wide and deep. The chest is strong and deep with well sprung ribs. The abdomen is tucked in. The hind quarters appear wide and well-muscled. The tail is set on low, strong at the base and tapering, quite long and carried in a natural curve. The gait is high-footed, flexing all four legs, but should not be hackneyed. There are two coat varieties-one with an entirely smooth coat and the other with silky featherings on the ears, legs, and tail. Acceptable colours are fawn, fallow, red, cream, black, and mouse-grey, or any of these colours broken with a minimal amount of white.

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