Bagalkot: Mudhol hound, the native canine breed has already made waves among dog lovers for its amazing sniffing skills, exemplary obedience and inimitable hunting capacity with agility, but after the mention of its name by Prime Minister Narendrea Modi in his latest ‘Mann ki Baat’ series, it has added another feather to the crown of this ‘Desi’ breed.
During his recent address in ‘Mann ki baat’, Modi had not only praised the services of Indian breed of dogs, but had also appealed to people to adopt Indian dogs over the foreign breeds.
Taking names of some of the known Indian breeds of dogs, he had also made a mention about the Mudhol hound.
This breed of dog can run at the speed of around 50 km/hour, and can sniff any object from the distance of 3 km. This ability has grabbed the attention of the Armed Forces, which have shown interest in absorbing this native canine breed in their folds.
The Mudhol hound has its own history and many believe that the dogs were used by Maratha King, Chhatrapati Shivaji during the wars. The breed has been named after the erstwhile princely state of Mudhol, which was part of the Bombay Presidency during British rule.
The last king of the state, King Malojirao Ghorpade is believed to have presented a pair of these puppies to King George V, during his visit to the UK and it was the English Emperor who named the dogs as Mudhol hound.
Mudhol hound is being raised at Canine Research and Information Centre (CRIC) in Mudhol taluk of Bagalkot district, which is the only such centre in the country that is dedicated to the raising of Mudhol hound. This centre comes under Karnataka Veterinary, Animal and Fisheries Sciences University (KVAFSU), Bidar.
After knowing its different hunting and sniffing skills, the Indian Army has already adopted the breed for various acts including detecting explosives or in Naxal-affected areas of the country.
The Army has made these dogs undergo intensive training for nine-months at the Remount Veterinary Corp in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh.
The Army is already using different breeds of dogs including Labrador, German Shepherd, and Belgian Shepherd for security purposes. However, the officials of the centre believe that Mudhol hound is better compared to other dogs in sniffing and running abilities.
These dogs are serving in border areas of India, including Kashmir and Rajasthan. Besides the armed forces, even police departments of states such as Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan have taken Mudhol dogs for security.
After the Armed Forces, even the National Security Guard (NSG), the country’s premier counter-terrorism force, showed interest in the breed and took some puppies for training.
Apart from the breed’s abilities that help the security forces, these puppies are purchased largely by farmers to protect their crop against stray animals and security of farm houses.
