Well, to make it clear it's Mudhol and not Mudall as many 'enthusiasts' think. It's a small town in Nothern Karnataka (that might explain the confusion) which has now come to be known by the canines that once roamed its streets. Looking at these hounds, when they are yet to grow, you would be forgiven to think nothing different. These exactly look like those that hound the streets. In packs. At dawn and dusk. Behind doodhwallahs and school children on bicycles. Yeah those. These guys look scrawny. Their ribs show. They bark only when it's necessary. They don't even weigh much. But let them be for some months. Then voila! They bloom. Bloom fast! They grow taller, start to develop ruggedness and they make sure you understand that these aren't street dawgs. They even have stamps made after them!
See?
Their heads are really curious. Long and narrow. They don't fidget with their eyes much as most dogs are prone to. Ears hang on their heads like they have no business being there (they don't have much too superior hearing powers as compared to shepherds) and they don't care about their own ears either. The best part though, about these dudes is their eyes. They have awesome eyes, the kind I would expect a dictator to have. They stare and sometimes I have wondered if they have the greatest piercing gaze after a mountain eagle. I don't know much about their night-sight but I can confirm that these brutes have the best pairs of eyes I have seen a canine don. Onto the neck now. Slender, tough and powerful it merges into the body pretty well. You can touch a Mudhol Hound's neck and you might start expecting like you do when your gym-going-salman-friend says 'check my guns bro'. At any rate, they have good muscles and their forelegs are thin as one would expect while hinds are wide and again, you guessed it, muscly! Tail is pretty cool too.
Coat : Being from the hot planes of Karnataka, they rarely have considerable coat of hair.
Natural Colours : Dusty brown, Light Brown, Fallow, Mud
Temperament : Like a typical middle class Indian, like most of us, they are pretty shy and don't show much temper outright. They are primarily farmer's dogs (not shepherds'). They have a working temperament rather than running temperament. More like a clerk than a soldier. But they are extremely loyal and need to be treated like a family member like most breeds.
Life Span: Typically 10 years.
Diet: Nothing out of the ordinary. These are very tenacious dogs.
Shedding : Most of them don't have enough thickness of the coat to shed , but rare some, who have feathered layers around neck, shed minimally. Nothing to worry about by most accounts.
Loyalty: EXTREMELY LOYAL
Here's a tale I've been wanting to share. The first Indian King who managed to REALLY piss off Mughal Ruler Aurangzeb in a bid for self-government , Shivaji Maharaj of Maharashtra, is said to have kept packs of Mudhol Hounds for many purposes. He probably was a great fond of them and a touching gesture can be seen at Fort Raigad , where nearby his tomb, you see a tomb of his favourite pet dog, Vaghya (meaning Tiger).
That concludes a brief write-up on one of the most "Indian'' breeds of dogs. More to come and be subscribed. Comments are welcome too!
Here's a fun video before that :
