Rampur Greyhound

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The Rampur Hound is a rare and smooth-haired Sighthound from North India. It evolved in the fiefdom of Rampur, which lies between Delhi and Bareilly. The ruler of Rampur, Ahmed Ali Khan Bahadur, wanted to create a swift and fierce breed for the dangerous past-time of hunting wild boars, and so interbred good native dogs with foreign breeds like Tazis, Afghans, and English Greyhounds. The result of these intermixtures was the Rampur Hound.

The Rampur Hound far exceeded the Ruler's expectations. From its Tazi and Afghan ancestors, it got its looks and stalwart character and from the English Greyhound it got its speed. Here was a dog that would seldomly back down in confrontations, and could more or less keep up with the fastest prey. It was also extremely intelligent to deal with the wily and formidable boars, and, even when severely injured, was not known to give up the chase. The boar was brought down eventually, but, several times, the Rampur Hound too died, either during the Hunt or later of the sustained injuries.

The Rampur Hound was also used to hunt vermin, jackals, and deer. It was so powerful it was even capable of bringing down a full-grown bull. It also had excellent tracking skills and could track wounded game over long distances.

These days, with the passing of Imperial India and the coming of the Modern Age, with its Animal Rights Awareness, Boar Hunting – or any other hunting for that matter - is no longer a State sanctioned activity and is restricted to villagers or farmers, who do it more for food or to get rid of pests, rather than for any wanton pleasure. This decline in hunting activities saw a dip in the popularity of the Rampur Hound as well. The villagers/farmers either could not afford the upkeep of such a large dog or, even while highly valuing their dogs, were not all that interested or perhaps somewhat slack in maintaining the breed standards. Some enthusiasts prevailed, of course, which is why we still have the Rampur Hound, but I'm not sure it's of the same fierce variety that were originally developed. Those dogs, it is said, had heads that resembled the boars they hunted. You very rarely come across those kind of Rampur Hounds nowadays.

Even so, the Rampur Hound is still a commanding breed and makes an excellent guard-dog. It is fiercely protective of its family, although it tends to be a one-person dog and will usually obey only one master. Within the family circle, especially with the children, it is dependably gentle and sensitive. It is advisable, of course, to supervise interactions and see that the children don't take undue advantage of this innate good nature. It is also a large dog, it must be remembered, and, with a surfeit of affection, is capable of, however unintentionally, knocking over both kids and grown-ups. The distinct penchant of the Rampur Hound of starting – and, more often than not, ending – fights with other dogs is another factor that needs watching.

This apart, before obtaining a Rampur Hound its size and exercise requirements should be taken into consideration. It needs plenty of space and probably will be not be happy to be confined in a small apartment. On the plus side, it requires minimum grooming, and, for all its size, the food bill is not likely to burn a hole in your pocket. It is also a hardy breed and not susceptible to many of the physiological problems that its Western counterparts seem prone to.

Now for the physical description. Rampur Hounds are sheer poetry in motion, somebody told me, and they're not far wrong. This is one beautiful breed to watch, especially racing across wide-spaced fields, or jumping a high fence; they are known to have speeds equalling to almost 60 km/h and can easily clear fences six feet tall.

The Rampur Hound is a tall, elegant dog, powerfully-built with a deep though not broad chest, a slim, high waist, and long, straight legs. The feet of the Rampur Hound are its most distinctive feature – they have long, arched, and webbed toes, with powerful claws. Such feet give the Rampur Hound a good, cat-like grip and facilitate its speed too. The tail, which is long, thin, and tapering, is carried low to the ground with an upward sweep towards its end.

The Rampur Hound has small, dark-rimmed eyes that are usually light-coloured, small, curved ears, and a broad head. The muzzle, another distictive feature, is long, narrow, and pointed. The jaws have a powerful grip. The coat comes in several colors – grey, brindle, fawn, brown, white, black, piebald, but black is the color usually preferred by the native breeders.

Rampur Hound males stand around 18-27 inches tall and weigh around 38-40 kg. The females stand around 15-25 inches tall and weigh around 36-38 kg.

Danger Boy, a Rampur Hound owned by Mr. Irshad Ali Khan, won the Best in Show Prize at the 49th Championship Dog Show held at the Oudh Kennel Club on 21st December 2003 at Lucknow.

It was the favored hound of the Maharajahs for jackal control, but was also used to hunt lions, tigers, leopards, and panthers. It was considered a test of courage for a single hound to take down a jackal. The Rampur is built to cover great distances at high speed; thus capable of great endurance. They are approximately greyhound size, but much wider and more muscular, similar to the Rhodesian Ridgeback. Some unique characteristics are their Roman nose, ears set high, pendant style, and of most interest, their "hare" feet. The Rampur's foot is a large "hare" shape, with heavy webbing. Their toes are very articulated and flexible, even able to bend backwards a bit. They are not unlike our own fingers in many ways. This manuveurability helps to give them a cat-like balance, able to walk on a 2 x 4, or clear a six foot fence! Truly a fascinating dog. Colors are mouse-gray, grizzle, brindle, parti-colour or most rare, black. Eye color ranges from yellow to a golden brown. A word about the gray and grizzle color. These two colors have the eery ability to blend completely with the foliage of the forest, so much so that when the hound is still, you may not see them from a distance of as little as ten feet. And this is in daylight! The Rampur in play is a scary thing to the uninitiated. They like to charge at each other at speed, then butt their chests with force enough to shake the ground. They are affectionate to their owners, almost to a fault. Standing in the yard with them, they will sometimes run from across the yard and jump up for a kiss. Unfortunately, if you are not braced for this, you may very well find yourself head over heels on the ground.

With the fall of the Maharajahs from power in 1947, so too, fell the popularity of the Rampur Hound. The effect of the arrival of the English was evident to the Rampur, as well as the native Indian people. The English greyhound was bred into some of the lines, leaving to find a pure Rampur rare indeed. This remarkable breed balances on the fine line of extinction. Outside of India, only a handful are known and registered, and are in the U.S., state of New Jersey.