Mudhol hounds found unsuitable for duty

Mudhol Hound or Caravan hound, the Indian dog breed being eyed by central para-military forces for their canine squads, is not an ideal police working dog breed in trials ordered by the home ministry.

As per conclusions of field trials of the breed conducted by ITBP and SSB on the directions of MHA’s Police K9 cell, Mudhol Hound, though loyal, agile, and healthy, is essentially a sight-hound breed with a nervous temperament that tends to get easily distracted by the presence of any moving object, preferring to chase it rather than concentrating on following the scent, a key requirement for any police dog.

“This dog breed does not fulfill the requirement of a police dog due to its temperament and poor trainability,” was the conclusion drawn by ITBP and SSB experts and submitted to the MHA police K9 cell, which is said to have shared it further with the PMO.

Some interesting findings from Mudhol Hound trials – recorded by Assistant Commandant (vet) Pankaj Kumar Teotia from SSB’s Dog Training and Breeding Centre, Alwar and Commandant (vet) Pankaj Kumar from ITBP headquarters in an article published in National Police K9 Journal released in January 2021 — that the Mudhol hound dog breed tends to forget past training and tends to run away if kept off-leash during training/practice.

ITBP and SSB had inducted 8 Mudhol Hound puppies in 2018. After giving them basic obedience and training in the detection of explosives and narcotics, they deployed them in the anti-Naxal grid in Chhattisgarh and on the Indo-Nepal border.

After studying the behavior, performance, and utility of the Mudhol breed in the field, it was found that the Mudhol Hound is hard to be trained, has less grasping power, is temperamental and always in a hunting mood, and essentially a one-person dog who does not take well to strangers, which makes the breed unreliable for police duties.

Due to its long and narrow head, it can easily remove the neck collar and escape from the handler’s control.

The Mudhol hound breed has its positive traits too. It is loyal to the master, easy to groom, low maintenance, resistant to most diseases, adaptable to hot climate, and has the stamina to run long distances.