Sighthounds: the Indian breeds and the imports

The breeds

India has more native sighthounds than almost anywhere. They cost a fraction of the imports, handle the climate far better, and share a physiology most vets have never been taught.

AzawakhThe Azawakh is the one imported breed whose heat tolerance holds up under scrutiny. Here is the mechanical reasoning, the...Banjara HoundThe sighthound of the nomadic Banjara of Maharashtra, described in hound literature for a century and recognised by no kennel...ChippiparaiTamil Nadu's royal coursing hound, thought to descend from the Saluki, widely held to be the most trainable of India's native...GreyhoundWhat an English Greyhound costs in India, how it differs from the Rampur Greyhound that dominates the same search results, what...KanniTamil Nadu's black-and-tan coursing hound, once sent with a bride as her guardian, counted at roughly 3,000 animals by the...Magyar AgárA Hungarian coursing sighthound that is not a Greyhound, is protected by a parliamentary resolution Bonbeno read in full, has...Mahratta HoundIndia's least documented sighthound, and the one whose name causes the most confusion. Wikipedia treats it as its own breed. Much...Mudhol HoundKarnataka's sighthound, gifted to King George V a century ago and now serving with the Indian Army, the Air Force and the Prime...Pharaoh HoundThe registries still say ancient Egypt. The published genetics says Malta, and says it in one sentence you can read for yourself.Rampur GreyhoundNorth India's royal sighthound, bred by the Nawabs of Rampur and put on an India Post stamp in 2005. Published prices for the...Sarail HoundBangladesh's only native breed, from Sarail in Brahmanbaria. A short-coated lowland sighthound, widely called nearly extinct, and...Sinhala HoundSri Lanka's indigenous dog, related to the Indian Pariah Dog and shaped by the same tropical pressures. Published figures for its...WhippetWhat a Whippet costs in India, why only three were listed for sale nationally, what the veterinary evidence says about a breed...

Compare the breeds side by side

To compare these 13 breeds directly, read across the table rather than down the guides. Heat tolerance is a Bonbeno rating out of 5 for Indian conditions, and the reasoning behind each one sits on the breed's own page.

What matters in this group

The points below are what the evidence on these 13 guides actually supports, not what the category is assumed to mean.

• The most important thing on this page is clinical. A healthy sighthound runs higher packed cell volume and haemoglobin, lower platelets, lower thyroid hormone and higher creatinine than a standard canine reference range allows. In one study of 398 sighthounds, 71.9 percent had been diagnosed hypothyroid on a low reading alone, and only 16.3 percent had any corroborating abnormality.
• That matters more in India than in Britain, because most Indian vets will never have seen these breeds. Published breed-specific reference intervals exist. Taking them to an appointment can prevent a healthy dog being treated for a disease it does not have.
• The native breeds are the better buy on almost every axis, price, climate and availability. The imported Greyhound costs many times a Rampur and copes with the heat less well.