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So essentially a sight hound which carries all the virtues of sight hounds i.e. aerodynamic body, long muzzle, deep chest etc. However these aspects vary accordingly to the need, geographical area, feeding and liking. So we see various types in Caravan Hounds, some small like Whippets and some taller than Grey hounds, chest deeper than elbow, to moderate deep, head with very good stop or without stop and with almost all colours or colour combinations still there is one common fact that their sight hounds so the body should be aerodynamic, and they should be built for the speed and stamina. As their owners live and spend their life in tremendous hardship so do the dogs. As per the natures Law of elimination all weak puppies or puppies born with some genetic defect are ruthlessly eliminated by nature. Nobody bothers to give them any Calcium or Protein rich diet. So the dog remained are very hardy and can eat almost anything for their survival. Origin : Lot of things can be said about the origin of Caravan hounds in Maharashtra. We see other very closely related breeds all over the world we will find AZWAKH, SLOUGHI or SMOOTH Coated SALUKI are very similar to our Caravan hounds. It is said that as these sight hounds emerged in Central Asia at the same time, same type of hounds developed in India which was then became popular in the area which was very suitable for the hunting with dogs. Particularly border area of Maharashtra and Karnataka where land is plain without much of hills and also economy is suitable for dog hunt in, that is only one crop in the year. So after Diwali there is nothing in the fields and fields are ready grounds for hunting with the dogs. There is also possibility that, as it is well known fact that in India we used to import lot many Horses from Middle East. It is also known that the Arabs who used to breed these Horses along with Falcon and dogs for Gazelle hunting. It is very possible that alongwith these horses the sight hounds from Arabia found their way in India. Now all these Arab ships sailed mainly on the winds and the ocean currents. They used to take advantage of South West monsoon drift current which North before turning to South west monsoon drift current which passes along with entire eastern coast of Africa towards North before turning to South from the Persian gulf and passing along with the western coast of India. All these ships from the Gulf used to take advantage of these currents and used to land up in India near 'Karwar' - little below Goa. If we see today the distribution or availability of these sight hounds than we will agree that this middle east sight hounds first landed up on the coast of 'Karwar' and hunted their way on the boarders of Maharashtra and Karnataka where land and economy was most suitable for hunting with the dogs. So the name Karwar Hounds became Caravan hounds. It is also said these dogs came to India alongwith Muslim invaders who were by and large Non- vegetarians and without effective weapons like Guns it was only possible to get good hunts with help of dogs and as all other dogs were shunned by Muslim, they brought their Al-HOR (Gift of Alla) - the other name of Saluki dogs alongwith them. If we visit any small TOWNS IN Marathwada - the region which was created as a buffer zone between Maratha empire and Nizams of Hyderabad we see lot of Pathan Mohallas as lot of Pathans and Rohilas where encouraged to settle there and there we find fine Pashmis or Caravan hounds in the town where also a separate pathan mohalla is exiting. We also he lot many legends about courage of these dogs for their masters. We really do not know from where they came and how they developed in these area. But it is true that they are here in this area and hunt in this area for more than 200 years. If we go region to region and place to place we find difference in the features of Caravans. Now is it result of careless breeding or because they are from different blood lines or may be different breeds altogether is a question of research. It is also possible that Indian sight hounds mixed with middle east Azwakhs or sloughis and salukies. MUDHOL HOUNDS : It is said that Raja of Mudhol , a small princely town in Karnataka, was very fond of hunting with dogs so he crossed his local sight hounds with grey hounds to increase the speed, and created the breed called "Mudhol hound'. These 'Mudhol hounds' are inheriting the speed of grey hounds and the stamina of the local sight hounds. They are with rose ears and thick tail dogs with tail carriage like grey hounds. The chest also ends above the elbow. Coat is longer than Caravan. Whereas Caravan hounds with dropping flat ears, hanging very close to the cheek with very thin tailed, even sometimes we can see the bones of the tail, with tail carriage like Afghan hounds but without ring at the end. Coat very short and glossy. We can see Mudhol hounds (with rose ears) in Maharahstra - Karnataka border. Also we see the Caravan on these borders upto Kolhapur, Satara with thick tail, chest ends above the elbow, very elongated muzzle,flat dropping ears, light bone and taller version. However in Marathwada region which is far away from Karwar, the sight hounds are with flat dropping ears, moderate muzzle, thin tail, medium height, chest below the elbow, and very short and glossy coat version. "Pashmis" : The 'Pashmi' word might have come from the Persian Grey hounds which is another name of Saluki. If we refer books on Saluki we find that in the middle east also there are different varieties of Saluki i.e. 'Shami' , 'Nijdi' etc. It is quite possible that Pashmi word must be a conversion of Persian word "Shami". Also Pashmi is known in Maharashtra as a "Pisuri" as it was mentioned above it might have come to India alongwith Muslim invaders which were mainly from North western boarders of India i.e. from the region of "Kabul" and "Peshwar" therefore "Peshawari" i.e. 'from the Peshawar" became "Pisuri" in the time. There is also different variety of Pashmi which is known as "Lahori Pashmi" which clearly shows that it came alongwith Pathan and Rohilas from "Lahore region. We see very light bone, medium height with very long hairs on ears and tail variety of these pashmis in Kolhapur and Satara area. Whreas in Marathwada region we see a very large version of these dogs, heavily boned, less hairs on the ears. But very good hairs on the tail and height upto 30 to 32 inches at the shouldrs. I had personally measured a 33 inches dog at shoulder. Also there is a difference in temperament. The Pashmis in Marathwada region are bit ferocious than the Pashmis in Kolhapur region. It is again and again said by lot of people in the dog game that Caravans and Pashmis are one and the same. This r conclusion is based on only one fact that they have seen a pair of Caravan, giving birth to one pup which is with hairs on ear and tail. So they say that the Pashmi is nothing but an long coated variety of caravan. This is a very wrong conclusion because if we extend this logic then a pair of Pashmi (i.e. long coated variety of Caravan) should give birth to one smooth coated variety i.e. Caravan. But this is not happening. A pair of Pashmis give birth to Pashmis only. We do not find any smooth coated pup in that litter. When a pair of Caravan is giving birth to Pashmi then one must be sure that it is only a throw back of their Pashmi ancestor. It is not only the question of long coated or smooth coat but it is also the temperament as well as other habits which differentiates Caravan from the Pashmis. The Caravan are no doubt very good guard dogs but they are more aggressive towards other animals and less aggressive to the human beings. Whereas Pashmis will not spare any animal or Human being intruded in his territory. He will not hesitate to attack on the human beings. The barking of Caravan is also different than Pashmis.The Pashmi bark is much much louder than Caravan. For the easy comparison a speech or 'Pomeranian' can be compared with 'Caravan' and 'Pashmis'' to German Shepherd Dogs . Pashmis are definately bigger dogs than Caravan in bone and substance. The running style also differs . If we draw a straight line parallel to the ground then Caravan jumps above that line every time he leaps whereas Pashmis travels below that line close the ground. The is mainly because Caravan is meant for sudden speed and it is a sprinter, used to catch small games which requires sudden speed, less stamina so it jumps above the line and tries to cover maximum distance . Whereas Pashmi is used for barking deers and gazzles in its native country so needs more stamina and speed so travels close to ground thus saving energy and stamina. Also Caravan kills the small game by catching them by their back and lifting them and giving vigorous jerk and tearing off the flesh, whereas Pashmis kills the same game by seizing them by the throat and suffocating it. Above all there is a very peculiar thing about Pashmi that it 'Stalks' the game like Cheeta. If they are loose in the field and a game is spotted by them then very quietly they will try to go as much near as possible by crawling like Cheetah to the game and when they are sufficiently close they jump up straight on the game or if game runs up they open a chase. Whereas Caravan runs straight way to the game as fast as possible and try to catch him. It is also observed that Pashims have very good smelling power they can pick up the smell even from the air and they can able to track and hunt the game. The Pashmis feets are more elongated than of Carvans. Carvans are by and large cannot withstand too much of cold but Pashmis can withstand cold as well as heat. When we are referring cold means our normal winter in tropical countries not of Himalayan winter. So one should be very sure that Pashmis and Caravans are not one but different breeds altogether. Breeds standards : This is again a very tricky part as there is lot of difference in Caravans as per Geography, liking and breeding. But some where we have to draw the line. As per my Opinion Sloghi is very similar to the Caravans by appearance and by use. We can say that Breed standard for the 'Sloughi' can be applied to the Caravans. Breed standards of 'Sloughi' : To form breed standards of Pashmi is very difficult, as it is similar to Saluki so fits into the Saluki standard but different than the imported Salukis which we see. It was very interesting to read article by "Gail" in the Indian Kennel Gazette special issue on Saluki in 96 under title "Saluki preserved or destroyed". In the article author says that - original salukis where destroyed by western breeders by mixing Greyhounds blood in it and what ever Saluki standard we are referring are only standards made by these western breeders and suitable for their breeding. I fully agree to the statements made by the author and extending the same logic and say that whatever Pashmis we see in India are the original Salukis and are not manipulated by western breeders. So they look different than Standard Saluki. We have to go very careful about this as probably as we in India have the original gene pool or Original Salukis. I am not an authority on the dogs. but request and call for a debate from like minded people/ interest groups so that at the end we will get the correct breed standards for both breeds. . For anybody who wants to study Caravan / Pashmis, I am giving below the names and addresses of the villages where no other stray dogs but you will find Pashmis or Caravans stalking the streets. For Pashmis : Janwal - Vadval - This village is approx. 40 kms away from Lathur in Maharashtra in India where you will find lot of Pashmis in the village. For Carasvans : - Shingawadi Karanga - This is 20 kms away from Kurduwadi junction in Maharashtra - India and very famous for Caravans. For your views and feedback please do write to me : hrgupte@hotmail.com or indianhound@geocities.com |
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