After receiving a distress call from a friend a few days ago, I visited his place to check on his dogs — two Huskies brought to Pakistan from his recent trip to Europe. The dogs were clearly suffering from heat exhaustion, as it was their first summer in Pakistan. I quickly ran some cold water over them and advised my friend to keep them indoors in air-conditioned rooms and only take them out at night.

After hearing of countless similar encounters with Pakistani dog owners, I think it is cruel that just because one loves an exotic breed, one should make them suffer by bringing them to an unsuitable climate and expect them to adapt. Our local dog breeds are well-built and adaptive but they are considered lowly and shunned by the general public. It is befuddling that we would rather keep a disease-prone dog instead of healthy, robust local animal as a pet.

Dogs were oginally bred for function rather than form. However, in the modern age, they are being bred for cosmetic reasons and companionship. While research on domestication is ongoing, it is generally considered dogs were domesticated in a single domestication event occurring between 20,000 to 41,500 years ago in two distinct groups, one in Asia and the other in Europe. This friendship resulted in the evolution of both humans and dogs. With the passage of time, selective breeding produced several morphologically and behaviourally distinct breeds, which were bred for a purpose or a specific job. 

With Pakistani dog lovers hung up on foreign breeds, native breeds have little recognition despite being very intelligent, low-maintenance and better suited to the local climate

Pakistan is among the regions where initial domestication took place and great breeds were developed, but immense population pressure, with shrinking living quarters and lowering incomes, along with religious sentiments, forced people to say goodbye to an old friend. Though colonisation made it fashionable to keep dogs, people wanted to keep dogs which our colonial overlords favoured. As a result, local breeds never stood a chance. 

If I am to generalise, I can say that dogs are either kept by the elite or by people living in rural areas. Since our nobility was impressed by the white ‘master’ race, we imported most of the European breeds into Pakistan and saturated dog shows with pedigree breeds from mainly Germany and the United Kingdom. Just to give an idea of diversity, in my neighbourhood alone there is a pair of Great Pyrenees mountain dogs and three Shar Peis (originating from China). 

I know the struggle faced by the owner of the Pyrenees in Lahore, who just wanted to have a large, white dog. Shar Peis suffer from an assortment of skin diseases which require frequent visits to the vet for treatment. These ailments are not limited to exotic breeds alone; German Shepherds and Rottweilers are rather common breeds but if they survive the initial canine parvovirus, they may be afflicted with a variety of genetic issues, such as hip and elbow dysplasia and arthritis. Severe line breeding over an extended period of time to strengthen cosmetic features of these breeds robs them of their health and virility. It’s not easy to watch them suffer and the inability to save them is a crushing feeling. Also, those fat, pudgy Labradors with diabetes just fill your heart with immense sadness.

Local breeds, compared to the foreign ones, are far more resilient and with a stronger immune system. I have yet to see a Bully Kutta (Pakistani Mastiff) suffering from hip or elbow dysplasia or a severe crippling genetic defect. Neither have I come across a Bakarwal with any skin infections nor the local old-timey Bull Terriers suffering from heatstroke. These breeds were bred for our climate. Bull breeds of Pakistan have a predominantly thin, white skin with black nose and leaner bodies. All these traits that are also found in Bos Indicus cattle, developed in the subcontinent, help in heat dissipation. This was not by accident but by design — a design which is perfect for our local climate and weather conditions. 

The sturdy-hearted indigenous dog breeds are less demanding and provide the same joy to their human friends, yet they are maligned and neglected. Even the Kennel Club of Pakistan (KCP) has done nothing so far for the standardisation of our local breeds and their inclusion in dog shows. Commercial breeders just want to breed what sells; this, in turn, creates further demand and acceptability of certain breeds — all European unfortunately. I made the mistake of taking a grand Bully Kutta to a dog show just for laughs once. It was amusing to see how ‘uncool’ it was considered as it is assumed that only lesser people will keep such rustic breeds. Standardisation appears to be a monumental task if not supported by KCP. 

Interestingly, the Pakistani Bully Kutta and its variants, along with Bull Terriers, are mostly kept by people with less than noble intentions. They are mainly used for dog fighting, which has, on the one hand, kept the breed alive and helped it survive complete extinction and, on the other hand, is an extremely cruel blood sport. Even with laws against it, we haven’t been able to control or stop it. Police, unfortunately, are often among the spectators. Dog fighters rarely care about pedigrees; all they want is to win and earn more by gambling. Consequently, they have introduced various breeds into the already diverse pool of Bully Kutta bloodlines.

Let’s have a look at two of my favourite indigenous dog breeds. 

BULLY KUTTA

The word ‘Bully’ in its name actually comes from the Punjabi or Hindi/Urdu word ‘bohli’ which means ‘heavily wrinkled’, and ‘kutta’ of course means ‘dog’. Known as ‘The Beast from the East’, this powerful mastiff breed is also referred to as Indian Mastiff and Pakistani Mastiff.

Bully Kuttas were used by the Persian Army as guard dogs and were introduced in Greece by Xerxes I, when he marched towards this country in 486-465 BC. The Bully Kutta originated in and around the desert area of Kutch, the Rajasthan and Bahawalpur region of Punjab. A part of the Kutch in Rajasthan was under the Sindh District and so the other name for this breed is Sindhi Mastiff.

Even though the Bully Kutta cannot muster high speed, they can easily pin prey down which requires immense power. They were also used for hunting, alongside the Kumaon Mastiff and sight-hounds like the Rampur Greyhound. With time, however, most people forgot these breeds and the Bully Kutta became rare. This breed is loyal, healthy and very dependable because of its knack for relentless guarding. The breed is highly sociable and surprisingly trainable. Socialising is key from an early age.

The Bully Kutta has a short, smooth coat that is usually predominantly white in colour. However, fawn, black, harlequin, red and brindle markings vary. The muzzle is black and the skin around their neck and mouth is loose. The brisket is deep, and the limbs are well-muscled. The back is long, with the tail tapering to a fine point. The ears are set high on the skull and pricked. It has a long and graceful stride. The males vary from 32 to 40 inches and females from 28 to 36 inches in height. Thick-boned and muscular, they usually weigh 150 to 170 pounds and can reach up to more than 200 pounds, especially males.

Long-legged and wide-chested, the Pakistani Bully Kutta is an agile and resilient Molosser breed, capable of great speed and known for its impressive stamina. The head is large, with a strong muzzle and well-developed jaws. A pure Bully Kutta is also famous for its characteristic tiger-like movement, which sets it apart from other breeds.

Very intelligent and noble, the Bully Kutta is an extremely powerful guard dog loved and worshipped abroad by the most enthusiastic canine lovers. With proper socialisation and appropriate training, it makes an amenable companion for responsible and knowledgeable owners. 

BAKARWAL DOG

If you like fluffy, smaller shepherd dogs, you can opt for the Bakarwal Dog. Bakarwal and Gaddi Dogs both are descendants of Tibetan Mastiffs. Gaddi and Bakarwal are names of two herding tribes of Indo-Pakistan. People of the Bakarwal tribe are traditionally shepherds. Their dogs do most of their herding in the mountainous northern regions of Pakistan and Kashmir. The Bakarwal breed is even rarer than Bully Kutta as they produce one small litter of about one to three puppies per year.  

A decade ago while in Kashmir, I saw a large herd of sheep and goats shepherded by three beautiful Bakarwal dogs coming down a descent. I looked for the tribesmen who owned the herd but there was no human with this party.

After waiting, we continued our journey up and finally met the family of the Bakarwali tribesmen coming down. I asked them why their herd was alone and they themselves were kilometres behind. The chief proudly stated that “the dogs know their way.” Bakarwal dogs tending to that herd had made this trip a few times and their owners not only completely trusted them to keep the sheep safe, but knew that their dogs would not harm anyone along the way — unless of course, they messed with their sheep. 

Since this breed isn’t standardised, there can be various strains, but most notable features are long silken fur, small folded ears, tail held high on the back and they are hairier around the ears and legs. These are large dogs, with size ranging from 20 to 24 inches. Bakarwals have a happy disposition and are extremely intelligent and trainable. Although they prefer colder climates, they can happily live in warmer regions as well. They are pretty much disease-free and come with no known genetic disorder or defects. They do require a firm hand and need socialising from an early age. I have never seen a breed with better guarding and protecting abilities.

While the Western population is drifting away from keeping pedigree dogs as pets and focusing more on rescue dogs from shelters, our society has yet failed to catch up and embrace all animals that need homes. Hundreds of stray dogs on the streets are mistreated — and even poisoned — but people still prefer to get their hands on pedigree pups. I hope that while we are quick to follow other social media trends, we will also accept the idea of rescuing local dogs and providing them with homes. This will not only make people realise that our local dogs are much more suited to our lifestyles and the country’s climate, but it will also solve the problem of overpopulation of strays. Let us learn to be unselective in our love for dogs.

Email: suhaib.ayaz@gmail.com

Published in Dawn, EOS, August 26th, 2018