Dog-breeding in Pakistan is a hobby that goes back decades, and today consists of both veterans and rookies. When done correctly, it is considered a sport with a single objective: enhancing breed bloodlines and producing stronger dogs.

In Pakistan's landscape, the sport is run by a handful of names who all know each other and often share rivalries. Older breeders are particularly puritan in their approach, and consider new members to be mere dealers, especially when they 'breed' two or three kinds of dogs.

They believe that people who breed for their pockets cannot claim the title, since what they are essentially doing is running a puppy mill.

Here are five breeders from across Pakistan, each breeding spectacular dogs in purpose-built facilities and puppy mills alike.

Alice is a bittersweet thing to watch. Gaunt and golden, she leaps into view, tail wagging, tongue out, skittish and sly. Her sunken flesh sags under her wide-set brown eyes, which protrude Gollum-like. Her coat fits loosely across ribcage, implying she once had more weight on her, but even though she is weak, she looks happy. Only the leash and tug of her handler, Ramzan, can contain her.

In this dilapidated two-part house in Satellite Town, the rooms are cold, wet and uninsulated, with some thirty odd dogs wild and raging in the confines of their cages: Rottweilers, Labradors, American Pitbulls.

Raja Uzair Ahmed is gracious and inviting. He juggles two tennis balls in his pudgy hands, explaining how his dogs are registered with their various breed specific organisations such as the Rottweiler Club of Pakistan (RCP) and the German Shepherd Dogs Club of Pakistan (GSDCP).

These groups, he says, work to organise shows and keep a check on pedigrees and breeding standards. But Labradors have no such club, so faking a Lab’s pedigree is easy business.

“You just print out the papers from the KCP (Kennel Club of Pakistan), fill them in and they sign it,” Ahmed says. “You can’t do that with the Rottweiler and German Shepherd Clubs.”

Currently a Business Administration student at Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology (SZABIST), Ahmed is an upstart, new to dog-breeding when compared to his peers. As an only boy, he was spending recklessly until he met Dr Faisal— a family friend— who runs a popular clinic in Islamabad. Dr Faisal showed him the ropes, gave him most of his dogs, and got him into dog-breeding.

“We try our level best to have every sort of breed for our clients.” Ahmed’s Facebook page, H’s Kennel Club, advertises not only Labrador pups, but also those of American Pitbulls, Rottweilers and German Shepherds. He claims he spends around Rs600,000 on his dogs’ monthly maintenance; he mainly wants to keep the breed of his stock as varied as four to appeal to all clients— but as a rookie, this statement could be considered problematic by others.

As Imran Akbar Khan says, “A breeder— a good breeder— will never dabble in two or three different breeds. Every breeder has a core breed.”

Imran Akbar Khan is a real estate investor by profession, and the most zealous of all the dog-breeders we meet. “You have to be fanatical for this hobby,” he states simply.

Khan is a Labrador breeder, even though he hasn’t bred a litter since late 2012. He has sold much of his “stock” from his kennel— called Lab Temptations— in 2013, with the sole purpose of enhancing his stock.

Khan’s hobby traces back to his childhood days, when he was into different breeds (Rottweilers, German Shepherds and Dobermans). Initially, he had non-pedigree dogs, from anyone and everyone.

He has kept one from his old stock; a small, golden British Labrador called JoJo. She’s in the company of her friends, Diago, a hyperactive Polish import, and Lew, a black Lab imported from Serbia with striking brown eyes that veer towards auburn. Khan says he won’t breed them yet, they’re all still too young.

When he decided to opt for breeding as a “proper hobby”, he switched to pedigreed dogs. This was in 2002 – since then, he has only been breeding Labradors.

Many breeders call this work a hobby, or a “dog sport”. No legitimate breeder cited this “hobby” as a primary source of income, and Khan is very particular about those who do.

“Always go to a good, renowned breeder,” stresses Khan. “A breeder will never put his position or his reputation at stake.” Khan knows the ease with which pedigrees can be faked, but believes that he cannot operate as a Labrador breeder without his reputation.

As a member of the Gun Dog Club of Pakistan, he recognises the need for breed-specific clubs for all dogs to keep a check on pedigrees and organise shows. Until recently, reputation was all that a Labrador breeder could cling to, until the Labrador club of Pakistan was formed last year. The Club is still in process of acquiring members, handling pedigree and kennel registrations, and appointing breed wardens.

“Is he breeding to enhance or improve the breed? Or is he doing it for his pocket?” Khan asks. “If he’s doing it for his pocket, don’t visit him— he’s not breeding, he’s running a puppy mill!”

Afzal Mirza opens the gate, welcoming us to the barking of dogs, all kept in separate kennels. There is a Lab, two Shepherds, and a Rottweiler, though the sheer volume and depth of barking means there must be more. Mirza later explains that these are boarded dogs whose owners are out of the city and have temporarily asked hosts to keep them for a fee. It is just one of the services Margalla Kennels provides.

Mirza, who is foremost a dealer, has specially built this place for his dogs.

The compound lies against the backdrop of the Margalla Hills, and consists of a square interior ground, a single-story yellow house, and two rooms on the roof for dog-keepers. A paniflex advertisement runs along the chain-link fence, beyond which is an assortment of canines: Labradors, German Shepherds, Belgian Shepherds, Rottweilers and an Afghan Kuchi.

In a purpose whelping room is a chocolate coloured Lab, Choco, who recently gave birth. An infrared light keeps her and the pups germ-free and warm. This is his fourth or fifth litter of the year, and the first time only one out of four whelping rooms is occupied.

Margalla Kennels is spacious, its keepers are efficient and the dogs look healthy, their coats shining. The place feels like nirvana, Mirza’s trophy room is littered with medals, trophies and shields; these are mostly participatory.

A typical dealer such as Mirza keeps multiple dogs (pedigree and non-pedigree) and breeds multiple litters each year. “A dealer is like a car dealer,” explains Aadil Bangash, the Rottweiler Breed Warden of the North. “He’ll have all the cars lined up. He’s selling Corollas, this and that too, but he can’t say he has a Mercedes showroom.”

It’s simple: Mirza can’t claim to have the best breeding program, because he is not committed to any one breed.

Adil Bangash is a Rottweiler breeder who claims to be a founding member of the Rottweiler Club of Pakistan; he is also the breed warden of the North for the RCP. As breed warden, he with other members of the committee advises the club's Managing Committee on all matters pertaining to the breed registry.

Bangash is responsible for the certification and pedigree of Rottweilers within Islamabad and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Bangash has to conduct a thorough inspection called a breed survey or “ZTP”, to ensure that the Rottweiler to be registered (adult or pup) adheres to the physical and psychological standard characteristics of the breed.

Bangash is indisputably a warden— he doesn’t hesistate from banning dealers from shows and disqualifying dogs that don’t pass the ZTP. Bangash is well-respected in the breeding community; Imran Akbar Khan refers to him as “good–very good” with Rottweilers; Dr Faisal recommends him often, and kennel owners in Lahore often redirect people to Bangash.

Bangash feels Rottweilers are the best breed. Nothing can sway him from this claim; he greets his dogs with “Meri beti!” or “My girl!” and is meticulous in how they are presented before camera. He insists on their grooming before one can click a picture and even then, he fusses about the angles, the frame, the topline of his dogs— everything needs to be up to his standards. They are, after all, show-quality dogs with reputations that need to be upheld.

At a friend’s kennel in G-11, Bangash shows us some of his dogs that are boarding there. Colour and Smoke, for instance, are Siberian Pandas, imported for personal reasons rather than breeding reasons. There are many others— Shih-Tzus and Pomeranians— but his “babies”, the Rottweilers, are safely at his kennel in F-11.

Hasan Shamsi’s house has a bright red automobile peeping through the gate shutters. The interior of the house is fancy, and his dogs are as classy as the rest of the place: They only listen to commands in German.

Like Bangash, Shamsi is a breeder, and the breed warden of the North— but of German Shepherds, and for the GSDCP, respectively. Like Bangash, he is primarily responsible for approving litter pedigrees of German Shepherds in the Islamabad/Rawalpindi area and KPK.

Shamsi has four dogs at his kennels: a beautiful male called Reko, and three females, two of whom are imports. The third one, Dixie, is a product of his own breeding program. She is lithe and stunning with a regal white ring of fur around her neck and back, and also the only one Shamsi will not let out with his children around.

“She’s fine with me,” he says. “It’s others she’s unpredictable around.” He laments how good help is hard to find, especially when work concerns his dogs. For this, he has hired Sohail, the dogs’ keeper.

But his favourite is Janger. Her real name is Tracalex Frinka; Tracalex is her former her kennel name from the United Kingdom, and Frinka is her real name. “Janger’s like a nickname,” Shamsi explains.

She’s sweet and gentle; her expression is epitome of the phrase “puppy-dog eyes” when she sees her favourite red ball in Shamsi’s hands— she is desperately pleading. “She also attacks on command.” Shamsi adds with a laugh.

Shamsi doesn’t consider Reko, Dixie and Hannah, the third female (a Polish import) as his “pets”. He admits to attachment and love for them, but he is also committed to dog-breeding as a sport. Only Janger, who has been with him the longest, is close enough to his heart to be considered most pet-like.

Credits

Reporter

Shehzil Zahid

Text edit

Sadia Khatri

Photography:

Shehzil Zahid

Ramsha Syed

Video

Shehzil Zahid

Ramsha Syed

Special Thanks

Minahil Shahab

Minaal Shamimi