Rampur Hound, other suggestions?

Has anybody ever heard of them? This might be reaching a bit, but has anybody ever met one?

I'm still on a mystical quest for a third dog that will mesh well with my two borzois. My favorite dogs to live with are still sighthounds, but my third dog requirement is that this one at least be a watchdog. The borzois are oblivious to people coming in and out of the house. So a dog that will be mad about strangers coming in the yard/inside would be awesome.

I considered a fila but decided not to get any LGDs until after Strider passes. He not exactly SSA, but he gets pretty offended by other males doing stuff that he lets toy dogs and females of any size get away with and with a big male dog it could easily turn into a bad fight. Also, I'll be renting for a while and renting with a LGD could be problematic.

Anyway, this is what I found about rampur hounds that was exciting to me:

http://rareindianbreeddogs.blogspot.com/2010/01/rampur-hound.html#
Honestly, if one got along with the borzois it sounds like the perfect dog. A sighthound that's a watch/guard dog. Plus I bet one would be an AWESOME hunting buddy. The size is right on par with my borzois too, 28-31 inches
and 75-ish lbs.



Augh! There's even an illustration of two zois and a rampur! lol


From what I was able to find, the only rampuri in north america died in 2007 or so? I'd love to talk to someone who has met some who isn't trying to sell me a puppy. Also (hypothetically) does anybody know how difficult it would be to import a dog from India? I'm more familiar with importing from OZ or Europe.

heard of them but that's it.
shouldn't be any different from importing from Oz except for cost.

Have you met any of the tazi types they're based on? In all the stuff written about the breed history it talks about wild and crazy tazis that were crossed with English greys to make the breed. I've always been really interested in the landrace sighthounds in the middle east, so if there's a more protective strain of something out there it's definitely something I'd want to look into. Have you met any taigans?

I know modern afghans in the states are more vocal and sometimes protective. I just don't know of any that still hunt.

no, but in a year or so if i'm lucky I might get the chance to see some real afghan tazis.

Lucky! If you do you'd better take pictures.

Tons of Afghans still course for hares. It's quite popular in the states but not a lot of people broadcast it becuase there are lots of people who have a problem with it, since it's just for sport and not food.
Plenty of Afghans are only to happy to make a racket when intruders appear. They might not want to tear them apart but they will put on a pretty impressive show! Have you considered Azawahks? I have talked to several people who own them and they are very standoffish and protective around strangers.

Here are is a group filled with sighthound people who know way more than I could ever hope too!
https://www.facebook.com/groups/122840451139904/

Awesome thank you! I remember my uncles old afghan being a really good guard dog, but he was also way out of standard (he was close to 30" at the shoulder). I'll check out that group.

Are azawakhs vocal about intruders? I've always loved them. Strider would protect me if a stranger tried to hurt me, he's really really oblivious when we're not on a walk. Last time someone tried to break in he slept through it (including the part where my sister started screaming) and continued to sleep through the part where the police came inside and talked to us for a while. He was only 15 feet away from them! Arrrgh! lol

Got an e-mail back from a taigan breeder today. They said protectiveness varies a lot by dog. Some dogs are really nervy and afraid of strangers, and will bark because they're scared but would never bite unless cornered. And then some are really brave and will stop a burglar coming into the house if their warnings are ignored.

Afghans are very similar to many Taigans, though both Taigans and Tazi's vary from country to country. Guarding varies greatly from Afghan to Afghan but they are a breed that is always alert and watching. Their reaction just depends if they decide it's worth the bother to react
My first Afghan would have gladly tore a stranger from limb if they entered the house/yard/her personal space and tried more than once to disassemble my cousin! I have one now which is a whole lot of noise and teeth but it's mostly fear aggression
They do put on a scary show though!
Just something to consider but I have spoken to several people who have said that of all sighthounds they have ever owned, Borzoi's were the best fit with their Afghan hounds and always got along great.

As far as Azawahk's many people say they are by far the most primitive sighthound, both in looks and in temperament. They have no problem making their displeasure known, often vocally, but all my experience with them is mostly rescues so that may play into it.
Here are some Azawahk groups to check out (can you tell what my Facebook wall is made up of at any given time!)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/23712567182/?ref=ts
https://www.facebook.com/groups/8304492137/?ref=ts
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Azawakh-Rescue/108642769197537?ref=ts

That sounds like Gavroche :rofl1:

I have never heard of the breed before, but they are beautiful! I love the look of most sighthounds, I swear one day I'll have one.

Saeleofu, apart from not being able to let them off leash in open areas, many sighthounds are some of easiest breeds to own...I mean to be owned by

Can I ask a question that isn't really related to the discussion? I mean, it is kinda as it's about sighthounds.

I read time and time again they can't be let off leash but then how do people hunt with them? Seems like if your dog takes off and you can never get them back they would make a pretty useless hunting dog.

ETA: I didn't mean for that to come off sounding argumentative it's something I've often wondered about and am genuinely curious.

the hunting is why they "can't be let off leash." that is really a pet/rescue attitude that comes about because the switch can flip at any time and a previously "cat safe" dog can take off after the neighbor's cat. one problem from that is they tend to have selective hearing while running and can be oblivious to everything resulting in their running infront of a car etc.
when i hunt & really want the best chance of catching stuff I put Sonic on a leash & slip him on game I spot. if i don't care about catching game I just let him run loose.

People don't just start walking through the wilderness with their hounds off leash. Usually you keep them on lead and slip them when game is sighted. They're not going to randomly run away once they've sighted a specific critter. When my guys are on a raccoon, they'll run until they catch it or it's in a tree. Once it's in a tree I have to drag them away, so no worries about losing them there. If they catch it, it ends up dead and then they're all proud and want to show me. It gives me a chance to catch up too.

Sight hounds can have fantastic recalls if you train them. Kaia's is amazing. Strider's is not so great, but since he's a boy he likes to stop and wizz on everything so I'm able to catch him, lol. It's definitely not a good idea to have them loose when you're walking around roads and places where zooming after a squirrel or car will make them dead.

eta: pops beat me to it, but yeah. that

I was going to suggest Azawahks as well. The ones that come to coursing here seem very protective and are very vocal about it. They act like GSDs when they are in their van LOL

Chiming in too on the off leash thing. Many sighthounds are regularly let off, in areas like deserted beaches or big open fields, places where there is little chance of getting nailed by a car when that instinct kicks in and suddenly they are deaf and running at 30 mph. That being said it has happened that a 100% reliable hound just finds something so tempting to chase that they get lost.
And there are the brats that have no intention of listening and just want to run and run and run.

Ok, was just curious. Most of the sighthounds I've met (Whippets, Saluki, Sloughi and Ibizan) I've met at the off leash dog park I go to (large but unfenced).

30 MPH? is yours missing a leg?

Strider turned in to one of those. He is banished from the beach. He decided his life's mission is to catch a great blue heron and tried following one across the mudflat at low tide.

He ended up cutting the crap out of his feet on the oyster beds and I totally ruined my clothes getting up to my waist trying to catch up to him as he ran several miles up toward Woodard Bay. He only stopped because some other dogs came down to the beach and he felt the need to pee on the stuff they were peeing on. :wall:

*giggles* I was wondering about the speed too...I know my parents' GSD could hit 30-35 easily in his prime (his previous owners ran him from their car, so when he bolted out the door as he often did at first the quickest way to catch him was to get the car - he'd run beside it and one of us would grab him and then we'd stop and get him inside the car and go home).

I think Logan can easily run 35+ MPH and he's not a sighthound. Though sometimes he likes to think he is lol.

It's the pokey nose.

Actually, his sire blew all the sighthound folks away at a fun run. All kinds of borzoi, greyhound, whippet, etc. owners were having problems even getting their dogs to complete the run. Some of the people were being all patronizing to Mel, saying, "Ah well, collies like to herd the lure but you can try."

Loki flattened out and ran and straight up coursed the entire freaking course. He was not herding and he knew it.