[aditya.86]

Originally Posted by Sankar

8 years later, last week, I have brought home a Rajapalayam pup. Brought it from a village near its namesake town of Rajapalayam. Haven't had proper sleep since last 4 to 5 days But now we kind of understand each other and sleep routines are returning to normal.

Sankar, Congrats and some pics please.

Originally Posted by Sebring

Let me answer that. Dogs give out this oil that keeps their hair lush, and in time this gives out a smell (dust attaches to its coat). If you have an independent house and open space, this will never bother you but in Apartment living, you do get a smell. Dogs need to be walked twice a day, and the mud cakes up between their toes. The same dog gets on the couch and bed, so a bath is a must. My dog loves the lush foamy stuff and extends his palm while actually looking forward to a bath!

I guess that is the reason we need to bathe them once in a while. It looks like more a personal hygiene thing than the dog actually needing a bath.

[Iyencar]

Originally Posted by Sankar

8 years later, last week, I have brought home a Rajapalayam pup. Brought it from a village near its namesake town of Rajapalayam. Haven't had proper sleep since last 4 to 5 days But now we kind of understand each other and sleep routines are returning to normal.

Congratulations! I am very very interested in knowing more about your pup.

• How did you choose the breeder? I heard a lot of unscrupulous guys are claiming to breed Rajapalayams and can be found accosting passengers at the local bust stops claiming to have purebred puppies.
• How is the temperament? My understanding is that the breed is a naturally ferocious one
• Do you have other pets and babies? Being a hunting breed does it do well in this situation?
• The white colour is due to a recessive gene which may promote deafness. Any truth to this?

Looking forward to puppy pics! Also, do get Theodore Bhaskaran's "The book of Indian dogs". It is the only well researched data available on these dogs. Link

[Sankar]

Originally Posted by aditya.86

Sankar, Congrats and some pics please.

Thanks Aditya.

Originally Posted by Iyencar

Congratulations! I am very very interested in knowing more about your pup.

• How did you choose the breeder? I heard a lot of unscrupulous guys are claiming to breed Rajapalayams and can be found accosting passengers at the local bust stops claiming to have purebred puppies.
• How is the temperament? My understanding is that the breed is a naturally ferocious one
• Do you have other pets and babies? Being a hunting breed does it do well in this situation?
• The white colour is due to a recessive gene which may promote deafness. Any truth to this?

Looking forward to puppy pics! Also, do get Theodore Bhaskaran's "The book of Indian dogs". It is the only well researched data available on these dogs. Link

I went through a known contact who gave me the lead of a genuine breeder. Saw both the parents of the puppy at their farm, the dame was well socialised and roaming around and greeted us with her nose and a lick when we went there, the sire was chained and was standing on top of a partly demolised shed. His return trip home to tvm was in an amazon basics metal cage and he was very silent apart from the occasional call to let us know he is there.

I have heard about the same and is said to be in puppies with blue eyes, mine has dark blue eyes but he is responding to sounds. Checked this at the time of picking him up. As a puppy he is very affectionate and his temperament so far has been nice and since he's teething likes to chew though i discourage chewing on hands/legs/clothing etc. We don't have any other pets or babies now.

I have that book, but I was expecting more breed/dog specific info rather than the brief history on the Rajapalayam/Poligar breed. There it disappointed me. I wish the book atleast had a photo of one or two dogs from each breed mentioned in it, that is another disappointment. Internet is still the better alternative to learn from about this dog.

[Thad E Ginathom]

To a non-dog person, a house where dogs live will always have some dog smell. I experience this when visiting dogs.

They tell me that cats have some smell too. My wife tells me they do! I will have none of it. I always just tell my wife that cats smell great! No need to mention that I am a cat person!

I do acknowledge that it is sometimes necessary to bath a filthy animal. I have even washed cats when really necessary, such as when one arrived home having obviously fallen in the filthy, muddy, street ditch.

Yes, I am a cat person, but I grew up with dogs. Unlike cats, dogs sometimes seek to, and take pleasure in, getting really filthy. Or even in getting covered with something revolting. At times like that, whether they like it or not, it is, of course necessary to bath the animal if it shares our living space.

I would say that it is actually unnatural to bath dogs, and bad for the oil balance in their fur. I don't agree that it is necessary to remove that oil to prevent it gathering dust. This is kept in balance by the grooming that dogs to to themselves, helped by our grooming with the right brushes. Dogs do not get filthy greasy hair like we do if we go without washing it for a few days (and there is another point of view to that too --- offtopic!). Certainly dogs do care about their cleanliness, even if not quite as obsessively as cats. As I said before, even the street dogs are usually clean.

Having made the claim that washing is unnatural, I have to say that it occurs to me that dogs swim! Is that a good counter-argument? Maybe. Although, of course, they do not swim in shampoo.

I'm sure I haven't persuaded any of the bathers to stop. There we go our separate ways, bathers and non-bathers

[Singh09]

Lost our loving, sweet, bold, ferocious and at times cunning Doberman (SHAWN) last week. May he RIP. He was 16 years old and gave us a reason to smile every time we saw him. Was a very responsible guy, dare anyone could enter the 1000 sq meter premises without his approval, even monkeys were not allowed to touch the ground under his supervision. Even 6-7 feet walls were no match for him when he used to be in playing or attacking mode. LOVE and RESPECT..!

[digitalnirvana]

Sorry for your loss. Shawn is beautiful. RIP and hopefully one day you will meet him again.

[Thad E Ginathom]

RIP Shawn. Very sad to loose a friend after so many years.

[blackasta]

One of my cats (a female of about 4 years) suddenly fell ill from Friday morning. She was dragging her hindquarters and was in extreme pain if touched there.
I had given her pain medication (hympyrin) and planned to take her to the vet on Saturday evening. Unfortunately, she has been refusing food from last night, and passed away on Saturday evening.
The reason behind such a quick deterioration is a mystery to me, and she has no bite marks or wounds anywhere, but one of her rear legs felt like jelly (the muscle part) right before she breathed her last.
We are pretty sure that no other cat / dog has hurt / bit her.
She was laid to rest in the garden, beside another of our cats who passed away last year (her maternal uncle).

Originally Posted by blackasta

The poor soul had been refusing food since last night, and passed away a few hours back (late evening) in our garage.
Just finished burying him in the garden.

Down to 2 cats now in the household, a male of 4+ years and his grandma, a female of 13+ years.

[digitalnirvana]

Sorry for your loss. RIP missy. Too young to go. It is heartbreaking.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Sorry, blackasta.

There is good news there: that grandma is still around at 13.

[condor]

Originally Posted by Sankar

8 years later, last week, I have brought home a Rajapalayam pup. Brought it from a village near its namesake town of Rajapalayam. Haven't had proper sleep since last 4 to 5 days But now we kind of understand each other and sleep routines are returning to normal.

Congrats, Sankar. These hounds are typically mature and intelligent. However, they will need a lot of exercising daily so that they burn off their energy and then settle down for the rest of the day. Now inactive TBHP-ian RipperGeo has a Chippiparai, and shares his activities on FB.


I feel that these few native breeds still retain their instincts compared to the other breeds which have got domesticated too much (just look at all the videos of dogs being afraid of cats).

[shashanka]

Originally Posted by Sankar

8 years later, last week, I have brought home a Rajapalayam pup. Brought it from a village near its namesake town of Rajapalayam. Haven't had proper sleep since last 4 to 5 days But now we kind of understand each other and sleep routines are returning to normal.

I'm glad that you got a Rajapalayam hound. Another member on the forum (vickzkool) had a lab and a Rajapalayam back in 2015 when I last corresponded with him. His parents are devoted to the breed too and travel to Rajapalayam regularly to get additions to the menagerie! He gave some interesting nuggets of information about the breed, including the fact that some of them are currently being used as guard dogs by the forces at the Kashmir border. And that they were originally used as hunting / guard dogs during the erstwhile Nayak dynasty in Tamil Nadu.

We have stuck to boxers for the past two decades. As you mentioned earlier, we too had misgivings about their getting sufficient workouts as they are also a hyper active breed. Fortunately we have a small park opp our house in Lucknow, so their getting their workouts has not been an issue. And the current members are both geriatrics so physical exercise is not too much on their minds!

[Sankar]

Originally Posted by condor

Congrats, Sankar. These hounds are typically mature and intelligent. However, they will need a lot of exercising daily so that they burn off their energy and then settle down for the rest of the day. Now inactive TBHP-ian RipperGeo has a Chippiparai, and shares his activities on FB.


I feel that these few native breeds still retain their instincts compared to the other breeds which have got domesticated too much (just look at all the videos of dogs being afraid of cats).

Thanks sir. I can dedicate more time to the dogs now and these do require more energy from my side and it is good for both of us. You are right regarding the natural prey instincts, the pup is small but that chase/hunt instinct is there and comes out from time to time.

Originally Posted by shashanka

I'm glad that you got a Rajapalayam hound. Another member on the forum (vickzkool) had a lab and a Rajapalayam back in 2015 when I last corresponded with him. His parents are devoted to the breed too and travel to Rajapalayam regularly to get additions to the menagerie! He gave some interesting nuggets of information about the breed, including the fact that some of them are currently being used as guard dogs by the forces at the Kashmir border. And that they were originally used as hunting / guard dogs during the erstwhile Nayak dynasty in Tamil Nadu.

We have stuck to boxers for the past two decades. As you mentioned earlier, we too had misgivings about their getting sufficient workouts as they are also a hyper active breed. Fortunately we have a small park opp our house in Lucknow, so their getting their workouts has not been an issue. And the current members are both geriatrics so physical exercise is not too much on their minds!

Thanks Shashanka! Pockets in TN have people breeding these native dogs in its original form and it makes sense to get them from the source as on date. And being in a village farm the animals have enough place to roam around, be healthy and be a dog.

Another interesting thing is that the places these breeds are named after and supposedly said to have been originated - Rajapalayam, Chippiparai, Kombai are all towards the western side of Tamilnadu and close to the western ghats.

[shashanka]

Originally Posted by Sankar

......Another interesting thing is that the places these breeds are named after and supposedly said to have been originated - Rajapalayam, Chippiparai, Kombai are all towards the western side of Tamilnadu and close to the western ghats.

That is certainly a point of interest. Perhaps the local population - the aristocracy & landed gentry specially - of this region developed a particular fondness/affection for our canine friends! Be that as it may, the result is a very happy one. These marvellous animals - rare as most of them are - and the people who breed them have kept a great tradition alive.

I remember that when my wife & I saw a Rajapalayam for the first time at a Mumbai dog show, we thought it was a whippet. Till we were informed by the organizers and found out some facts about the breed!

[shashanka]

Originally Posted by Singh09

Lost our loving, sweet, bold, ferocious and at times cunning Doberman......

This is the saddest phase in pet ownership - to lose a companion of so many years. And you are indeed lucky to have had him for so long. But I would suggest to you (and I'm sure other pet lovers here would agree) that you and your family get another pet (pup preferably) soon. This helps in getting over the loss since the family rallies around in getting the new addition organized into the household routine.