Rampur Hound - The Exotic indian breed - The Rampur Hound is a rare and smooth-haired Sighthound from North India. It evolved in the fiefdom of Rampur, which lies between Delhi and Bareilly. The ruler of Rampur, Ahmed Ali Khan Bahadur, wanted to create a swift and fierce breed for the dangerous past-time of hunting wild boars, and so interbred good native dogs with foreign breeds like Tazis, Afghans, and English Greyhounds. The result of these intermixtures was the Rampur Hound. The Rampur Hound is a tall, elegant dog, powerfully-built with a deep though not broad chest, a slim, high waist, and long, straight legs. The feet of the Rampur Hound are its most distinctive feature – they have long, arched, and webbed toes, with powerful claws. Such feet give the Rampur Hound a good, cat-like grip and facilitate its speed too. The tail, which is long, thin, and tapering, is carried low to the ground with an upward sweep towards its end. The Rampur Hound has small, dark-rimmed eyes that are usually light-coloured, small, curved ears, and a broad head. The muzzle, another distictive feature, is long, narrow, and pointed. The jaws have a powerful grip. The coat comes in several colors – grey, brindle, fawn, brown, white, black, piebald, but black is the color usually preferred by the native breeders. Rampur Hound males stand around 18-27 inches tall and weigh around 38-40 kg. The females stand around 15-25 inches tall and weigh around 36-38 kg.