Guardians.dog
The Guardian Dog Encyclopædia
Home · Breeds · North Indian Hounds

Rampur Hound

Rampur Greyhound · a North Indian Nawabi sighthound — not a livestock guardian
Height
56–76 cm
Weight
23–32 kg
Lifespan
—
Coat
—
Classification
KCI-recognised · Sighthound
Also known as
Rampur Greyhound · North-Indian Greyhound · Rampur Dog
Origin
Rampur, Uttar Pradesh, India (between Delhi and Bareilly)
Conservation
No confirmed FAO DAD-IS or IUCN status in available sources
Living reference. Compiled from ongoing research and updated as new studies are found. Each section is tagged with its evidence strength, and gaps are marked “data not yet collected.”

The Rampur Hound is a tall, lean North Indian sighthound — not a livestock guardian. It is a coursing hound built for speed, created in the princely state of Rampur in Uttar Pradesh by crossing the Afghan Hound (Tazi) with the English Greyhound.2 Historically it ran down game for the Nawabs and Maharajas, and today it is retained mainly as a coursing dog and is being taken up as a modern military and paramilitary working dog.1 It appears on this site as a documented non-guardian, to mark that boundary: there is no livestock-guardian tradition for the breed in the available literature.

I History & origins Documented

The Rampur Hound takes its name from the Rampur region of Uttar Pradesh, between Delhi and Bareilly.1 Its creation is credited to Nawab Ahmad Ali Khan Bahadur, ruler of Rampur, who is said to have crossed the Afghan Hound (Tazi) with the English Greyhound to produce the modern hound — inheriting speed from the English Greyhound and its appearance and stalwart character from the Afghan Hound.2 One widely repeated account frames the breed as descending from early Tazis, with its present-day look owed to extensive 19th-century crosses to the Greyhound to improve speed.1 Historically it was kept by Maharajas and Nawabs for coursing. In 2005 it appeared on the India Post native-dog stamp set alongside the Rajapalayam, Himalayan Sheepdog and Mudhol Hound.10

Recognition & standard

  • 1794–1840Reign of Nawab Ahmad Ali Khan Bahadur of Rampur, credited with crossing the Afghan Hound (Tazi) with the English Greyhound to create the modern Rampur Hound
  • 19th c.Extensive crosses to the English Greyhound refine the breed's speed; its present-day appearance dates from this period
  • 2005Featured on the India Post native-dog stamp set (with Rajapalayam, Himalayan Sheepdog and Mudhol Hound)
  • 2020ICAR-NBAGR registers India's first native dog breeds; states the Rampur Hound "will soon" be characterised (not completed in available sources)
  • 2025BSF induction reported as planned, alongside the Mudhol Hound
  • 2026Appeared at the Republic Day Parade

II Physical & conformation

Recorded coat is not established. A full physical profile — coat structure and care, climate tolerance, skeletal conformation and sexual dimorphism — is not yet collected for this breed.

III Working role Documented

The Rampur Hound's documented role is that of a coursing sighthound — running fast, covering long distances and hunting game by sight and speed for the Rampur Nawabs.2 In modern times it is reported to be retained as a coursing dog and is rarely kept as a companion.1 A newer role is emerging in India's military and paramilitary services: its induction by the Border Security Force is reported as planned alongside the Mudhol Hound, for tasks such as explosive detection, guard duty, tracking and border patrol.57 This is a modern working-dog niche — parallel to, but distinct from, the livestock-guardian role. There is no livestock-guardian tradition for the breed in the retrieved literature; it is a documented non-guardian boundary case, not a flock-bonded guardian.

IV Behavioral profile Qualitative

The Rampur Hound is a sighthound, and the trait reads below are qualitative impressions drawn from its documented coursing role — not measured behavioural scores. No breed-specific behavioural study of the Rampur Hound appears in the available sources, so traits that are not described are shown as gaps rather than guessed. As a coursing hound it carries a strong prey drive and the endurance to run fast over long distances,2 it is not a flock-bonded animal, and it is reported to be rarely kept as a companion.1

WatchfulnessData not yet collected
Independence / initiativeData not yet collected
Flock bondingLow — not a flock dog
Prey drive toward stockHigh
Barking tendencyData not yet collected
Dog-to-dog toleranceData not yet collected
Energy levelHigh
Novice-owner suitabilityLow

VI DNA & origin research Data not yet collected

No breed-specific population-genetics, SNP or whole-genome study of the Rampur Hound appears in the available sources, and its lineage has not been placed in any published genetic cluster. A recent genome-wide SNP survey of indigenous and exotic dog breeds in India did not sample the Rampur Hound.8 Work on the wider Tazi (sighthound) germplasm references the Tazi lineage in general terms rather than the Rampur Hound specifically9 — consistent with the breed's documented descent from early Tazis, but not itself a genetic characterisation of the breed. Its molecular ancestry is a documented gap.

The Rampur Hound is a composite North Indian sighthound whose closest points of comparison are its two documented parent stocks and the other formally recognised Indian sighthounds it is grouped with. It is also said to resemble the North African Sloughi in appearance.1 The breeds below are its main points of comparison and confusion — not a claim that they all share one clade.

Afghan Hound (Tazi)GreyhoundSloughiMudhol HoundRajapalayam

VIII Conservation & status Documented

No formal conservation status for the Rampur Hound is confirmed in the available sources. It sits outside the FAO DAD-IS core livestock food-species, and no FAO or IUCN listing could be confirmed or denied. Its official-recognition status in India is partial and still in progress:

The breed is recognised by the Kennel Club of India,1 but it does not appear on the retrieved ICAR-NBAGR list of registered native dog breeds — which at the time listed the Rajapalayam, Chippiparai, Mudhol Hound, Gaddi and Changkhi.3 In its 2020 announcement of India's first registered dog breeds, NBAGR stated that the Rampur Hound was among the breeds that "will soon" be characterised; as of the retrieved dataset that characterisation had not been completed.4 Its national visibility is otherwise cultural: the 2005 India Post native-dog stamp and a 2026 Republic Day Parade appearance.610

IX Setting the record straight

"It's a livestock guardian dog."
The Rampur Hound is a coursing sighthound bred to run down game by sight and speed. There is no livestock-guardian tradition for the breed in the available literature; it is not a flock-bonded dog that lives out with sheep or goats.
"An ancient, unchanged Indian breed."
The best-documented history is a 19th-century Nawabi creation — an Afghan Hound (Tazi) crossed with the English Greyhound in Rampur. Claims of ancient origins beyond that documented court history are not supported by the sources.
"Just an Indian Greyhound."
It descends from early Tazis (Afghan Hound) with heavy Greyhound crossing to improve speed, and is said to resemble the North African Sloughi — a distinct North Indian sighthound, not simply a Greyhound.

What we're still learning

Solid, published information on the Rampur Hound is limited. Its creation is documented to the court of Nawab Ahmad Ali Khan Bahadur of Rampur, but there is no breed-specific genetic, health or population study in the available sources, and its molecular ancestry has not been characterised. Its Indian official-recognition status is partial — recognised by the Kennel Club of India, but ICAR-NBAGR characterisation was still pending as of the retrieved snapshot. The reported Border Security Force induction is 2025 news and may not yet be operational, and the breed's population size and conservation status are not confirmed.

Sources

  1. Rampur Greyhound — Wikipedia. Identity, naming, descent from early Tazis, phenotype (56–76 cm, 23–32 kg), colours, resemblance to the Sloughi, and modern coursing role. en.wikipedia.org. encyclopedia · secondary
  2. Times Now. How the Nawab of Rampur created India's iconic Rampur Hound — Afghan Hound (Tazi) × English Greyhound creation history. timesnownews.com. history · journalism
  3. ICAR-NBAGR. Geese, Duck & Dog Breeds of India — registered native dog breeds list (Rampur Hound not listed). nbagr.res.in. registration · registry
  4. The Tribune. A first, genetic institute registers 3 dog breeds — NBAGR states the Rampur Hound "will soon" be characterised. tribuneindia.com, 2020. registration · journalism
  5. The Indian Express. Rampur and Mudhol Hound dog breeds to be inducted by BSF. indianexpress.com, 2025. working role · journalism
  6. Times Now. The Rampur Hound: dog with Nawabi roots that appeared at India's Republic Day Parade. timesnownews.com, 2026. cultural · journalism
  7. The Hindu. A made-in-India hound for the Army — Indian military/paramilitary working-dog programme for Indian sighthounds. thehindu.com. working role · journalism
  8. Kaur, B., Yathish, H., Kashyap, N., Mukhopadhyay, C. Phylogeographic and genetic diversity analysis through genome-wide SNPs in indigenous and exotic canine breeds owned in India (Rampur Hound not sampled). Discover Biotechnology, 2025. doi:10.1007/s44340-025-00012-3 genomics · not breed-specific
  9. Ahlawat, S., et al. Tazi (Sighthounds): A lesser known canine germplasm — references the Tazi lineage generally, not the Rampur Hound specifically. 2020. germplasm · lineage context
  10. India Post (via Rajapalayam and Himalayan Sheepdog breed records). 2005 native-dog stamp set featuring the Rampur Hound, Rajapalayam, Himalayan Sheepdog and Mudhol Hound. en.wikipedia.org. cultural · philately