Gaddi Kutta

This ancient Molosser is thought to had been developed by the Asur King Mahidant of Meerut by crossing the wild dogs found in the Jamuna Khader region of India with the Sha-Khyi variety of Tibetan Mastiffs for hunting purposes. Similar to other breeds of the area and belonging to the lighter strain of Central Asian dogs, the Gaddi is an agile and powerful breed, used for trailing and confronting panthers and other large game in the past, although these dogs are rarely used by hunters today. Presently, this territorial and reserved breed is mostly employed to control livestock and to protect its master's property, as well as occasionally being pitted against other dogs, even though the Gaddi Kutta isn't really considered to be a fighting breed. Mostly found in India, it also exists in small numbers in neighbouring Pakistan, although not many examples are pure, with most of the lines reportedly having been crossed with the popular Bully Kutta breed and even containing some German Shepherd blood.

The Gaddi Kutta is intuitive, calm and gentle with its owner, making an agreable family pet when socialized properly, but it can be quite aggressive towards other dogs and strange people. Leaner than most mastiffs, the Gaddi is athletic, deep-chested and muscular, capable of great speeds and prized for its stamina. When left in its natural state, the tail curls over the dog's back. The ears are usually cropped short, although quite a few unaltered examples exist. Two main coat types are observed in the breed, the shorthaired variety and the more common, slightly fuller coat of medium length, somewhat shorter on the body with longer feathering on the chest, legs and tail. Although some dogs have small white markings, the Gaddi Kutta is usually solid coloured, with most dogs seen in lighter pastel shades, like cream, fawn and yellow, but brindle, brown and piebald dogs can be found as well. The size varies greatly and the dogs that are around 25 inches tall are the ones most commonly encountered, but there are also some specimens that can reach up to 31 inches or more in height.