Post
by vishosingh » Fri Jan 05, 2007 11:45 am
hi guys first about the history:
There are two sides being disputed regarding the origins of these dogs -
1. That the Bully Kutta was developed during the British Colonial rule in India for sporting purposes - resulting from crosses of various Mastiffs and Bandogges brought from the west around that time.
2. That it is of ancient origin, and direct offspring of the Alaunt and Hyrcania dogs of Ancient Persia, as well as the legendary Assyrian Molossus - brought the Indian subcontinent by the Indo-Aryans invaders. There is evidence that Pakistan and India already had such Mastiff type dogs long before the arrival of the British, and are mentioned in the literature of Alexander the Great and Aristotle. Through early contacts between the Persian and Assyrian empires, and the Indus Valley civilization, it is possible that the large Mastiff type dogs of India and those of the Persians/Assyrians, have influenced each other.
The truth of those two likely lies somewhere in between. It is mostly found today in areas belonging to Pakistan - particularly in Punjab, Azad Kashmir and North-West Frontier Province. A local strain of Bully Kutta exists, which became known as the "Sindh Mastiff" and "Indian Mastiff". Inspite of its name - it hales from Punjab not Sindh.
The "Bully" in its name actually comes from the Hindi/Urdu word bohli - meaning heavily wrinkled. "Kutta" means dog. Due to the fact that the BK is not bred to a standard or have any kind of recognition - it is technically not yet a "breed", rather a type of dog. In Pakistan the term "Bully Kutta" can refer to any kind of very large Mastiff type dog.
Though in the past it has been used by criminal gangs for dog fighting, which is illegal in Pakistan, the majority are pets or used as guard dogs.
another theory :
Prior to the British occupation of the Indian Contingent the Indian geographical boundaries comprised the entire Pakistan and even Afghanistan and the entire Khyber Pass through which Alexander The Great invaded Samarkhand and subsequently India.
Prior to the invasion of the Greeks the Iranian traders would venture in this territory for trade and the Alaunts would come along with them and they must have been there long before Alexander invades Samarkhand.
During the time Alexander the Great would conquer Samarkhand and fall in love with the Princess of Samarkhand, a lady of legendary beauty whom many thought as a myth. He got married to the Princess of Samarkhand, Rushnak, whom he called Roxanne, as he found difficult to pronounce the name Rushnak. Alexander’s brief stay in Samarkhand (now Part of Afghanistan) for more than usual time allocated in his plan. His Assyrian Mastiffs and the Medians (known for their fighting breed), and the Indian Mastiff originally being in this region, might have mated to create the great Gawii, the Afghanistani Bulldog.
During this time when Gawii is fading fast, a drop or two of Gawii’s blood found its way into the available Alaunt (or its version), creating a specimen which when crossed with the Indian Mastiff achieved a formidable size and temperament to become the Bully Kutta.
Bully survived being light footed and longer nosed with the tough Gawii temperament, and it gained much deserved popularity.
The entire Indian continent being a princely state was divided into many kingdoms and each had their own preferences. So the Bully Kutta survived in being different forms and shape as per the zonal preferences. This went far into the history and after Pakistan was created, each and every zone would have its own type of Bulldog, or populary called Bully. This is where the confusion began. The Area of Kohat has their own version of Kohati Bull dog, Sargodha has their own type and the Indian Mastiffs (otherwise called Sindh Mastiff) in the Sindh Area and in the Bhawalpur area of Punjab, will also be called the Bully as they all belonged to the Bull breed.
The Kohati Bull Dog is known for its excellent guarding and hunting abilities but loosing its popularity recently due to their lack of proper attitude required for fighting.
With time, even crosses of Kooche Dog and Bully Kutta and even Tosa Bully mixes get accepted as Bully. It is a very confusing zone to locate a proper Bully Kutta. Buyers be aware, and do go to Pakistan for some research before buying a Bully Kutta, and watch the Bully kutta in its element and decide if you are capable of managing a dog and man aggressive dog as the Bully kutta in the first place.
However it is to be noted that every different versions had enough time to standardize and now breeds true to its type. But people living in the gray zone will exist everywhere and as long as the dog fights goes on these group of people will keep on experimenting and keep introducing various bull type mixes as Bully Kutta. This is how the Original Bully Kutta got lost.
However there are few (I mean very few) breeders in Pakistan and a couple in India who are breeding true Bully Kutta and try their best to keep them in their original shape and form. Mr. Hammad Hassan is one such Pakistani breeder who not only strives hard to breed Bully true to its type but also tries his best to restore the breed in its pristine form.
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