Muffled barks, deep throated growls and excited yelps were all overwhelmed by the excited ‘oohs and aahs’ of the crowd that had gathered at the dog show organised by the Madurai Canine Club at the Thamkukam Convention Centre on Sunday.
10-month-old Ammavasi, a champion Rajapalayam, had come all the way from Pollachi. For his owner Raja Rajan, an engineer working for Bosch, dog breeding is a passion. He has native breeds and also foreign breeds like Great Danes.
Talking about the interest being generated among the public regarding Indian breeds, he says it’s a very welcome sign. Earlier, tracing the lineage and getting the Kennel Club of India (KCI) certificate was limited only for foreign breeds but once the KCI recognised the Indian breeds it was proving to be helpful. “Till recently there has been a lot of inbreeding among native breeds’‘, Mr. Rajan says and adds that it had resulted in genetically inherited health problems. “It was due to this that Rajapalayam dogs began showing signs of deafness and blindness. There were also issues of hip dysplasia among some native breeds. But now with the KCI certificate we can retain the purity of the particular breed by diversifying its mating by checking the lineage,” he says.
