Gaddi Kutta Care

The Gaddi Kutta, often called the Indian Panther Hound, is a Mastiff breed that was developed in the Himalayan region of India. And true to their Mastiff roots, these dogs are protective of family members, and reserved and even aggressive towards others. While they're not the best choice for family pets, Gaddis are loving and intelligent--and the best news is that this hardy breed doesn't require a great deal of maintenance. Below you'll find plenty of details on caring for a Gaddi Kutta: puppy development, exercise needs, diet and nutrition, and more. For answers to all your questions about raising a Gaddi Kutta, read on!

As a large, athletic Mastiff breed, daily Gaddi Kutta exercise is important in keeping these dogs healthy, happy, and peaceful. Gaddis are both extremely intelligent and very protective, so finding suitable daily activities for them can be a challenge; while they need and enjoy long daily walks, they can be difficult around other people and animals, so walking in a remote area is best. And it almost goes without saying that a visit to the local dog park is not at all recommended! Gaddis have a history as herding dogs, so any farm work or similar activities are great.

The typical adult Gaddi Kutta, depending on its age and overall activity level, will need about an hour of proper exercise each day. You can begin exercising a Gaddi pup at three months of age by taking it on short (10-minute) leashed walks, then increasing the walks' length and frequency as the puppy grows. It's also a good idea to obedience-train a Gaddi puppy during the leashed walks: from the beginning, have the puppy walk beside or behind you on the leash instead of being allowed to lead. This will establish you as the puppy's "pack leader," and should make further training easier as the dog matures.

Some thing to keep in mind when exercising your Gaddi: first, puppies younger than nine months old shouldn't participate in activities that include a lot of jumping, running, or navigating of stairs, as doing so can injure their still-developing joints and bones. And regardless of age, a Gaddi absolutely must be leashed when in public. Due to their protective nature and high prey drives, these dogs will be difficult to handle around strange people and animals, so careful control of your Gaddi is a must when you're out and about. Gaddi Kuttas also suffer greatly in hot weather, so it's best not to exercise your Gaddi in hot weather.

Precautions aside, a Gaddi Kutta will benefit from exercising every single day. If bored or restless, a dog of this breed will exhibit behavioral problems like disobedience and major destructiveness; these dogs are very task-oriented, so an under-exercised Gaddi will likely create its own "task"--namely, tearing up any- and everything around. So consistent Gaddi Kutta exercise will benefit both the dog and you. A few exercise ideas:

• Walking: Two 30-minute walks per day is a good target
• Obstacle Course: Set up a series of jumps, climbs, and tricks in the yard
• Swimming: Great for hotter days
• Tug-of-War: Excellent indoor activity; use a rope or old towel
• Hiking: Perfect bonding activity; best if the hike is in a remote area where to dog can be off-leash

When indoors, it's a good idea to give your Gaddi Kutta access to one or more balls or chew-toys that will allow the dog to burn any excess energy. It's also recommended that you establish a consistent daily exercise schedule for the dog, such as walks after breakfast and dinner and a play period in the afternoon.

In terms of shedding and drooling, maintenance required for Gaddi Kutta dogs is moderate to high overall. Shedding is seasonal, and high during shedding season, and drooling is likely frequent as well.

Gaddi dogs have medium-length, double-layered coats that shed moderately for most of the year, and more profusely during the spring and fall shedding seasons. Owners will need to brush their Gaddi dogs once or twice per week (and more often during shedding season) to help minimize the shedding, and will probably need to vacuum the floors and use lint rollers on clothes and furniture fairly regularly.

And as a Mastiff breed, Gaddi Kuttas will probably drool in anticipation of food, after drinking water, and when particularly hot and panting. Owners can keep old rags or towels handy in the rooms the dog spends time to clean up excess slobber; if your Gaddi's drool is especially bad, you can tie a bandanna or old towel around its neck to prevent its neck and chest from getting dirty and stinky from the drool.

The Gaddi dog diet is of utmost importance in keeping these dogs healthy, fit, and long-living. Gaddi Kuttas are big, muscular, and athletic, so they'll need food that has plenty of animal proteins and carbohydrates for energy, plus some omega fatty acids for coat and skin health. Ideally, the best food for a Gaddi is a raw diet consisting of lean meats, fresh fruits and vegetables, eggs, fish, and other protein sources--but many owners find such a diet for their dogs to be too expensive and time-consuming. The most popular and sensible choice among owners is premium dry food, particularly the kind made for large breeds. While more expensive and difficult to obtain, premium food will provide plenty of the above-named nutrients, which a Gaddi will require in order to stay healthy. Owners are urged to not feed their Gaddi dogs only cheap, generic dog food, as it simply doesn't contain enough nutritional ingredients to sustain a Gaddi Kutta throughout its life, and may well shorten the dog's lifespan.

And just how much of this premium food will a Gaddi need each day? Quite a bit of it--but not as much as you'd think. Dogs of this breed have lived for centuries in relatively meager, stark conditions, and have thus developed by not eating as much food each day on average as other similar large breeds. The typical adult Gaddi Kutta, depending on its age, size, and activity level, will need 4-4½ cups of food per day, divided into two meals. A Gaddi puppy, again depending on its age, will need 2½-3 cups per day, divided into three meals (not two) until six months of age. It's a good idea to feed a young Gaddi large-breed puppy food for its first nine months, then you can transition to adult food by mixing the two types for a few days. It's also recommended that you establish a regular feeding schedule for your Gaddi so the dog becomes used to eating at the same time every day.

For further details on feeding a Gaddi Kutta from puppyhood through maturity, see the following chart:

*--Around this time, transition to adult food by first mixing in just a bit of adult formula with the puppy formula. Over the course of a week, with each meal add a little more adult food to the mixture until the dog is eating it entirely.

It's best to try and stick to the above-listed portions; while your Gaddi could probably eat a lot more, a dog of this breed that's constantly overfed can easily become obese. A fat Gaddi Kutta will have joint, breathing, and digestive problems--and carrying around the extra weight may shorten its already comparatively brief lifespan (10-12 years) even more. You can control your Gaddi's weight in several ways: by maintaining consistent feeding and exercise schedules, by not feeding the dog table scraps, and by not leaving food in the dog's bowl all the time (which allows it to eat anytime it wants). It's better to put your Gaddi's bowl down only at mealtimes, then pick it up 20-30 minutes after the dog begins eating.

If you're worried your Gaddi Kutta is overweight, give the dog this simple test: run a hand along its side, and if you can't feel any ribs, it's diet time. Reduce your Gaddi's daily food consumption by one-fourth, and add an extra walk or play period to its daily exercise schedule.

Gaddi Dogs are native to the mountainous terrain of the Himalayas which is known for being a snowy, cold, rough terrain. This breed will not tolerate hot temperatures so if the region is warmer they will need to be kept indoors.