Bully Kutta vs Indian Mastiff

Most people tend to believe that Bully Kutta and Indian Mastiff are one and the same breed. However there is ample evidence that this may not be true. Here are a few facts which distinct Bully Kutta from Indian Mastiff.
The word Bully Kutta literally means Bull Dog. The word Kutta means 'Dog' in Hindi/Punjabi.

Modern Bully Kutta(via Wikipedia)

1] Bully Kutta is a recent creation - a crossbreed of Mastiff, Bull Terrier and Old English Bulldog. Interestingly a similar crossbreed was (now extinct) Cordoba Fighting Dog. The Cordoba Fighting Dog was so dog aggressive that the male and female would rather fight than mate. In addition, many members of this breed died in the dog fighting pits, contributing to the breed's extinction.

Both Bully Kutta and Cordoba Fighting Dog are identical on few counts -
(1)serious dog aggression.
(2) inability to hunt in packs and
(3) White coat color.

The white coat colour in Bully Kutta is because of the presence of Bull Terrier blood in them.

Cordoba Fighting Dog(via Wikipedia)

Cordoba Fighting Dog(via Wikipedia)

These facts put the Bully Kutta breed in contrast with the Indian Mastiff which were mostly red/fawn-brindle in color and were extensively used in hunting.


2] Historical accounts confirm the presence of large dogs of mostly red/fawn and brindle coat. Bully Kutta on the other hand have mostly white coat with black patches or pure black coats.

The following painting shows Mughal Akbar hunting with dogs. Please note the red and fawn color of the dogs. Also note that none of the dogs have wrinkles around their muzzle like Bully Kuttas.

(via Wikipedia)

3] Indian Mastiff were used used for hunting deer and bucks which shows that they were capable of hunting in packs. Bully Kutta are dog aggressive and hence not suitable for pack hunting.

All these facts put together point to the same fact - "The modern Bully Kutta is not the same breed as was the ancient Indian Mastiff as described by Pliny and Aristotle".

Pliny's Natural history also refer to these dogs but mix them up with the Cynocephali. These Cynomones had dogs which originated from the Babylonian dogs. They are described as big, strong dogs; as big as Hyrcanians and ideal for fighting lions.
Aristotle writes many interesting things about the "Indian Dog". He claims that the Indian Dog is a cross between dog and tiger. Only the third generation can be used as the first two are too aggressive. The bitches were tied up in an isolated spot when on heat, many were eaten by the tigers. It is interesting to see that Pliny repeats this story. Nowadays it is naturally impossible for a dog and a tiger to cross; at least not today. Needless the say the Indian Dogs are brindle dogs.

4] Indian Mastiffs are a guard dog breed; Bully Kuttas are not
Pakistanis claim that Bully Kuttas make really good guard dogs. However if we look at the list of white dogs we find that most of them are either Hound or Terrier type. The few which are in fact guard dog breeds are mostly used to guard sheeps and come from mountainous regions. Being white give them an advantage. They can hide among the sheep or use their white coat colour to mix with surrounding snow.