The Story of Dog Breeds of India
My love for dogs is not complete without acknowledging Indian dog breeds. It will be unfair to miss out on their rich heritage and ancestry, and not give them the importance they deserve. The breeding of Indian dogs is on the decline, many indigenous breeds have already disappeared over time, due to the lack of conscious effort required to actively maintain the breed quality. There are not one but many reasons for their decline that we will cover through their story of evolution.
In ancient times, dogs were bred in the plains of India to chase quarries like blackbuck, hares, etc.
Life in ancient India was very functional and the practice of domesticating dogs was limited to the purpose of using them as work animals, similar to elephants and horses. It's only now we have acquired the habit of keeping dogs as pets, and love them like our family. To understand the history of Indian dogs, we need to understand the history of India.
An old study during British India suggests there were more than 50 distinct Indian breeds.
In ancient times, dogs were bred in the plains of India to chase quarries like blackbuck, hares, etc. This explains the structure and stockiness of Indian breeds, as opposed to toy breeds such as Poms that were brought by the British to India or pointed noses of other retrievers and pointer breeds that European countries had. To withstand the hot and humid temperatures of Indian plains, these dogs generally had a short and smooth coat. What this meant was very little to almost no grooming was required to maintain them.
When compared to their European counterpart, the practice of minimum maintenance helped Indian dogs develop resiliency, and as a result, they tend to suffer fewer medical illnesses. This also means that the concept of grooming and dog shows is very foreign to these breeds, and has been lately adopted due to influence from our western counterparts.
How have the Indian breeds become resilient
India had hundreds of years of invasion that give its uniquely rich, cross-cultural, and diverse heritage. However, this led to the dilution of the Indian dog gene pool. Our theory is that during all these invasion years, dogs from across the world were brought to India and were cross-bred with the Indian breeds, to improve their temperament to Indian weather conditions.
This is especially evident during the colonial invasion when retrievers and pointers from England were imported into India, such that they can be cross-bred with native Indian breeds with the purpose of using them for hunting sport. Britishers were enchanted with the wildlife in India, the perfect amalgamation of nature and humanity, and they explored it by indulging in hunting. Native breeds of India were bred for chasing rabbits etc and did not fully serve the purpose of fetching the hunt. However, Indian breeds were homegrown in the harsh Indian weather conditions and could withstand the hot weather conditions, thorny bushes, and dry plains.
European dogs had been purposely bred for retrieving and fetching. Crossbreeding gave the best of both worlds. But more and more of this led to the decline of pure indigenous breeds. Once importing of foreign breeds started, dilution of the Indian breed gene pool was inevitable. An exception to this can be seen in the dogs found in the Himalayan region. Given the ease of access to Indian plains and terrains, the hilly regions of India were less affected by active invasion and foreign settlement. As a result, we see original Himalayan dog breeds still intact which are more popularly known as Tibetan terrier, Mastiffs, etc.
The current scene
Even today, it is sad to know that the craze for non Indian breeds is so rampant that there is a pure lack of knowledge and negligence about native Indian breeds. The native breeds which were originally bred for chasing quarries have also lost their purpose with hunting being banned in India, from the emphasis on wildlife conservation.
An old study during British India suggests there were more than 50 distinct Indian breeds. At the moment, there is so handful (10-15), and actively declining. We hope to spread some active awareness about Indian breeds through this platform. If you are considering adopting a pet, we would encourage you to find out more about Indian dog breeds before you make that choice. And if not help out NGOs in your area who are involved in promoting awareness about indigenous breeds.
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