Indie Dog: Everything About India’s Own Desi Dog

What is an indie dog

An indie dog is India’s own native dog, the Indian Pariah Dog. The word indie is short for indigenous. He is not a mix, a mutt, or an accident. He is a landrace, a dog shaped over 4,500 years by the Indian land itself instead of by kennel clubs. You will hear him called many names, desi dog, desi kutta, INDog, pye dog, street dog. They all mean the same loyal, hardy, street-smart friend who has lived beside us since the Indus Valley.

He appears in cave paintings older than most countries. He sleeps at the corner of your colony, follows your morning walk, and asks for nothing but a scrap of roti and a kind word.

This is India’s native dog. Adapted by millennia of natural selection to the heat, the dust, the streets, and the homes of the subcontinent. He is not a “mixed breed” or a “mutt.” He is shaped not by kennel clubs and breed standards, but by the land itself.

And if you’re considering bringing a dog into your home in India, he is, without exaggeration, the single best choice you can make.

This guide covers everything: what indies are, where they come from, how they behave, what they cost, how to train them, what to feed them, and most importantly: where and how to adopt one.

Before we tread any further it is worth reiterating, what we so often say here: Please choose to adopt a dog against buying one. When you choose to adopt, and not shop, you help rescue a less fortunate pup to a way better life.

What’s more rewarding than that?

Indian pariah dog – best dog for Indian home

The absolute best dog for an Indian home is an Indian pariah dog. Also referred to as desi, mixed breed, mutt or an indie dog, almost interchangeably.

This native dog breed is also called Desi Dog, Desi Kutta, Indian Feral Dog, Indian Pariah Dog, Indian Pye Dog, Street dog breed as well as South Asian Pariah Dog.  The most common dog breed found in India, they got their name during the pre-independence British era. 

‘Pariah’ means an outcast – a more misfitting travesty couldn’t have been there — unlike all other exotic breeds, these dogs are native to the Indian subcontinent and make an excellent pet or guard dog. 

Indian Pariah Dog at a Glance

Indie dog temperament and personality

 

Indian street dogs (Indian pariah dogs) are extremely alert & social.

Highly intelligent, and amicable, they’re one of the most versatile and adaptable dog breeds found in India. Desi dogs are loyal, loving, and street-smart.

Indian Pariah dogs make for loving family pets and are great with kids and adults. They are high on energy and complement kids with an active lifestyle.

Desi dogs have incredible Immunity

The immunity level of indie dogs is far better than foreign breeds, they’ve perhaps the best gene pool for Indian conditions. Having evolved through the generations to suit themselves to sub-continent conditions, Indian pariah dogs are least susceptible to the diseases that the pedigree often fall prey to.

Indie dog health and lifespan

This is where the indie quietly wins. Built by natural selection rather than bred for looks, the Indian Pariah Dog carries one of the strongest gene pools of any dog in the country. They rarely suffer the hip, breathing, and skin troubles that follow many pedigrees, and they regularly live thirteen to sixteen years, longer than most foreign breeds.

Your part is simple. Keep their vaccinations and deworming on schedule, feed them well, keep them active, and see a vet once a year for a check up. Do that and an indie will give you well over a decade of company.

 

What to feed an indie dog

Indies are not fussy eaters. Generations of making do with whatever the street offered have given them a stomach that handles Indian home food better than most pedigrees. That said, a few scraps of roti alone will not keep a dog healthy.

A simple, balanced bowl for an adult indie looks like this:

• A protein base, boiled chicken, eggs, fish, or paneer for vegetarian homes
• A carbohydrate, rice or roti
• Vegetables, carrot, pumpkin, spinach, or beans, lightly cooked
• A spoon of curd for gut health

Feed an adult dog twice a day. Puppies need three to four smaller meals. Keep fresh water out at all times, more so through the Indian summer.

A good quality kibble is fine if it suits your routine and budget, but you do not need an expensive imported brand to raise a healthy indie. Keep onion, garlic, chocolate, grapes, and anything heavy with masala, salt, or sugar far away from the bowl. When in doubt, check with your vet before adding something new.

Grooming an indie dog

Indian pariah dogs have minimal grooming needs

Indie dogs are low-maintenance when it comes to grooming and vet visits. Most of them have a short coat which helps withstand India’s tropical climate. Although they do shed through the seasons, the absence of an undercoat ensures there’s no hair all over the household.

Since they have a short coat, regular brushing is good enough to keep them groomed thus not taking much of your time or effort. Pariah dogs have significantly fewer oil glands on the coat, which helps prevent odour. 

Indian dogs or pedigree dogs?

Purebred or pedigree dogs are either bred for a specific purpose – Newfoundlands as water rescue dogs or are native to a specific location – Tibetan mastiff who thrives in the Himalayas but not so in the humidity of Mumbai or summers of Delhi.

“Hankie, my dog, is a native Indian dog. I found him on the streets as a puppy. When she was a puppy I thought she was a guy so named her Hank Bukowski. (That changed to Hankie) Never like the people who buy specific breeds of dogs just because they think it looks good without thinking if the dog is suitable for living where they are. A lot of people don’t even take care of those dogs once they realize you have to put in the effort every day.” ~Suranjan Das

How much exercise does an indie dog need 

Indies carry the energy of a dog built to roam. A bored indie digs, chews, and barks, so give that energy somewhere to go.

For most adult indies, aim for:

• Two walks a day, thirty to forty five minutes each
• A game of fetch or tug to tire the mind along with the body
• A sniff walk now and then, where the dog leads and explores at its own pace

They settle into flat life happily as long as they get out and move. A dog who is walked and played with is a calm dog at home.

 

Indian pariah dogs are one of the oldest dog breeds in existence today. 

Archaeological findings indicate that this dog was in existence some 4500 years ago. Excavations in the Mohenjo-Daro site found in the Sindh region of Pakistan (Indus Valley civilization) revealed a Pariah dog skull dating to 2500 BCE. Also, there are various cave paintings across the Indian subcontinent that hints at pariah dogs to be one of the oldest dog breeds in the world.

“I wish to say a word or two on behalf of the common dog of the country, the unjustly despised Pariah…the true Indian Pariah Dog, mostly red in colour. That we have neglected this animal as a faithful companion, good watchdog, and excellent assistant in many field sports there is no doubt…”

– Lieut. General W. Osborn, in the Bombay Natural History Society Journal, 1903

Why adopt an Indian pariah dog/desi dog?

Indian Pariah dog is the all-rounder for the Indian conditions – temperature to temperament to training. You’d be surprised how smart they are with real-life scenarios, a skill that comes to them by surviving on the mean streets.

The desi dogs are a versatile breed – skilled, sturdy, and well adapted to India’s tropical climate, these dogs make for excellent companions.

Indian pariah dogs are extremely adaptable

Adjusted to rural or city life, desi dogs can adapt to farmhouse or apartment living with equal ease.

Indian pariah dogs make for great companions for senior citizens

Senior citizens need dogs who are moderately active and not temperamental. Indian pariah dogs with their friendly demeanor and independent lifestyle make for excellent companions.

Training an indie dog 

Here is the happy truth, indies are among the easiest dogs in India to train. They are quick, food motivated, and keen to please the person who earns their trust. The Uttarakhand Police and West Bengal Police both proved it, putting rescued strays into elite sniffer squads where they outworked German Shepherds and Labradors.

Start early and keep it kind. A few things that work:

• Reward what you like, a treat or a word of praise the moment it happens
• Keep sessions short, ten minutes is plenty for a puppy
• Stay consistent with your words and house rules so the dog is never confused
• Socialise from day one, let your pup meet calm people, vehicles, and other vaccinated dogs
• Never hit or shout, fear breaks the bond and slows everything down

An indie who trusts you will pick up sit, stay, recall, and leash manners faster than you expect.

Indian Pariah Dog price in India

Here is the most honest number in this guide. An indie dog costs almost nothing to bring home. Most shelters and rescues ask for somewhere between zero and ₹500, and that usually covers a first vaccination, sometimes sterilisation too. Compare that to ₹15,000 to ₹80,000 for a pedigree puppy.

The real cost of any dog is never the price tag. It is the food, the vaccinations, and the care across all the years that follow. On that count too the indie is kind to your pocket, since they stay healthier and need fewer vet visits than most breeds.

Stray dogs are easily trainable.

Uttarakhand Police adopted a stray dog and trained him alongside other foreign breeds – the Indian pariah dog proved out to be the top-performing member of the dog squad!

Proving once again that all that the stray dogs need, is a chance.

Earlier, a stray dog named Asha (meaning ‘Hope’) was rescued from the stone-pelting children by West Bengal police. She was bleeding when she was taken inside the campus. 18-months later, she has emerged as the top dog in an elite bomb- and drug-sniffing squad.

She proved out to be a match to the police German Shepherds and Labradors, sniffing out drugs and explosives like TNT. 

Before you adopt…

Adopting a dog is a full-time responsibility. You’d have often heard people drawing parallels like having a dog is like having a child and yet so many new pet parents don’t realize how much work a dog is until they get their first dog.

Unfortunately, what goes wrong, so often is the fact that most people who get a dog don’t really anticipate the dog’s needs. They get a breed that is completely inappropriate for their lifestyle, accommodation or climate. Hence you’d see someone watching Beethoven and opting for a Saint Bernard in a Delhi apartment.

Roll over a few months and you wouldn’t be surprised to see these exotic breeds left tethered to a chain at the gates of the house, their exercise routine soon becomes a pain-point – delegated to kids (who may get bored after some time), then relegated to maids and in worst cases abandoned at shelter homes.

Pictured it? Probably you’d have come across such cases too which aren’t just abjectly inconsiderate but downright cruel.

Where and how to adopt an indie dog

The best part, you do not have to look far. Indies wait for homes in every Indian city, in shelters and on the very streets you walk each day.

Three ways to bring one home:

1. Visit a local shelter or rescue. They know each dog’s temperament and will help you match one to your home and routine.
2. Adopt a street pup from your own colony. If a friendly litter lives nearby, your vet can guide the first vaccinations and deworming.
3. Reach out to independent rescuers on Instagram and Facebook, who foster and rehome indies across the country.

If you are in one of these cities, start here:

• Dog adoption in Hyderabad
• Dog adoption in Chennai 

We hope you will choose to adopt and be a hero to the homeless. Whichever dog you bring home, take care of her and never leave her, not in the face of Armageddon nor a pandemic.

If this guide helped, share it with someone thinking of bringing a dog into their life. The dog who waits for them may not have years to wait.

See: Dog adoption Guide

Indian street dogs are street-smart & social. They’ve perhaps the best gene pool for Indian conditions. https://t.co/gCVsqrRfxQ

They are loyal, loving, and low-maintenance when it comes to grooming and vet visits.

Do you have a desi dog as your friend? 🐕#desidogs pic.twitter.com/cXaXhr60jN

— Abhishek Joshi 👨‍💻🐶 (@kaalicharan) May 14, 2020

Also see: Native Indian dog breeds

 

Indie dog FAQ

What is an indie dog?

An indie dog is the Indian Pariah Dog, India’s native landrace breed. Indie is short for indigenous. It is the same dog people call desi dog, desi kutta, or street dog.

Are indie dogs good pets?

Yes. Indies are loyal, intelligent, low maintenance, and well suited to the Indian climate. With early socialisation they are wonderful with children and other pets, and they make fine family dogs and watchful guards.

What is the price of an indie dog in India?

Almost nothing. Most shelters rehome indies for free or for a token fee up to ₹500, which often includes a first vaccination. There is no reason to pay more for a desi dog.

How long do indie dogs live?

Indie dogs usually live thirteen to sixteen years, longer than most pedigree breeds, thanks to their natural immunity and hardy build.

Do indie dogs shed a lot?

They shed lightly through the seasons. With a short single coat and no thick undercoat, a weekly brush is enough to keep hair off your floors.

Are indie dogs aggressive?

No. Indies are friendly and social by nature. As with any dog, behaviour comes down to how they are raised. A loved, socialised indie is gentle and affectionate.

Can indie dogs live in apartments?

Yes. Indies adapt easily to flats as long as they get a couple of walks and some playtime each day.

If this guide helped, please share it with someone considering bringing a dog into their life. The dog who waits for them may not have years to wait.

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