Common nicknames: South Asian pariah dog, Pye-dog, INDog, Desi dog, Desi Kutta.

The Indian pariah dog, also known as INDog, South Asian pye-dog and Desi Dog, is a landrace of dog native to the Indian subcontinent. They have erect ears, a wedge-shaped head, and a curved tail. It is easily trainable and often used as a guard dog and police dog. This dog is an example of an ancient group of dogs known as pye-dogs. The ancestors of this dog may date back 4,500 years ago.

Though most street dogs in the Indian subcontinent are Indian pye-dogs, the names for this breed are often erroneously used to refer to all urban South Asian stray dogs although some free-ranging dogs in the Indian subcontinent do not match the “pariah-type” and may not be pure indigenous dogs mixed breeds, especially around locations where European colonists historically settled in India, due to admixtures with European dog breeds.

Appearance

It is a medium-sized dog of the square to slightly rectangular build and short coat. The dog has a double coat, a coarse upper coat, and a soft undercoat. The most commonly observed colours are browns, ranging from dark to reddish-brown, with or without white markings. Solid blacks are rare, but some dogs are pied. Shaded coats, brindles, solid white and dalmatian-type spotting are never seen in pure populations. These may be a sign of mixing with modern breeds, as they are only seen in dogs in cities and other sites where non-native dogs have been introduced.

The head is medium-sized and wedge-shaped. The muzzle is pointed and is of equal or slightly greater length than the head. The neck is noble and the forequarters are erect. Hindquarters are minimally angled. The trot is short. The eyes are almond-shaped and dark brown. The ears are held erect and are pointed at the tips, with a broad base, set low on the head, and the tail is curled and held high when excited.

Names

The namesake of this breed was given during the British Raj in India after the Pariah tribe of the Madras Presidency. From the Anglo-Indian word pye or paë and Hindi pāhī meaning ‘outsider’, the Indian pariah dog is sometimes referred to as the pye-dog (also spelt pie or pi) and the Indian native dog. It is popularly known as Desi Kutta or Desi Dog (which derives from the Hindustani word desi, meaning native), as well as the Indi-dog or In-dog (in various spellings).

People in Northern India and Pakistan call it “Desi Kutta” which means native dog in Hindustani. In Bengali, they are named as “Neri Kukur”. In Himachali, they are named as “luru”.

In the Assamese language, these native dogs are termed as bhotua (kukur).

This breed is known as “Naadan” in Malayalam (Kerala),

“Naatu Naai” (country dogs) in Tamil (Tamil Nadu),

“Oora Kukka” in the Telugu language, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

“Ooru naai” in Kannada,

“Gavthi Kutra” in the Marathi language in Maharashtra and

“Bhusya Kukkur” in Nepal.

It was referred to in the works of Rudyard Kipling as the “yellow pariah dog”

History

The pariah dog of India is an ancient autochthonous landrace that is found all over India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and even beyond South Asia. A pariah-like dog skull was discovered in the ancient Indian site of Mohenjo-Daro and prehistoric rock art depicting a dog of similar type has been found in the Bhimbetka rock shelters. It was featured on National Geographic Channel’s film, Search for the First Dog along with the other related ancient types such as the Canaan Dog of Israel and the Australian dingo.

The Indian pye-dog was introduced to the Andaman Islands with the establishment of a penal colony there, dogs have been previously unknown to the native Andamanese.

Despite the Indian pariah dog is highly intelligent and easily trainable, the breed was intentionally downplayed during the British Raj by merchants who wished to sell their foreign breeds within the country. Their popularity in the West in recent years, however, has resulted in hundreds of dogs being exported out of the Indian subcontinent.

In 2015, a breed standard was published in the Indian Kennel Gazette, the publication of Kennel Club of India, and the dog has been recognized by the Primitive and Aboriginal Dog Society (PADS), a worldwide grouping of enthusiasts based in the US.

Some in the society view these dogs as a risk citing their increasing population in India in recent years. They consider these dogs as menace and nuisance owing to constant barking and biting people. Nevertheless, most of these attacks are caused due to human provocation like hitting them with sticks or throwing stones at them. The numbers of dog bites and deaths due to dog attacks are increasing every year. Since these dogs are largely not vaccinated, they frequently carry rabies.

Temperament

Pariah dogs are very alert and social. They are used as guard dogs and police dogs, being very territorial and defensive. They need good socializing as pups and do well with families and children if provided with such socialization. They are highly intelligent and easily trainable; to this end, veterinarian Premlata Choudhary stated that “desi dogs are much more intelligent and hardy than most pedigreed dogs that people spend so much money on.”