Chippiparai, Kombai and Rajapalayam are some of the Indian dogs used in earlier days as hunting dogs. People's eyes always seem to fall for beauty and this is the reason for neglecting our own Indian breeds. We are in a sad state that these Indian breeds have decreased so much in population that many breeders have started selling the cross breeds of our Indian dogs at very exorbitant rates. At the Sunday pet market in Broadway, Chennai, these breeds are priced from Rs.5000 to Rs.20,000.
S. Theodre Baskaran, an animal lover and nature conservationist, has written 'The book of Indian dogs' where he has compiled the history of Indian dogs. He says that compared to other animals, dogs weren't given much prominence as an elephant or a cow and that is one of the reason for the lowly status of dogs. He says "The people who handled dogs were working class people, like farm hands, grazers, trappers and hunters, so Indian breeds were never taken seriously". During the British period, a large number of dogs were imported and they got all the attention so the upper class Indians, who were more inclined towards western life style and pastimes, like golf and cricket, began to raise these foreign breeds.
Ramper hound is a very common Indian hunter dog which was used by Maharajas. Rajapalayam dogs belong to South India and are known for their loyalty and Kombai is considered an intelligent and powerful native breed. These breeds are all now in the verge of depletion.
Vinod Kumar, who has been in Animal Welfare Board of India for the past 20 years and currently the GM of Blue Cross, says that these dogs are predominantly hunting dogs, which no longer have a part to play and this has caused a steep depletion in their population. "People are more interested in single owner watch dogs like Rottweilers which are ferocious towards all except their owners, whereas our Indian breeds are compar—tively friendly" says Vinod Kumar.
Compared to the foreign breeds even the maintenance costs for Indian dogs are lesser and they are adaptive to all weather conditions unlike the Huskies which should be kept in cold temperature. "People want appreciation from others for owning exotic breeds- they forget that a dog's love is the same, no matter which breed", adds Vinod Kumar.
Muralidharan SIvalingam, founder of Indian Center for Animal Rights and Welfare, says that their aggressive nature may be the reason for neglect. "These dogs, especially Rajapalayam, Kombai and Chippiparai are ferocious in nature. But people want a friendly companion in their home so they opt for foreign breeds. The best they can do is to adopt a Indian mongrel and give it their love", suggests Muralidharan.
