Are you a Primitive Dog fan?: Deepa and assorted friends

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Deepa and assorted friends

Some pictures of Deepa - not our new puppy member from Goa, this is the Deepa who earlier lived in Navi Mumbai with owner Nicole Poyyayil. She shifted to Switzerland at the end of last year and is living happily with Nicole's family on a farm in Doerflingen.

Deepa is extremely sociable and was very pleased to meet Lalee and Bandra when I took them to her home in Navi Mumbai last year. Her curiosity about other animals is easy to see in these photos.

Photos: Nicole Poyyayil
Doerflingen,
Switzerland

7 comments:

Anonymous said...: ANIMAL WELFARE CLUB
GREETINGS

HAI I AM RAVI FROM INDIA I HAVE SEND THIS GREETINGS BEACAUSE IN MY COUNTRY WE ARE STARTING AN CLUB FOR ANIMAL LOVERS ALL AROUND THE WORLD SO IF YOU ARE INTRESTED PLEASE MAIL ME ABOUT YOUR OPINION IN JOINING OUR CLUB

OUR INTENTION
IS TO CREATE AN AWARENESS OF ANIMALS HAVE A RIGHT TO LIVE LIKE HUMANS
AND TO CREATE A CONNECTION BETWEEN ANIMAL LOVERS AROUND THE WORLD
AND TO GIVE GUIDENCE FOR THE PEOPLE WHO CARES FOR ANIMALS
AND GIVE SHELTER TO THE HOMELESS ANIMAL
HAVE A QUESTION HOW TO JOIN
JUST MAIL ME IF YOUR INTRESTED
IT IS NOT A COMMERCIAL CLUB IT IS A CLUB CREATED BY THE PEOPLES AROUND ME FOR ANIMALS
FROM
MEMBERS; April 6, 2009 at 7:33 PM
Anonymous said...: Lovely Pictures!
hey i see this dog is in switzerland. A friend of mine was planning to take a puppy to Sweden and from out enquiries, we have learnt that the puppy needs to be quarantined for atleast 6 months! Since both countries are in the EU I as wondering if you have any more information on taking a pet to the EU minus 6 months of quarantine.- June; April 9, 2009 at 5:36 PM
Rajashree Khalap said...: Hi June, there was certainly no quarantine for Deepa but she needed a microchip which Nicole imported. I don't know the rules for Sweden. I'll put you in touch with Nicole and also a lady in Germany who took an INDog there. They may be able to guide you.

best
Rajashree; April 9, 2009 at 6:31 PM
Veera said...: June,

EU countries have different rules for importing animals from outside EU. In general, in Sweden the rules are very strick. I Sweden coutries outside EU are divided into listed and unlisted countries according to rabies control situation of the country in question. And India (I suppose the puppy is coming from India?) is one of the worst rabies areas so I suppose it is among the unlisted countries from where it is not possible to import a dog to Sweden without quarantine. In my country, Finland, however it is less strick. It is possible to import from outside EU, even India, without the quarantine if the vaccinations, bloodtests for antibodies etc is done correctly and the animal comes through approved route with the owner or other person responsible. Your friend could first import the puppy to an EU country that does not require a quarantine and from there to Sweden but I don't know if Sweden would require the quarantine anyway because the animal is originally coming from outside EU. The dog would probably have to spend as long time in the other country as in the quarantine.

By the way, I found on the website of Sweden's Jordbruksverk (where these rules of importing animals are) a "warning" about adopting street dogs from foreign countries. According to Jordbruksverket it is not advisable to adopt homeless animals from such countries, not even through local rescue organizations, because the animals might be sick and unstable and pose a health risk for other animals. I found this warning very disturbing and even racist in some way (fear of immigrations seems to corcern animals as well!) and was very surprised to find an official statement like this.

Really nice pictures of Deepa! What an exotic surrounding for an INdog.; April 11, 2009 at 1:43 AM
Rajashree Khalap said...: Hi Veera,

Thanks very much for the information. The German lady just mentioned in an email that it was easy to take her INDog to Germany ten years ago, but now there are rules which make it very difficult to import dogs from outside the EU. It all comes from paranoia about disease and I suppose there isn't much we can do about it. I sometimes wish I could explain to people that the only diseases I've ever had were transmitted by humans and not animals! And also that aboriginal dogs, once vaccinated, are probably much healthier than most modern breeds in the EU and elsewhere :-)

Rajashree; April 11, 2009 at 5:05 PM
Rajashree Khalap said...: Ironically, the transfer of some diseases may have occurred the other way round, i.e. from the West to India. Canine distemper virus was probably brought to India by Eurobreeds early in the 20th century. Even now in the remote villages I've visited, nobody has heard of dogs getting such symptoms, though it is very common in cities. Rabies is mentioned in ancient Indian texts, but distemper isn't.; April 11, 2009 at 5:11 PM
Veera said...: It is not very wise from EU to make it too difficult to import animals because if there is no legal way to get their pets in people will try to smuggle them more often.; April 12, 2009 at 12:15 AM

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This is an informal, unofficial group of INDog enthusiasts, linked to my awareness campaign the INDog Project. "INDog" is what we call the Indian native dog, (earlier known as the Indian Pariah Dog). The INDog belongs to a group of dogs known as aboriginal and primitive dogs, or indigenous village dogs. See also padsociety.org

Indian dogs, including INDogs, were sampled a few years ago for a genetic study by Cornell University. Read about their distinct genetic profile in this early post, and in the published paper 'Genetic structure in village dogs reveals a Central Asian domestication origin.'

Click here for our record of unmixed INDog populations around the country.

This is not a welfare or animal rights blog, though health and welfare are discussed sometimes. It is not about any organization. It is not about the "stray dog issue." There are many other sites dealing with such topics. Moreover, primitive and stray are NOT the same thing (see the glossary below, and also the INDog website).

This blog celebrates the INDog as an aboriginal race of domestic dog - its origins, characteristics, appearance, temperament, behaviour, and the sheer fun of keeping it as a pet. If, like many of us, you are captivated by our indigenous village dog, read on.

Click here for some articles on INDogs, one written by me and the others about the INDog Project.

Quoting from this blog or the INDog site: I have noticed that while most people follow the normal etiquette and credit my blog or site if they use content, there are a few who have copied text and pictures or quoted copiously without any acknowledgment. Please do not use any content from here or from the INDog site without permission and acknowledgment.

Dogs featured in this blog: I only feature INDogs adopted as house-pets. I also feature INDog-mixes who are house pets. In fact, if you live in an Indian city, your dog is possibly of mixed lineage and not a 100% indigenous native dog. I call these dogs INDog-mix or Indies. This is a point of difference but NOT a point of superiority or inferiority. INDogs, INDog-mixes, and in fact all dogs are equally wonderful as pets!

If you'd like me to post your dog's story in this blog, please write to me at rajashree DOT khalap AT gmail DOT com, along with photographs.

I also have a page on Facebook called The INDog Club. Please join if you find this topic interesting.

Why I created the INDog Project and INDog Club: I had the idea of setting up this forum after adopting my own dog, Lalee. I was disturbed by the general confusion and misconceptions about our native dogs. My pet project is to get this ancient race the respect and recognition that is its due.

The Indian public is not particularly dog-literate, and the common third world mindset affects perceptions about dogs. As in many countries of Asia and Africa, pets are still selected according to an outdated colonial-era ranking order which perceives anything foreign as superior to anything native. The growing middle class also seeks to display its spending power by purchasing expensive European breeds.

If you believe that artificially developed modern breeds are superior to landrace indigenous ones, read no further. This blog is not for you.

In a slide presentation on stray dogs I created for a Mumbai NGO in 1994, and in their website, I pointed out that the INDog is NOT a mongrel but a primitive breed in its own right, evolved by natural selection over many centuries. This is based on the theories of canine biologists and experts worldwide. True primitive dog populations have suffered minimal or no genetic admixture with modern breeds. To read more about this, click here .

Major W V Soman pointed out the difference between 'pariah dogs' and mongrels way back in 1963, in his book 'The Indian Dog'. (You can download the book from our blog!) Even earlier, the famous naturalist, environmentalist and Tamil scholar M. Krishnan wrote in praise of these dogs in his essay "The Pariah" (read about his essay here).

The INDog is a beautiful early version of our best friend Canis lupus familiaris. It’s probably what Nature intended dogs to be.

Why I created this blog: This is the informal side of my project. It's a place for us besotted INDog and INDog-mix owners to show off our beloved pets.

INDog owners, please use this space to share your experiences, dog photos and videos, useful information for other dog-owners. Owners of mix-breeds (Indies) are also welcome, as long as the dog is at least part INDog. Mail your dog stories and dog images to me at rajashree DOT khalap AT gmail DOT com. They will be moderated but everything relevant to this topic will appear here.

Must-know stuff

Primitive/aboriginal dog: A type of domestic village dog which evolved a distinct appearance and character without human intervention. This appearance was earlier called the "long-term pariah morphotype" by some scientists - click here to see photos of the type. The modern and preferred term is 'primitive type' or 'dingo type.'

Primitive-type dogs across continents have the same basic physical characteristics. These naturally evolved dogs are not only extremely hardy, they are also very alert and have the high-order intelligence required for a free-roaming life under circumstances that are often difficult and hostile. In biological terms, the aboriginal dogs of Asia and Africa are of the highest value for the study of genetics, behaviour and the origin of the dog.

Dogs were never studied in India till recently, and in the early days there were no Indian experts in this area, so terms coined by western scholars tended to stick. I believe the term "Indian Pariah Dog" is very generic (apart from having negative social connotations) and that our aboriginal dogs should have a name of their own, like the Canaan Dog of Israel and other landraces. The name INDog, coined by Col. Gautam Das, is perfect for this native landrace. I have been using and promoting it since 2007.

Aboriginal dogs in some parts of the world have now been officially recognised by canine registries, including the UKC, which has a 'Pariah and Sighthound' group. The FCI (Federation Cynologique Internationale) refers to this category as "Primitive Types." In some countries such dogs are being selectively bred. The best-known are the Canaan Dog of Israel and the African Basenji.

It is now accepted that many of the free-roaming dogs in Indian cities and towns are actually mix-breeds, though some certainly look more "mixed" than others. Pure INDogs are more common in remote rural areas where there are no Eurobreeds or other types of dog to interbreed with, and minimal or no admixture has occurred.

INDog: An aboriginal dog which perfectly conforms to the true primitive-type and is not mixed with any other breed. This is the name we use for the 'Indian Pariah Dog.'

How would you identify an INDog? By both type and location. Read the criteria in this post.

Indy, INDog-mix: A mix-breed dog descended from INDogs. I prefer these terms to 'mongrel', for our urban street dogs and other mix-breeds with INDog ancestry (see 'Mongrel', below). Since our mix-breeds are almost descended from INDogs, they are different from mixes of only Eurobreed dogs.

Mongrel: (called mutt in the US) Defined as a dog of mixed but indeterminate breed, whose lineage is not known. Primitive dogs were once considered to be mongrels, but for the last few decades it has been recognised that they are unmixed, natural types of dog in their own right. In India almost all mongrels have INDog mixed in their lineage. I prefer to call such mix-breeds 'Indies' or INDog-mix.

Mongrels exist thanks to irresponsible dog-owners who let their pets mate with street dogs. This practice not only exposes the pet to serious health risks (including venereal disease), it also increases the already huge street dog population, and lessens the number of indigenous dogs.

(Let me clarify that I love mongrels - in fact, I think they are adorable, and I have adopted four over the years - but the reason for their existence is poor pet ownership, which is regrettable to say the least. It would be a pity to lose the unique character of our ancient aboriginal race because substandard dog owners let their pets roam and breed on the street.)

Pi-dog, pye-dog: A term used by the British. It also means street dog.

Stray: There is a lot of confusion about this word and it is frequently used incorrectly. “Stray” does NOT refer to breed but to the legal status of the dog. In India it seems to mean an ownerless, unlicensed free-roaming dog. Since most "strays" in India happen to be INDogs or mix-breeds, all these terms are often used interchangeably. This is wrong. Purebreeds abandoned by their owners become strays. INDogs and mix-breeds adopted into homes are no longer strays but pets.

I find this word very vague and don't use it much. I prefer the terms "free-roaming" or "free-ranging" dog.

Purebreed: A dog of only one breed, born of selected parents. Most of the commercially recognised 'pure' breeds have only been created in the last two centuries, as strict breeding norms were not followed earlier. In actual fact, almost all modern 'pure' breeds have been created by mixing two or more breeds.

We use the word 'pure' to describe landraces as well. In this case it means a dog of only one landrace/type.

Pedigree: A recorded line of descent.

Also read the glossary in the INDog site http://www.indog.co.in

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Are you a Primitive Dog fan?

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Deepa and assorted friends

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