Den

This is not a pure INDog but a mix-breed who used to live in Nagaon. I'm posting this because of her habit of 'denning' every winter when she had puppies.

She belonged in a loose sense to our neighbour, a villager who owns a tourist lodge next to our bungalow. She was very shy and couldn't be touched by anyone, but our neighbour fed her and allowed her to stay on his premises.

When she had pups however, she wouldn't keep them in his compound, most probably because she wanted to hide them from his other dog, also a female. She would make a den like this in our garden or in my aunt's coconut plantation (see pic). It would be dug out under a heap of leaves, or else she would make a burrow in the ground.

As long as her pups were there she'd be very aggressive and rush out to attack anyone (me, my dogs) who walked too close.

Though I see many pups of many different mothers every year in Nagaon, I'm never very sure where exactly the pups are kept in the first weeks. This is the only den I've had the opportunity to see.

Usually village dogs around India are allowed to use some space by local people, like a cow shed. For instance my Kiba's mother and aunt had kept their litters in a covered space attached to a highway shop, and were even being fed by the shopkeeper.

Has anyone seen this denning behaviour in village dogs? I'd love to know more about this.

(This dog died suddenly two years ago by the way. I suspect one of the villagers poisoned her, as she was a habitual chicken-killer. In my experience 'sudden deaths' of healthy village dogs are usually caused by poison, and for similar reasons - killing of poultry or livestock.)

Nagaon
Maharashtra