India · prices in rupees, weights in kilograms
International siteDog Breeds in India
India has its own dogs. Some are registered breeds with a formal description from the national breed bureau; some are landraces that have never been measured by anybody; and the commonest dog in the country, the Indie, is not a breed at all but the free-ranging dog that has lived alongside Indian households for thousands of years. This page puts those dogs next to the imported breeds people usually buy, on the things that actually matter in an Indian home.
Filter by size, by whether the breed can live in Indian heat, by the space it needs and by how much grooming it takes. Then use the breed finder if you would rather answer questions about your home than read a table, or the comparison tool to put two breeds side by side.
- India’s own breeds and landraces
- 15 nativeIndia’s own breeds and landraces
- with the ICAR breed bureau
- 5 registeredwith the ICAR breed bureau
- breeds our price pages cover
- 38 importedbreeds our price pages cover
Before the table
The best-suited dog in India is the one you can adopt
The Indian Pariah Dog, the Indie, is adapted to the climate you live in, needs no cooling, has the lowest grooming requirement of any dog on this page and is available free from a shelter or off your own street. Nothing in the table below beats it on cost or on suitability. If you are reading this page to work out what dog to get rather than to identify one you already have, start there.
About the Indie dog51 breeds
Every breed on these pages, filterable
Native breeds first, then the imported breeds our price calculator covers. The climate, space and grooming columns are the same values the breed finder scores with, so the table and the quiz cannot contradict each other.
Showing 51 of 51 breeds.
| Breed | Size | Indian climate | Space | Grooming | Recognition | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indian SpitzAcross India | Small, thick double coat | Suits the Indian climate | Flat is fine | Medium | Not registered | ₹3,000 to ₹80,000 |
| Indian Pariah DogAcross India | Medium, short coat | Suits the Indian climate | Flat is fine | Low | Not registered | ₹0 to ₹5,000 |
| RajapalayamTamil Nadu | Medium to large sighthound, white coat | Suits the Indian climate | House | Low | NBAGR registered (INDIA_DOG_1800_RAJAPALAYAM_19001) | Not sourced |
| Mudhol HoundKarnataka | Large sighthound, very tall | Suits the Indian climate | Needs land | Low | NBAGR registered (INDIA_DOG_0800_MUDHOLHOUND_19003) | Not sourced |
| ChippiparaiTamil Nadu | Medium to large sighthound | Suits the Indian climate | House | Low | NBAGR registered (INDIA_DOG_1800_CHIPPIPARAI_19002) | Not sourced |
| KanniTamil Nadu | Medium sighthound | Suits the Indian climate | House | Low | Not registered | Not sourced |
| KombaiTamil Nadu | Medium, powerful guarding hound | Suits the Indian climate | House | Low | NBAGR registered | Not sourced |
| GaddiHimachal Pradesh and the western Himalaya | Large flock guardian, thick coat | Struggles in Indian heat | Needs land | Medium | NBAGR registered | Not sourced |
| Tangkhul HuiManipur | Medium to large hound | Suits the Indian climate | House | Low | Not registered | Not sourced |
| Bully KuttaPunjab and Sindh | Very large molosser | Suits the Indian climate | Needs land | Low | Not registered | Not sourced |
| Rampur HoundUttar Pradesh | Large sighthound | Suits the Indian climate | Needs land | Low | Not registered | Not sourced |
| BakharwalJammu and Kashmir | Large flock guardian | Struggles in Indian heat | Needs land | Medium | Not registered | Not sourced |
| Himalayan SheepdogThe Himalaya | Large flock guardian | Struggles in Indian heat | Needs land | Medium | Not registered | Not sourced |
| JonangiAndhra Pradesh | Medium, short coat | Suits the Indian climate | House | Low | Not registered | Not sourced |
| PandikonaAndhra Pradesh | Medium, short coat | Suits the Indian climate | House | Low | Not registered | Not sourced |
| Siberian HuskyImported breed | Large breed, thick double coat | Struggles in Indian heat | House | Medium | American Kennel Club standard | ₹20,000 to ₹1,20,000 |
| Golden RetrieverImported breed | Extra large breed, long double coat | Needs active cooling in summer | House | Medium | American Kennel Club standard | ₹10,000 to ₹80,000 |
| German ShepherdImported breed | Extra large breed, working dog | Needs active cooling in summer | House | Medium | American Kennel Club standard | ₹15,000 to ₹85,000 |
| RottweilerImported breed | Giant breed, guarding dog | Needs active cooling in summer | Needs land | Medium | American Kennel Club standard | ₹20,000 to ₹1,00,000 |
| Cane CorsoImported breed | Giant breed, guarding dog | Needs active cooling in summer | Needs land | Medium | American Kennel Club standard | ₹60,000 to ₹1,80,000 |
| DobermanImported breed | Extra large breed, short coat | Suits the Indian climate | House | Medium | American Kennel Club standard | ₹10,000 to ₹1,00,000 |
| BeagleImported breed | Medium breed, short coat | Needs active cooling in summer | Flat is fine | Medium | American Kennel Club standard | ₹15,000 to ₹75,000 |
| KangalImported breed | Giant breed, livestock guardian | Suits the Indian climate | Needs land | Medium | Federation Cynologique Internationale standard | ₹50,000 to ₹2,50,000 |
| PomeranianImported breed | Toy breed, thick double coat | Needs active cooling in summer | Flat is fine | Medium | American Kennel Club standard | ₹3,000 to ₹75,000 |
| PugImported breed | Small breed, flat faced | Needs active cooling in summer | Flat is fine | Low | American Kennel Club standard | ₹8,000 to ₹50,000 |
| Shih TzuImported breed | Small breed, long coat | Needs active cooling in summer | Flat is fine | High | American Kennel Club standard | ₹10,000 to ₹60,000 |
| PitbullImported breed | Large breed, short coat | Needs active cooling in summer | House | Low | United Kennel Club standard | ₹15,000 to ₹1,00,000 |
| Saint BernardImported breed | Giant breed, heavy coat | Struggles in Indian heat | Needs land | High | American Kennel Club standard | ₹25,000 to ₹90,000 |
| Chow ChowImported breed | Large breed, very thick double coat | Struggles in Indian heat | House | High | American Kennel Club standard | ₹30,000 to ₹1,35,000 |
| Tibetan MastiffImported breed | Giant breed, Himalayan double coat | Struggles in Indian heat | Needs land | Medium | American Kennel Club standard | ₹60,000 to ₹2,50,000 |
| Labrador RetrieverImported breed | Extra large breed, short double coat | Suits the Indian climate | House | Medium | American Kennel Club standard | ₹8,000 to ₹60,000 |
| Belgian MalinoisImported breed | Extra large breed, working dog | Suits the Indian climate | House | Medium | American Kennel Club standard | ₹18,000 to ₹85,000 |
| SamoyedImported breed | Large breed, Arctic double coat | Struggles in Indian heat | House | High | American Kennel Club standard | ₹40,000 to ₹1,50,000 |
| ChihuahuaImported breed | Toy breed, smallest on these pages | Needs active cooling in summer | Flat is fine | High | American Kennel Club standard | ₹8,000 to ₹70,000 |
| CorgiImported breed | Medium breed, short legs, double coat | Needs active cooling in summer | Flat is fine | Medium | American Kennel Club standard | ₹20,000 to ₹85,000 |
| American BullyImported breed | Large breed, heavily muscled | Needs active cooling in summer | House | Medium | United Kennel Club standard | ₹20,000 to ₹1,20,000 |
| English BulldogImported breed | Medium breed, flat faced | Struggles in Indian heat | Flat is fine | Medium | American Kennel Club standard | ₹20,000 to ₹80,000 |
| French BulldogImported breed | Small breed, flat faced | Struggles in Indian heat | Flat is fine | Medium | American Kennel Club standard | ₹25,000 to ₹1,20,000 |
| Alaskan MalamuteImported breed | Extra large breed, Arctic double coat | Struggles in Indian heat | House | Medium | American Kennel Club standard | ₹30,000 to ₹1,50,000 |
| DachshundImported breed | Small breed, long back | Suits the Indian climate | Flat is fine | Medium | American Kennel Club standard | ₹8,000 to ₹60,000 |
| Great DaneImported breed | Giant breed, short coat | Suits the Indian climate | Needs land | Medium | American Kennel Club standard | ₹15,000 to ₹80,000 |
| DalmatianImported breed | Large breed, short coat | Needs active cooling in summer | House | Medium | American Kennel Club standard | ₹10,000 to ₹65,000 |
| Bernese Mountain DogImported breed | Giant breed, thick tricolour coat | Struggles in Indian heat | Needs land | High | American Kennel Club standard | ₹30,000 to ₹1,80,000 |
| Caucasian ShepherdImported breed | Giant breed, livestock guardian | Struggles in Indian heat | Needs land | High | Federation Cynologique Internationale standard | ₹20,000 to ₹2,50,000 |
| Lhasa ApsoImported breed | Small breed, long coat | Needs active cooling in summer | Flat is fine | High | American Kennel Club standard | ₹10,000 to ₹50,000 |
| Cocker SpanielImported breed | Medium breed, long ears | Needs active cooling in summer | Flat is fine | High | American Kennel Club standard | ₹10,000 to ₹65,000 |
| BullmastiffImported breed | Giant breed, guarding dog | Needs active cooling in summer | Needs land | Medium | American Kennel Club standard | ₹18,000 to ₹1,00,000 |
| MalteseImported breed | Toy breed, long white coat | Needs active cooling in summer | Flat is fine | High | American Kennel Club standard | ₹15,000 to ₹80,000 |
| BoxerImported breed | Extra large breed, short coat | Needs active cooling in summer | House | Medium | American Kennel Club standard | ₹12,000 to ₹70,000 |
| German SpitzImported breed | Small breed, stand-off double coat | Needs active cooling in summer | Flat is fine | Medium | Federation Cynologique Internationale standard | ₹15,000 to ₹55,000 |
| Yorkshire TerrierImported breed | Toy breed, silky coat | Needs active cooling in summer | Flat is fine | Medium | American Kennel Club standard | ₹15,000 to ₹80,000 |
Space and grooming for imported breeds are worked out from their size class and their sourced grooming interval; for native breeds they come from the breed data. “Not sourced” in the price column means we could not find three dated Indian price sources, which is true of most native breeds.
Scroll the table sideways to see every column.
Heat
Breeds that can live in Indian heat
18 of the 51 breeds here are ones our sources do not treat cooling as a requirement for. Most of the native breeds are in that list, which is the whole argument for them: they were shaped by the conditions you would be keeping them in. The three exceptions are the Himalayan flock guardians, the Gaddi, the Bakharwal and the Himalayan Sheepdog, which were shaped by a cold climate and struggle on the plains for exactly the same reason a Husky does.
- Indian Spitz
- Indian Pariah Dog
- Rajapalayam
- Mudhol Hound
- Chippiparai
- Kanni
- Kombai
- Tangkhul Hui
- Bully Kutta
- Rampur Hound
- Jonangi
- Pandikona
- Doberman
- Kangal
- Labrador Retriever
- Belgian Malinois
- Dachshund
- Great Dane
And 13 breeds our sources describe as struggling in Indian heat rather than merely needing cooling: Gaddi, Bakharwal, Himalayan Sheepdog, Siberian Husky, Saint Bernard, Chow Chow, Tibetan Mastiff, Samoyed, English Bulldog, French Bulldog, Alaskan Malamute, Bernese Mountain Dog, Caucasian Shepherd. The breed finder rules those out entirely if you tell it there will be no air conditioning, because our sources treat cooling for them as a welfare requirement rather than a comfort.
Flats
Breeds that fit a flat
16 of the 51 breeds here are small enough to live in a flat. Space is worked out from the size class: a giant breed is marked as needing land, a large or extra-large breed as needing a house, and everything smaller as able to live in a flat given enough exercise. It is a rule about the dog's size, not a promise about your building's rules, which are a separate matter.
Of those 16, only 3 also needs no cooling: Indian Spitz, Indian Pariah Dog, Dachshund. That is the single most useful thing on this page. The small imported breeds Indians buy most of are flat-sized and heat-sensitive at the same time, which means the realistic cost of one includes an air conditioner running through the summer.
- Indian SpitzSmall, thick double coatSuits the Indian climate
- Indian Pariah DogMedium, short coatSuits the Indian climate
- BeagleMedium breed, short coatNeeds active cooling in summer
- PomeranianToy breed, thick double coatNeeds active cooling in summer
- PugSmall breed, flat facedNeeds active cooling in summer
- Shih TzuSmall breed, long coatNeeds active cooling in summer
- ChihuahuaToy breed, smallest on these pagesNeeds active cooling in summer
- CorgiMedium breed, short legs, double coatNeeds active cooling in summer
- English BulldogMedium breed, flat facedStruggles in Indian heat
- French BulldogSmall breed, flat facedStruggles in Indian heat
- DachshundSmall breed, long backSuits the Indian climate
- Lhasa ApsoSmall breed, long coatNeeds active cooling in summer
- Cocker SpanielMedium breed, long earsNeeds active cooling in summer
- MalteseToy breed, long white coatNeeds active cooling in summer
- German SpitzSmall breed, stand-off double coatNeeds active cooling in summer
- Yorkshire TerrierToy breed, silky coatNeeds active cooling in summer
Upkeep
The lowest-upkeep breeds here
11 breeds with a low grooming requirement that also need no cooling, and every one of them is native. For an imported breed the grooming rating comes from the interval and the per-session price our Indian sources give; for a native breed it comes from the coat description in the breed data. A short single coat on a dog that can live in the heat is the cheapest dog in India to keep. The only imported breeds here with a low grooming requirement are the Pug and the Pitbull, and our sources say both of those need cooling, so the coat saves you less than it looks.
India’s own
The native breeds, one page each
5 of these are registered breeds with the ICAR National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources, which is the body that formally registers Indian livestock and poultry breeds. The rest are documented breeds or landraces without a registry entry. 7 of the 15 have a published measurement of adult size; the other 8 do not, and those pages say so rather than repeating figures from pet retail listings.
- Indian SpitzAcross IndiaSmall, thick double coatNo measured description
- Indian Pariah DogAcross IndiaMedium, short coatNo measured description
- RajapalayamTamil NaduMedium to large sighthound, white coatNBAGR registered
- Mudhol HoundKarnatakaLarge sighthound, very tallNBAGR registered
- ChippiparaiTamil NaduMedium to large sighthoundNBAGR registered
- KanniTamil NaduMedium sighthoundDocumented, not registered
- KombaiTamil NaduMedium, powerful guarding houndNBAGR registered
- GaddiHimachal Pradesh and the western HimalayaLarge flock guardian, thick coatNBAGR registered
- Tangkhul HuiManipurMedium to large houndDocumented, not registered
- Bully KuttaPunjab and SindhVery large molosserNo measured description
- Rampur HoundUttar PradeshLarge sighthoundNo measured description
- BakharwalJammu and KashmirLarge flock guardianNo measured description
- Himalayan SheepdogThe HimalayaLarge flock guardianNo measured description
- JonangiAndhra PradeshMedium, short coatNo measured description
- PandikonaAndhra PradeshMedium, short coatNo measured description
Method
Where these breed facts come from
Breed facts are held to a stricter rule here than prices are. Size, coat, origin and population come from the ICAR National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources, which is the body that registers Indian breeds, or from a peer-reviewed study that measured dogs of the breed, or from both. Where neither exists, the page says no measured figure was published and shows no size and no growth chart.
That rule costs us a lot of content. 8 of the 15 breeds here have no published measurement we would print, including well-known names like the Indian Spitz, the Rampur Hound and the Bully Kutta. There are figures for all of them on pet retail sites. We have not used them, because a number on a page that sells puppies is not a breed standard, and once you put it in a table it starts getting quoted as one.
What we do not assert
We do not rank breeds by temperament and we do not describe any breed as aggressive. Our sources do not support it: a breed bureau descriptor records what a dog looks like and what it is kept for, not what it is like to live with, and the studies we used measured bodies rather than behaviour. Where this site needs some notion of how demanding a dog is, which the breed finder does, it is built from the size class, from whether our sources price professional training as essential for that breed, and from whether the breed was named in the 2024 central advisory. Those are facts about the breed's situation, not claims about its character.
On the Indie dog
The Indian Pariah Dog is not a breed in the sense the rest of this page uses the word. It is a landrace: a population shaped by its environment rather than by a breeder, with no standard, no registry entry and no measured description that would mean anything applied to the whole country. Its page leads with adoption because that is the honest recommendation, and because nobody needs to buy one.
Sources
Sources behind the breed facts
Registry entries, characterization studies and the breed descriptors behind the size, coat and recognition columns. Each breed page lists only the sources behind its own figures. Prices, where we have them, are sourced separately on the price pages.
Sources
16 sources behind the figures on this page.
Registered dog breeds
ICAR National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources - read 2026-10-15
The register of Indian dog breeds and their accession numbers. Read through the Internet Archive snapshot of 14 October 2024, which lists Rajapalayam, Chippiparai and Mudhol Hound. Later registrations are sourced separately.
nbagr.icar.gov.inSpitz price in India ranges from ₹5,000 to ₹80,000. Here is why
Sniff Society - dated 2026-10-03 - read 2026-10-15
About the Indian Spitz. Used on the German Spitz page to separate the two.
sniffsociety.inBreed-specific growth and cranial morphometry in Indian Pariah dogs
Journal of Basic and Applied Research International - dated 2025 - read 2026-10-15
Cited as evidence that the Indian Pariah has been studied as a distinct population. We could not reach the full text, so no figure on our pages comes from it.
doi.orgHow to adopt a street dog in India (2026 adoption guide)
Dog with Blog - dated 2026-10-09 - read 2026-10-14
dogwithblog.inRajapalayam dog
ICAR National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources - read 2026-10-15
NBAGR breed descriptor. Read through the Internet Archive snapshot of 23 January 2025.
nbagr.icar.gov.inPhenotypic characterization of Rajapalayam dog of Southern India
Raja K N, Singh P K, Mishra A K, Ghosh I, Uma Devi R, Kathirvel S. Indian Journal of Animal Sciences 87(4) - dated 2017 - read 2026-10-15
Measured 88 adults and 21 puppies, with 20 owners interviewed. Open access through the ICAR journals site.
doi.orgMudhol Hound dog
ICAR National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources - read 2026-10-15
NBAGR breed descriptor. Read through the Internet Archive snapshot of 18 June 2024.
nbagr.icar.gov.inMudhol Hound: price, temperament, army role and care
Dog with Blog - read 2026-10-15
Indian source for the Kennel Club of India registering the breed as Caravan Hound while the Indian National Kennel Club uses Mudhol Hound.
dogwithblog.inChippiparai dog
ICAR National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources - read 2026-10-15
NBAGR breed descriptor. Read through the Internet Archive snapshot of 30 November 2023. Notable for recording that Chippiparai dogs are also called Kanni.
nbagr.icar.gov.inICAR registers 16 new indigenous livestock and dog breeds
ICAR National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources - read 2026-10-15
NBAGR's own announcement of the registration round that included the Kombai dog.
nbagr.res.inCharacterisation, conservation and sustainable utilization of Kombai dog breed: a unique genetic resource of India
Journal of Scientific Research and Reports 30(5) - dated 2024 - read 2026-10-15
doi.orgGaddi dog of the Himalayas officially recognised by ICAR-NBAGR
Down To Earth - read 2026-10-15
downtoearth.org.inPhenotypic characterization and documentation of Gaddi dog of western Himalayan region of India
Sankhyan V, Thakur R, Dogra P K, Thakur A. Indian Journal of Animal Sciences 92(10):1189-1193 - dated 2022 - read 2026-10-15
Chaudhary Sarwan Kumar Himachal Pradesh Agricultural University. Heights are reported in inches in the paper; the centimetre figures on our pages are converted from them.
doi.orgHaofa dog, an indigenous canine germplasm from Manipur, India
Singh T R, Singh M N, Kakhulan K, Singh N I, Singh S B, Chongtham S, Chanam R. Indian Journal of Animal Sciences 94(4):329-332 - dated 2024 - read 2026-10-15
Central Agricultural University, Imphal. Measured 100 adults in Ukhrul and Kamjong districts. Describes the hound reared by the Tangkhul community.
doi.orgCharacterization, registration and gazette notification: new initiatives for recognizing native dog breeds
Raja K N, Mishra A K, Niranjan S K, Mishra B P. The Indian Journal of Animal Genetics and Breeding 41-42:4-6 - dated 2022-23 - read 2026-10-15
Lists the native breeds the bureau was working on, including the Caravan Hound, Combai, Chippiparai, Rajapalayam, Rampur Hound, Kanni, Mudhol Hound, Indian Mastiff (Bulli), Himalayan sheep dog, Bhutia and Bhakarwal dogs.
nipajournals.comBully Kutta (Indian Mastiff): history, truth and the dog behind the myth
Dog with Blog - read 2026-10-15
Indian source for the Bully Kutta and Indian Mastiff being the same landrace, and for it having no written standard with the international kennel clubs.
dogwithblog.in
Breed facts and recognition status last checked . Prices move, so treat anything older than a few months as a guide rather than a quote. Estimate only. For health questions, ask your vet.