There is good news and bad news coming out of India. The good news is that there is increased interest in purebred dog ownership in that country. The bad news is that according to Quartz India.com, native Indian breeds are dying out because everyone wants a Labrador Retriever.

Breeds like the Chippiparai, Jonangi, Kombai, Rajapalayams, and the exquisite Caravan Hound featured on our Facebook page a couple of years ago, are disappearing, and in our view, this is tragic. Native Indian breeds are beautiful, good at what they do, and well adapted to the country’s tropical climate, but Quartz India estimates that almost half the known breeds have ceased to exist. We like sharing uncommon breeds with you, but we also feel a sense of urgency when we suggest that when looking for a new breed, consider one of the UK’s vulnerable breeds, or even one of India’s vanishing breeds. Yes, a dog may be hard to locate, but if, after seeing one of these breeds here, you do further investigation and are persuaded that one of these rare breeds might be a good fit for you, let us know and we’ll put out feelers to see how you can get one. To that end, let’s talk about one of the Indian breeds at risk.

If you admire the Basenji (the dog as its seen in African villages), you should know about the Jonangi, a primitive-type dog used for hunting small game, herding ducks and as a watchdog. The Jonangi is spunky, extremely agile, brave, easily trainable, and very intelligent. It can have floppy or erect ears, a furrowed brow, very short coat, and like the Basenji, doesn’t really bark as much as it makes a yodeling sound.  The breed isn’t recognized by major kennel clubs in India, but it is being locally shown in beach festivals of Andhra Pradesh.

Photo of a Jonangi by Vedichunt – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=54945131