Data report · Updated October 2026
Officially Recognised Indian Dog Breeds: The Six Dogs on the Government Breed Register, With Accession Numbers
Six Indian dog breeds are on the government breed register kept by ICAR-NBAGR, Karnal. Rajapalayam, Chippiparai and Mudhol Hound were notified in November 2020, Gaddi and Changkhi in April 2025, and Kombai was approved on 7 August 2026. Dogs make up 5 of the 229 indigenous breeds listed in mid 2025, about 2%. Popular native dogs such as the Kanni, Rampur Hound and the Indian Pariah Dog are not on the register yet.
Key findings
- Six Indian dog breeds are registered with ICAR-NBAGR: Rajapalayam, Chippiparai, Mudhol Hound, Gaddi, Changkhi and Kombai.
- The first three dog breeds were notified in the Gazette of India on 13 November 2020 under S.O. 4086(E).
- Gaddi from Himachal Pradesh and Changkhi from Ladakh were approved on 6 January 2025 and notified on 15 April 2025.
- Kombai from Tamil Nadu was approved at the 14th Breed Registration Committee meeting on 7 August 2026, accession number INDIA_DOG_1800_KOMBAI_19006.
- Tamil Nadu holds three of the six registered dog breeds: Rajapalayam, Chippiparai and Kombai.
- In mid 2025 dogs were 5 of India's 229 registered indigenous breeds, against 53 cattle and 46 sheep breeds.
- The Kennel Club of India charges Rs 375 to register an Indian breed puppy within 60 days, half its Rs 750 standard fee.
- We found no Indian breed in any of the FCI's ten breed groups or among the 20 breeds on its provisional list in October 2026.
- The BSF shortlisted the Rampur Hound for its dogs, but the breed is not on the ICAR-NBAGR register as of October 2026.
Which Indian dog breeds are officially recognised by the government?
Six. The ICAR National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources (NBAGR) in Karnal has given accession numbers to six native dog breeds: Rajapalayam, Chippiparai, Mudhol Hound, Gaddi, Changkhi and Kombai.
Registration is the formal recognition of a livestock or dog breed in India. A Breed Registration Committee chaired by ICAR's Deputy Director General (Animal Science) approves a breed, and NBAGR assigns it an accession number. The Department of Agricultural Research and Education then notifies it in the Gazette of India.
The first three dogs were notified on 13 November 2020. Two Himalayan dogs followed in 2025, and the Kombai was approved on 7 August 2026, bringing the list to six.
| Breed | Home tract | Accession number | Approved or notified | Price in India (Supertails list dated 9 Mar 2026, seen 18 Oct 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rajapalayam | Tamil Nadu | INDIA_DOG_1800_RAJAPALAYAM_19001 | Gazette, 13 Nov 2020 | Rs 5,000 to 20,000 |
| Chippiparai | Tamil Nadu | INDIA_DOG_1800_CHIPPIPARAI_19002 | Gazette, 13 Nov 2020 | Rs 4,000 to 15,000 |
| Mudhol Hound | Karnataka | INDIA_DOG_0800_MUDHOLHOUND_19003 | Gazette, 13 Nov 2020 | Rs 3,000 to 15,000 |
| Gaddi | Himachal Pradesh | INDIA_DOG_0600_GADDI_19004 | BRC, 6 Jan 2025; Gazette, 15 Apr 2025 | Not listed |
| Changkhi | Ladakh | INDIA_DOG_3800_CHANGKHI_19005 | BRC, 6 Jan 2025; Gazette, 15 Apr 2025 | Not listed |
| Kombai | Tamil Nadu | INDIA_DOG_1800_KOMBAI_19006 | BRC, 7 Aug 2026 | Rs 4,000 to 20,000 |
Gazette of India S.O. 4086(E), 13 Nov 2020 and S.O. 1720(E), 15 Apr 2025; ICAR press release, 7 Aug 2026. Count at the end of each year (2026: as of October); dog accession serials run 19001 to 19006 with no gaps.
Show the numbers
| Label | breeds |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 3 |
| 2021 | 3 |
| 2022 | 3 |
| 2023 | 3 |
| 2024 | 3 |
| 2025 | 5 |
| 2026 | 6 |
Embed this chart
Each accession number follows the same pattern: country, species, a four-digit code, the breed name and a serial. In our reading, the four-digit code marks the home state. It is 1800 for the three Tamil Nadu dogs, 0800 for Karnataka, 0600 for Himachal Pradesh and 3800 for Ladakh. Every dog serial starts with 19, from 19001 for the Rajapalayam to 19006 for the Kombai.
How many of India's registered animal breeds are dogs?
Very few. In mid 2025 ICAR-NBAGR listed 229 registered indigenous breeds, and 5 of them were dogs, about 2% by our calculation. Cattle led with 53 breeds, then sheep with 46 and goats with 41.
The register keeps growing. After the 14th Breed Registration Committee meeting in August 2026 approved 16 more breeds, including the Kombai, India's total reached 262: 258 indigenous and 4 synthetic breeds.
In August 2021 the count was 202 indigenous breeds, with 3 dogs. So the register added 56 indigenous breeds in five years (258 minus 202, our calculation), and three of them were dogs.
ICAR-NBAGR Newsletter, January to June 2025.
Show the numbers
| Label | breeds |
|---|---|
| Cattle | 53 |
| Sheep | 46 |
| Goat | 41 |
| Buffalo | 21 |
| Chicken | 20 |
| Pig | 15 |
| Camel | 9 |
| Horse | 8 |
| Dog | 5 |
| Donkey | 4 |
| Duck | 4 |
| Yak | 2 |
| Geese | 1 |
Embed this chart
The 14th meeting's 16 breeds covered nine species in 13 states and one Union Territory. The Kombai was the only dog among them.
How fast is India's breed register growing?
Fast for farm animals, slowly for dogs. India had 202 registered indigenous breeds in August 2021, 229 by mid 2025 and 258 after the August 2026 meeting, a rise of 56 in five years. Dogs went from 3 to 6 over the same period.
Between August 2021 and mid 2025, goats added 7 breeds and pigs 5, the biggest gains. Cattle added 3, and dogs, sheep, buffalo and ducks 2 each. The 12th Breed Registration Committee meeting on 6 January 2025 registered 10 breeds, 2 of them dogs. The 14th meeting on 7 August 2026 registered 16, 1 of them a dog.
The Gaddi shows what a registration records. NBAGR describes it as a guarding dog of the Chamba, Kangra, Kullu, Mandi, Lahaul Spiti and Kinnaur districts of Himachal Pradesh, named after the Gaddi herding tribe. Its litter size is 4 to 8 puppies.
| Species | August 2021 | Mid 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cattle | 50 | 53 | +3 |
| Sheep | 44 | 46 | +2 |
| Goat | 34 | 41 | +7 |
| Buffalo | 19 | 21 | +2 |
| Chicken | 19 | 20 | +1 |
| Pig | 10 | 15 | +5 |
| Camel | 9 | 9 | 0 |
| Horse and pony | 7 | 8 | +1 |
| Dog | 3 | 5 | +2 |
| Donkey | 3 | 4 | +1 |
| Duck | 2 | 4 | +2 |
| Yak | 1 | 2 | +1 |
| Geese | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 202 | 229 | +27 |
NBAGR is also building tools to tell Indian dogs apart genetically. Its Axiom_Shwaan array, described in the 2025 newsletter, carries 629,597 DNA markers chosen from more than 23 million found by sequencing 48 dogs. Tested on 186 dogs from 11 breeds and populations, it gave a 99% average call rate and separated native breeds into distinct clusters.
Does the Kennel Club of India recognise Indian dog breeds?
Yes, and it charges less to register them. The Kennel Club of India (KCI) charges Rs 375 to register an Indian breed puppy within 60 days. Other breeds pay Rs 750, under its tariff from 1 April 2024.
KCI registration is a different thing from ICAR registration. KCI keeps a pedigree studbook for individual dogs, while ICAR-NBAGR recognises a breed as a national genetic resource. KCI registered 33,880 pure-bred dogs in its studbook in 2025, according to figures it gives the FCI. We found no counts by breed from either body. Our KCI registrations report has the full series.
We found no list of the Indian breeds KCI recognises on the KCI website, so we could not confirm the full KCI list. We leave it out rather than guess.
Kennel Club of India revised tariff sheet, effective 1 April 2024, fees inclusive of GST.
Show the numbers
| Label | Rs |
|---|---|
| Indian breed, within 60 days | Rs 375 |
| Other breeds, within 60 days | Rs 750 |
| Indian breed, 61 to 120 days | Rs 600 |
| Other breeds, 61 to 120 days | Rs 1,200 |
| Indian breed, 121 to 180 days | Rs 1,000 |
| Other breeds, 121 to 180 days | Rs 2,000 |
| Imported dog | Rs 2,500 |
Embed this chart
Internationally, the picture is thinner. The FCI, the world body KCI belongs to, lists 13 sighthound breeds in its Group 10 and 20 breeds recognised on a provisional basis. We checked on 16 and 18 October 2026. No breed with India as its country of origin appears in any of the FCI's ten groups or on the provisional list. Across those ten groups we counted 344 breeds recognised on a definitive basis, so none of 364 FCI breeds comes from India.
Which popular Indian dog breeds are still not officially registered?
At least five well-known native dogs are missing from the ICAR-NBAGR register as of October 2026. They are the Kanni, the Rampur Hound, the Indian Pariah Dog, the Indian Spitz and the Bully Kutta.
Missing from the register does not mean unwanted. The BSF shortlisted two Indian breeds for its dogs, the Rampur Hound and the Mudhol Hound, according to the October 2025 Mann Ki Baat booklet. Only the Mudhol Hound is registered.
Registered or not, native dogs are cheap to buy. Supertails lists a Rajapalayam puppy at Rs 5,000 to 20,000 and a Mudhol Hound at Rs 3,000 to 15,000. A Chippiparai is Rs 4,000 to 15,000 and a Kombai Rs 4,000 to 20,000, far below most imported breeds (list dated 9 March 2026, seen 18 October 2026). See the dog breed price index for all 58 breeds.
| Breed | ICAR-NBAGR register | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Rajapalayam | Registered, 2020 | Accession 19001 |
| Chippiparai | Registered, 2020 | Accession 19002 |
| Mudhol Hound | Registered, 2020 | Accession 19003; shortlisted by BSF |
| Kombai | Registered, 2026 | Accession 19006; approved 7 Aug 2026 |
| Kanni | Not registered | Tamil Nadu sighthound |
| Rampur Hound | Not registered | Shortlisted by BSF (Oct 2025 booklet) |
| Indian Pariah Dog | Not registered | No accession number |
| Indian Spitz | Not registered | No accession number |
| Bully Kutta | Not registered | No accession number |
Gaddi and Changkhi have no breed guide on dogeats.in yet. Both are Himalayan guarding dogs: NBAGR says the Gaddi is mainly reared as a guarding dog, and the Changkhi guards sheep and goats from snow leopards and other predators. Our Indian breeds page covers the native dogs most families buy.
Frequently asked questions
How many Indian dog breeds are officially recognised?
Six, as of October 2026. ICAR-NBAGR has registered Rajapalayam, Chippiparai and Mudhol Hound (2020), Gaddi and Changkhi (2025) and Kombai (approved 7 August 2026).
Which was the first Indian dog breed registered by ICAR?
The Rajapalayam, with accession number INDIA_DOG_1800_RAJAPALAYAM_19001. It was notified with the Chippiparai and Mudhol Hound in the Gazette of India on 13 November 2020.
When was the Kombai dog registered?
The Kombai was approved at the 14th Breed Registration Committee meeting on 7 August 2026 and given accession number INDIA_DOG_1800_KOMBAI_19006.
What are the Gaddi and Changkhi dogs?
Two Himalayan guarding dogs registered in 2025. Gaddi comes from Himachal Pradesh and Changkhi from Ladakh. Both were approved on 6 January 2025 and notified on 15 April 2025.
Is the Indian Pariah Dog an officially recognised breed?
Not by ICAR-NBAGR. The Indian Pariah Dog is not one of the six dog breeds on its register as of October 2026.
Is the Rampur Hound a recognised breed?
It is not on the ICAR-NBAGR register as of October 2026. The BSF shortlisted it with the Mudhol Hound for operational use, according to the October 2025 Mann Ki Baat booklet.
Does the FCI recognise any Indian dog breed?
We found none. No breed with India as its country of origin appears in any of the FCI's ten groups, including its 13 sighthounds. None is among its 20 provisionally recognised breeds either, as of 18 October 2026.
How much does KCI charge to register an Indian breed puppy?
Rs 375 within 60 days, Rs 600 at 61 to 120 days and Rs 1,000 at 121 to 180 days. Each is half the fee for other breeds, under the tariff from 1 April 2024.
Methodology and limitations
We read the Gazette of India notifications S.O. 4086(E) of 13 November 2020 (archived copy on the Wayback Machine) and S.O. 1720(E) of 15 April 2025 (NBAGR website). We also read the ICAR press release of 7 August 2026, the NBAGR newsletter for January to June 2025 and an October 2021 archive of the NBAGR new breeds page. All were opened on 16 October and re-checked on 18 October 2026.
Breed counts by species are those printed in the NBAGR newsletter. The dog share (5 of 229) is our calculation. We checked the FCI Group 10 and provisional lists on fci.be on 16 October 2026, and all ten FCI group lists on 18 October 2026. The KCI tariff sheet came from kennelclubofindia.org. An archived October 2024 copy of the NBAGR registered dog breeds page lists the same first three dogs and accession numbers as the 2020 Gazette.
Prices are the ranges on the Supertails dog price list dated 9 March 2026, as seen on 18 October 2026. Breeds marked "not listed" have no price there.
Sources
- ICAR press release: ICAR registers 16 new livestock and dog breeds, 7 August 2026, Kombai accession number, 14th BRC meeting, 262 registered breeds
- Gazette of India Extraordinary No. 3589, S.O. 4086(E), 13 November 2020 (archived NBAGR copy), Rajapalayam, Chippiparai and Mudhol Hound notified with accession numbers
- Gazette of India Extraordinary No. 1689, S.O. 1720(E), 15 April 2025, Gaddi and Changkhi notified with accession numbers
- Also consulted: ICAR-NBAGR Newsletter, January to June 2025, ICAR-NBAGR: ICAR registers new 16 indigenous livestock and dog breeds, ICAR-NBAGR: New breeds registered (Wayback Machine, 27 October 2021), ICAR-NBAGR: Registered breeds of dogs (Wayback Machine, 14 October 2024), Kennel Club of India, revised tariff sheet from 1 April 2024, FCI statistics: Kennel Club of India, 2014 to 2025, FCI Breeds nomenclature, Group 10 Sighthounds, FCI Breeds nomenclature, breeds recognised on a provisional basis, Mann Ki Baat booklet, October 2025, Central Bureau of Communication, page 38, Supertails, Dog Price List in India 2026 (dated 9 March 2026, seen 18 October 2026), Raja KN et al., A new methodology for characterization of dog genetic resources of India, Journal of Livestock Biodiversity 6(2), 2016.
Cite, embed and download
This report, its data and its images are free to reuse under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. Credit dogeats.in with a link to this page. Every chart has its own embed code, every table has a CSV and an image download, and the images below are ready for social posts, slides and articles.
Cite this report
Link to this report
Every chart and table as an image
