How do I adopt an indie dog?
Updated By PetymFacts checked against official sources on
Quick answer
Adopt an indie through a recognised animal welfare organisation, or take in a community dog you already know from your street. Either way, see a vet in the first days for a check, vaccines, deworming and tick treatment. Then plan for an alert, territorial dog that, the INDog Project says, thrives on very long walks several times a day.
A V-shaped notch on the right ear means the dog was sterilised and vaccinated under the city's Animal Birth Control programme, but ask your vet to confirm what is still due. Once you take the dog home it is your pet: the ABC Rules, 2023 make the owner responsible for its deworming, vaccination and sterilisation.
What is an indie dog?
India's native dog, often called the Indian pariah dog, INDog or desi dog, and the mixes descended from it.
The INDog Project's standard describes a medium-sized dog: males 20 to 25 inches at the withers and 20 to 30 kg, females 18 to 23 inches and 15 to 25 kg. It has a double coat, a coarse outer coat over a soft undercoat, needs very little grooming and is relatively clean. The standard says indies are generally very healthy, with an average life expectancy of over 15 years under good care.
Many city indies are mixes, so your dog may not match the standard. Petym's Indian pariah dog breed page and glossary entry go deeper into the type's history and care.
Where can I adopt an indie dog?
Three routes, each with its own first step.
Most papers
A recognised shelter
The Animal Welfare Board of India publishes a state-wise list of the organisations it recognises, with code, address, district and date of recognition. Ask for the vaccination card and history. Animal Welfare Board of India
Known temperament
A community dog from your street
The ABC Rules define community animals as animals born in a community that no person or organisation has claimed. If you have been feeding a friendly dog for months, you already know its temperament. Take it to a vet first, and tell the feeders and neighbours who know it. Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying (Gazette of India copy on AWBI's site)
Where one exists
A civic adoption scheme
Some corporations run their own schemes. Shimla's corporation approved a street dog adoption policy in October 2019 that covers personal and community adoption, and sterilises and vaccinates street dogs free at its ABC centre. Municipal Corporation Shimla
Read first
Indian pariah dog breed page
Size, coat, temperament and care for India's native dog, before you decide. INDog Project (independent; not a kennel club)
What do the ear notch and other street dog marks mean?
What the Animal Birth Control Rules, 2023 say about dogs caught and released under a city's programme.
- V-shaped ear notch
- Rule 11(16): a V-shaped notch is made on the right ear during sterilisation surgery, to show the dog has been sterilised and immunised once it is back on the street. Branding is not permitted. Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying (Gazette of India copy on AWBI's site)
- Released where caught
- Rule 11(19): sterilised dogs are released at the same place or locality they were captured from. Adopting a dog into your home is different from relocating it to another street. Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying (Gazette of India copy on AWBI's site)
- Pups under six months
- Rule 11(9): street dogs under six months are not captured for sterilisation, and mothers with puppies are not captured until the litter is two months old. A young indie pup is therefore unlikely to be sterilised yet. Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying (Gazette of India copy on AWBI's site)
- Pet animal
- Rule 7: dogs owned and kept indoors by individuals. Rule 8(1): for pet animals the owner is responsible for deworming, immunisation and sterilisation. Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying (Gazette of India copy on AWBI's site)
What does a street indie need before it moves in?
Book the vet before the move if you can, and keep the dog apart from other pets until it has been checked.
- A full check by a vet, with the dog's history as far as you know it. WSAVA
- Core vaccines as your vet advises. WSAVA's 2024 guidelines treat rabies vaccination as core where rabies is endemic, as it is in India, even where no law requires it. An ear notch suggests a past vaccination, not a current one. WSAVA
- Tick removal and a tick control product chosen by your vet. Merck advises a check for tick-borne disease even if the dog carried only a few ticks. Merck Veterinary Manual
- Deworming, as your vet advises. Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying (Gazette of India copy on AWBI's site)
- A collar with your phone number, and a lead: a street dog has not learned to stay in a flat with an open door. RSPCA
- A quiet safe place in your home with a bed, and a routine for walks, meals and rest from the first day. RSPCA
What is an indie dog like to live with?
The INDog Project's standard describes an extremely alert, very social dog that is very territorial and protective of its family. Indies are not comfortable around strangers and can get defensive, a caution the standard says should not be mistaken for a lack of courage. They bark at the slightest doubt or provocation, so in a flat expect a watchdog. Early socialisation helps, and the standard says they do well with families and children.
They are very active and thrive with regular exercise and very long walks, several times a day. Plan the walks around Indian heat: early morning and late evening in summer. The standard also notes indies do not stand cold very well, which matters in a north Indian winter.
An adult street dog may take time to accept indoor life. The RSPCA advises a steady routine, a quiet safe haven, consistent house rules and introducing new people and places gradually. Expect toilet accidents at first and never punish them.
When should an adopted indie be sterilised?
If the dog has an ear notch it is probably already sterilised; your vet can confirm. If not, the timing is your vet's decision. A 2020 study by Hart and others, using records from a university veterinary hospital in California, looked at mixed-breed dogs by adult weight. It found no increased risk of joint disorders with neutering at any age in dogs under 20 kg, and suggested delaying neutering to at least 12 months for dogs of 20 to 29 kg. Many indies fall in that heavier range, so ask your vet about timing for your dog.
The study was retrospective and from one hospital, and its authors say decisions should be made dog by dog. Petym's glossary entry on spaying and neutering covers what the operations involve.
Going away soon? Tell us your dates.
A checked local sitter feeds, walks and keeps your pet company at home, follows your care sheet to the letter and sends a photo every day. Petym is opening city by city: send your dates and we will tell you when a sitter can take them.
- Meet your sitter first, free
- PAN-checked, first-aid trained
- A photo every day
- Pay through Petym, never cash
Questions owners ask
Is it legal to adopt a street dog in India?
- Yes. Nothing in the ABC Rules, 2023 stops you giving a community dog a home, and once you keep it indoors it is a pet animal under rule 7. You then become responsible for its deworming, vaccination and sterilisation under rule 8(1). Check your city's licence rules and your society's bylaws too.
Are indie dogs healthier than pedigree dogs?
- The INDog Project's breed standard describes indies as generally very healthy, with an average life expectancy of over 15 years under good care. Street life still exposes them to ticks, worms and injuries, so an adopted indie needs a vet check, vaccines, deworming and tick control like any other dog.
Do indie dogs make good flat dogs?
- They can, with enough exercise. The INDog Project says indies thrive on very long walks several times a day and are alert, territorial watchdogs that bark readily. A dog walked well and given a routine usually settles indoors, but expect it to guard the door.
Can I adopt the community dog I feed outside my building?
- Often yes, and a dog you have fed for months is one whose temperament you know. Take it to a vet first for a check, vaccines and tick treatment, talk to other feeders, and settle it in slowly. Under the ABC Rules, a community dog is one no person or organisation has claimed.
What does the cut on a street dog's ear mean?
- Under rule 11(16) of the ABC Rules, 2023, a V-shaped notch is cut on the right ear during sterilisation surgery to show the dog has been sterilised and immunised under the city's programme. It does not tell you when the dog was last vaccinated, so ask your vet.
Keep reading
- Indian pariah dogSize, coat and care for India's native dog.
- Feeding community dogs: the rules
- Ticks on dogs
- Dog vaccination schedule
- Pet registration in India
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Sources
Each source was opened and read on the date shown. How Petym checks its sources
- INDog Project (independent; not a kennel club): Breed standard of the Indian native dog (opens in a new tab)
- Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying (Gazette of India copy on AWBI's site): Animal Birth Control Rules, 2023: G.S.R. 193(E), 10 March 2023 (opens in a new tab)
- Animal Welfare Board of India: List of Animal Welfare Organisations recognised by the Animal Welfare Board of India (as on 31 May 2026) (opens in a new tab)
- Municipal Corporation Shimla: Stray dogs: sterilisation, vaccination and the street dog adoption programme (opens in a new tab)
- WSAVA: 2024 guidelines for the vaccination of dogs and cats: executive summary (opens in a new tab)
- Merck Veterinary Manual: Ticks of dogs (opens in a new tab)
- RSPCA: Getting ready for your RSPCA rescue dog (pre-adoption booklet, 2023) (opens in a new tab)
- Frontiers in Veterinary Science: Assisting decision-making on age of neutering for mixed breed dogs of five weight categories: associated joint disorders and cancers, Hart and others, 2020 (opens in a new tab)