The Indian Spitz is a spitz dog breed and was a super popular one between the 1980s and 1990s when the import rules in India made it almost impossible to import breeds of dogs.
This dog breed is a very common one in India for its intelligence and cute looks. Many people often confuse the Indian Spitz with the Pomeranian breed but the two are different from each other.
What is the Cost of Indian Spitz in India?
The Indian Spitz pup is available for at least Rs. 4000 and a 2 year old will cost you between Rs. 6000 and Rs. 8000. The cost of the Indian Spitz depends on a number of factors like you buying location, whether puppy vaccinated or not and purity of breed.
We have mentioned the factors that affect the price of the Indian Spitz in detail in the following section.
Factors that affect the price of Indian Spitz
The location from where you get the Indian Spitz matters a lot when it comes to determining its price. If this breed was readily available at the specific place then it would be priced lower.
On the other hand, it would cost more if the Indian Spitz was rare at that particular place as transportation charges will also be added.
One of the most important factors that determine the cost of the Indian Spitz is its quality.
The mixed ones are available at a lower price but they may have some health issues when they grow up. The purebred Indian Spitz are costlier and healthier and its price may go up to Rs. 8000.
The reputation of the breeder also determines the cost of the Indian Spitz. The reputed breeder ensures healthy and purebred dogs, thus the pets will be costlier.
Another factor that affects the cost of the Indian Spitz is the vaccination cost. It is important to give the required vaccines to your dog to prevent diseases like distemper, hepatitis, rabies and parvovirus. Vaccines also help prevent these diseases spreading to humans.
You need to vaccinate your puppy when he/she is 6 weeks old and when he grows, you need to vaccinate him for rabies every 3 years. Your vet will help you understand better.
About & History
The Indian Spitz dog breed is not native to India. They were German Spitz brought to our country by the Britishers. They then crossbred the German Spitz with the Indian Pariah, making the Indian Spitz more adjustable to Indian conditions.
In this way, the Britishers were able to create a breed that would survive in Indian summers and have the intelligence of the German Spitz.
The Indian SPitz breed is similar to the European Spitz with an added advantage of being able to cope up with the warm climate. This dog breed is comfortable in small apartments too and requires a moderate level of exercise.
Indian spitz has other names like smaller Indian Spitz, lesser Indian Spitz and greater Indian Spitz but people also call it as Indian pomeranian dog.
The Spitz dogs have fluffy hair, hairless muzzle and pointed ears. Pomeranian is a Spitz type dog breed from Poland.
Appearance
This dog breed is small in size and has a fluffy coat. It is slightly shorter than the European Spitz dogs.
The appearance of this dog should be proportional, meaning the body from shoulder to thigh should be equal.
The muzzle is sharp, shorter than the skull and joins the head with a stop. The nose is black and located at the top of the muzzle of the dog and does not stick out beyond the lips.
The eyes of the Indian Spitz are round, dark and have a black rim. They have short ears that are set high. The ears are close to each other, triangular and erect. If your Indian Spitz has floppy ears, that means it is not a purebred.
They have straight topline, parallel legs, deep chest and moderately tucked abdomen. Its tail curls over and is short. The body weight of the female Indian Spitz is less than the male Indian Spitz.
Types & Colours of Indian Spitz
The Indian Spitz is divided into two categories, the bigger Indian Spitz, even known as the Greater Indian Spitz which weighs 12-20 kgs and 35-45 cm at withers.
Another category is of the Smaller Indian Spitz, also known as the Lesser Indian Spitz that weighs 5-7 kgs and 22-25 cms at withers.
White Indian spitz
This one is the most common of all the types. They are beautiful, have round black eyes, lips and nose. With the white fluffy coat, black features stand out.
Brown Indian Spitz
The brown Indian Spitz is almost dusky brown or orange and is also rare. This dog has black eyes, nose and lips.
Black Indian Spitz
This one is the least common of all. They are completely black in colour, have black eyes, nose and lips.
Character & Temperament
The Indian Spitz is super intelligent, playful, fun loving and high spirited. The dog is obedient, vocal and alert. This little dog is also a good watchdog.
The Indian Spitz learns everything very fast and enjoys playing. This dog is usually always happy and good with children. If you allow this dog to believe it is in charge, then it can become a barker.
This breed is affectionate, proud, and cheerful towards its masters. When they become the pack leader to humans, they can develop various qualities like destructiveness, separation anxiety, barking at strangers and even biting.
The Indian Spitz does not have these qualities, this is a result of lack of leadership. It is important to meet their natural instincts as animals and not humans.
Make them follow rules, limit them to things they can do and cannot.
Trainability
The Indian Spitz are the one among the easiest dog breeds to live with. This is why they are very popular family dogs in India. They can be trained easily, thus make sure to train them when young.
This dog can live in a small flat or a big one, they are super intelligent and can adjust themselves. They can adapt with people quickly.
Train them by giving commands like stand, sit or fetch and reward them when they follow their instructions. This will make them know that you appreciate their actions.
They are social dogs and like being around with people and other dog breeds. They like children too, thus while training this dog, you can get your kids involved too.
Grooming
Indian Spitz has long hair and needs grooming often. They like to be groomed and keep themselves clean.
They shed very often, thus you need to brush them regularly. Ensure to have a daily grooming routine of 15 minutes. Their grooming should also include the basics of toothbrushing and nail clipping.
They do not require to be bathed daily unless necessary. Bathing your Indian Spitz twice or thrice a month is fine. Bathing is an essential part of the dog’s pet care. Even if they have a healthy skin and coat, it is crucial to bathe to remove the unpleasant odour due to dirt.
Exercise
A daily walk is important for their exercise. They are small dogs and thus can exhaust themselves by playing around in the house, but a walk is necessary as they have that energy.
Since they are playful, being indoors can make them go crazy, so ensure to take them outdoors for sometime and give them ample attention.
Unlike other breeds, the Indian Spitz is happy even in a small apartment. They also love being outdoors so make sure they get the extra space.
They are highly energetic and playful and do not like being left alone.
Popularity
One of the reasons why the Indian Spitz gained its popularity in the 1980s and 1990s was because the Indian Government had strict foreign import rules.
This is why the Indian turned to the local breeds after a long time. The Indian Spitz can adapt to the warmer climate, unlike its counterpart – European Spitz. They are comfortable in smaller apartments and larger ones as well.
They need moderate exercise and are good family dogs. The Indian Spitz gained more popularity through the Bollywood film, Hum Aapke Hain Kaun (1994), where a 6 year old Indian SPitz played the role of ‘Tuffy’.
This was the first time ever where an Indian Spitz was featured on the screens. This dog belonged to the assistant director of the film and was later adopted by the actress of the movie, Madhuri Dixit.
Diet
The below mentioned feeding requirements may vary from pet to pet. Please understand your pet’s requirements and behaviour and also consult a vet to understand their nutritional requirements better.
The Indian Spitz should be fed once a day with soft food like bread, milk, banana, etc. between 1 and 8 weeks. They require 4 small meals every day when they are 8 to 12 weeks old. The ones between 3 and 6 months require 3 meals daily. Ensure to include wet food in their diet so that it is easy to digest.
2 bowls of meals are required for puppies between 6 months and 1 year. After the Indian Spitz is a year old, it requires 1 bowl of meal every day.
Some of these dogs may even eat 2 smaller bowls of meals daily. It is important to provide a balanced nutrition to the adult dog that includes canned food, water, or broth.
You Indian Spitz may love vegetables, fruits, cooked eggs and cottage cheese, you can feed him/her these items but ensure it makes up less than 10% of the daily nutrition.
Feed your furry friend high quality food and limit feeding them human food as they can result in tooth and bone issues, vitamin and mineral imbalances and the Spitz may become finicky about their food choices.
Give them clean water daily and ensure to wash their water and food dishes everyday.
Can Indian Spitz be left alone?
Generally, Indian Spitz does not handle being left alone very well since they are social dogs & enjoy being around people and other dogs. If you plan to leave them alone you must prepare them early by leaving them at home for short durations of time so that they get used to it.
Does Indian Spitz bark? Are Indian Spitz loud?
The Indian Spitz barks a lot and louder at other pets and strangers. They enjoy howling and barking loudly since it is a vocal breed and can bark in response to get attention, protection & as a separation anxiety.
As they are small dog breeds, they do not require intense exercise and thus you can tire them every day with a regular walk and activeness to avoid this kind of behaviour.
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