Recently, the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying asked local authorities not to issue licenses for owning or breeding certain types of dogs that they deem dangerous to humans.
One of the breeds mentioned in the list of 23 is the wolf dog, which is a mix of wolf and various domestic breeds like Akitas and German Shepherds.
These hybrids can display a mix of wild and domestic traits, starting out gentle but becoming more wolf-like as they mature.
Keeping wolf dogs is illegal under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, due to the wolf's protected status.
In Ladakh, these hybrids are known as Khib-shang, with "khi" meaning 'dog' and "shang" referring to the wolf.