Issuing 'passports' for Bac Ha dogs

The precious dog of the Northwest

Sung Quang Quan, a veteran of raising Bac Ha dogs, considers this breed one of the most precious breeds of dogs in the Northwest. Bac Ha dogs originate from the Mong people in Bac Ha and Si Ma Cai. The locals use the name of the land to refer to this breed. Bac Ha dogs are loyal, intelligent, and agile. They are often raised to guard houses, follow their owners to the fields, and be on the lookout for buffalo pens.

Bac Ha dogs are usually black, red, striped, or brindle, but dogs with reddish-brown fur are the most popular. How one can choose a beautiful Bac Ha dog mainly depends on the experience of the breeder. A beautiful dog must have a thick mane, a strong skeleton, folded ears, a straight tail, a slim back, chest, and belly.

Many households in the uphill village raise Bac Ha dogs, but because they are naturally bred, it is very difficult to find purebred dogs. Many people from the lowlands go to Bac Ha to buy parent dogs and then breed them themselves, so now there are many farms with this breed of dog.

Although the price of Bac Ha dogs is cheaper than before, the common deciding factors are age, size, and color. Depending on each dog, the price can range from a few million to tens of millions of VND. This breed of dog has a fairly long life span of 15 - 20 years or more if well cared for.

Build a house, buy a motorbike thanks to ornamental dogs

In the past, some households that raised dogs for breeding earned enough to build houses and buy motorbikes, but now there are only a few of them left because it is very hard work to create a beautiful litter of dogs. Not to mention, Bac Ha dogs must be well-trained to compete with other breeds. It requires a lot of money to invest in proper kennels and playgrounds. Breeders need to have good parent breeds to maintain the pack.

“My husband loves this dog breed, and his passion has spread to me, so we both decided to switch to raising Bac Ha dogs. Bac Ha dogs are easy to raise, obedient and know how to guard the house, but to have a beautiful pack of dogs requires a fair amount of effort in breeding and selecting seeds. During the process, we have to vaccinate the dogs against diseases. My family usually vaccinates the 5-strain and 7-strain doses to keep them healthy,” said Do Thi Ngoc (Nam Cay residential group, Bac Ha town).

Nowadays, Bac Ha dogs can be bred in many places, so the selling price is not as high as before. Depending on each dog’s condition, a beautiful one can be sold for VND 6 - 7 million, even up to VND 20 million. There is also a category for small dogs under 50 days old that are sold for only VND 2 million. Thanks to doing business in the field of rare native dog breeds, Ngoc's family gains a stable income of approximately VND 100 million each year.

Keeping the dogs healthy

More than a decade ago, there were professional dog training units that coordinated with local agricultural and veterinary units and went to the highland communes in Bac Ha and Simacai districts in search of the origin and genes of purebred native dogs. However, people's habit of letting their dogs roam freely at that time made it difficult for professionals to find purebred dogs as the dogs were crossbred or inbred.

Some proposed to preserve the Bac Ha dog breed, but the required budget was massive, not to mention the in-depth research, investment in systematic and scientific farms to collect and classify, this just stayed as an idea.

Nguyen Manh Cuong, Head of Bac Ha Veterinary Station, showed the book containing the original certificate and said that people with Bac Ha dogs put in the effort to inform the commune veterinary station and receive vaccination services, usually up to 2 injections, one after birth and one after 28 days of age to guarantee the pet’s health. Bac Ha dogs brought to the market by people are all given a certificate by the station after vaccination. This makes both buyers and sellers feel secure when their dogs are brought to a new home.

"Before the vaccination, the staff station of the professional department and the district issued a document directing disease prevention and control and deployed it to communes and villages so that people could register for vaccines and schedules. Veterinary staff and commune officials will meet with people and thoroughly provide information about each type of vaccine and disease," said Cuong.