June 27, 2025
THANH HOA – One man in Thanh Hoá Province has spent 13 years working to preserve a rare native dog breed called the Lài dog.
Trần Anh Tuấn, nicknamed Tuấn Lài after the name of the dogs he loves, hails from Cẩm Bào Village in Vĩnh Lộc District’s Vĩnh Long Commune. For over a decade, he has spared no effort or expense to find, care for and preserve the breed.
The Mã River Lài dog, or Indochinese Dingo, is indigenous to the highland areas west of Thanh Hóa along the Mã River, as well as in some remote villages in the northern border area.
They often work as farm dogs, providing pest control around the house, herding cattle or helping to hunt for food in the forest.
This breed is one of the ‘four great national dogs’ of Việt Nam, along with the Phú Quốc, Bắc Hà and H’mông bobtail breeds.
The rare and unique dog breed is currently in danger of extinction. Today, it is critically endangered, with only a few hundred individuals remaining.
According to Tuấn, the history of the Lài dog is still unclear. They may have originated from an ancient type of dog whose fossil remains were found along the Yangtze River in China dating back 7,000 years.
About 4,000-6,000 years ago, the ancestors of the Lài dog migrated to Việt Nam. Images of the breed have been found on Đông Sơn bronze drums, daggers, axes, combs, drinking cups, hand guards and in the tombs of Đại Việt warriors, Tuấn said.
Legends say that the dogs were once used in the military, and helped King Lê defeat the Chinese Ming invaders.
“Nowadays, the Lài dog is in danger of disappearing. The biggest threat is crossbreeding with foreign dog breeds, because the Lài dog often roams freely in search of food,” Tuấn told nhandan.vn.
So for the past 13 years, despite not growing up in the highlands, Tuấn has devoted himself to the conservation of the rare breed.
He strives to find and breed pure Lài dogs, despite the challenge of having very few of them left.
Alone on long journey
Born into a poor farmer family, Tuấn was familiar with farming and animal husbandry since he was a boy. Later, he participated in a group with his university friends working to rescue cats and dogs.
His practical experience in dog and cat rescue helped him gain more knowledge about veterinary medicine.
Meanwhile, his love for Lài dogs began when Tuấn spent time searching for information and folk tales about the native dog breed.
After returning to his home in Cẩm Bào Village, Tuấn immediately started the search for Lài dogs.
However, he had to wait patiently for three years before he was able to own his first one.
Tuấn said: “I knew Vện — the dog’s name — since it was just a few months old. During the three years until the previous owner, a hunter, gave me the dog, I followed him to learn from his experience, and to learn about the characteristics and habits of Lài dogs.”
At present, Tuấn owns more than 10 dogs. The eldest is three years old and the youngest is a puppy, at just a few months old.
It is unclear whether the Lài dog is a wolf hybrid or not, but they have a similar appearance and features — especially the face and the way they walk and run, Tuấn said, adding that it is a very loyal and intelligent breed.
Lài dogs have slanted eyes of amber or light brown, and are usually very brave. They are also easy to approach, gentle and have stable nerves. An obedient breed, they do not often bark at strangers, usually follow orders and are not at all as wild as they look, he said.
Only those with experience, like Tuấn, can clearly distinguish a purebred Lài dog from a crossbred one.
The unique features of a Lài dog are a flat skull, which almost looks as if it had been pressed horizontally. The dogs also have a narrow but strong bone frame, with hair like a horse’s mane that runs along the spine and a bushy, reed-like tail that curves like a squirrel’s. Their height is around 50-60cm, and they weigh between 13 and 18kg.
Community needed
For Tuấn, preserving Lài dogs will not only help save a rare and much-loved animal, but will also protect a part of history and traditional culture.
The dogs used to be ‘soldier dogs’, following people into the forest to hunt and guarding the house, like family members. However, for a long time, they were only considered as pets or sold at the market for meat, Tuấn said.
As foreign dog breeds have become more popular as pets, the native Lài is gradually disappearing, he noted.
Before Tuấn came along, many other dedicated people tried to preserve the breed — but all failed.
Their efforts act as lessons and motivation for him to avoid repeating the same mistakes.
Tuấn began by learning from historical documents, observing ancient stone dog statues, and visiting remote villages to see how people raise and care for their dogs, gaining insight into the breed’s skeletal and other features as well as its distribution area.
He carefully documented everything to gradually form a clearer picture of what defines a purebred Lài dog. Once he did that, he created a Facebook page to introduce and share his experience in raising this breed, gradually forming a community of interested and devoted followers.
He believes that, much like cultural or tourism products with a strong regional identity, the Lài dog carries a story tied to history. It is a distinctive and iconic animal for Thanh Hóa, and, more broadly, for Việt Nam.
That is why his dream is to build a small centre for visitors to hear stories, learn how to identify the Lài dog and spread love for the breed that once stood beside King Lê in the nation’s resistance against foreign invaders.
The centre would not just be a place for those who love Lài dogs, but also for those who love nature, local culture and traditional values.
Tuấn’s journey is not simply about preserving a native dog breed. It is about safeguarding a piece of collective memory, a part of our identity in an era when everything is constantly changing. VNS