Welcome to my breeds page. Here you will find information on the eight breed groups. As I get more information I will add it to this page. These groups are according to the American Kennel Club even though I'm Canadian. Here's link to the Canadian Kennel Club.
There are many different breeds around. Here are
some guidelines about breed groups.
Sporting
Hounds
Working
Terriers
Toys
Non-sporting
Herding
Non-AKC breeds
Sporting dogs are often used for hunting. Sporting dogs-setters, pointers, retrievers and spaniels-were developed not to chase and kill the game but to help firearms-equipped hunters locate game birds, to flush the birds from hiding places so that they could be shot and, finally, to bring back the dead and injured to the hunter's hand without further damage. That doesn't mean that you can't have them as house pets, it is just that they need lots of exercise. They may also be more aggressive toward birds, squirrels and other small animals. They are good if you live in the country because of the space but you must train them to be calm around animals. A big yard in the city might be better.
Small
to medium sized breeds (24 to 50 pounds
American Water Spaniel, Brittany, cocker spaniel, English cocker
spaniel, English springer spaniel, field spaniel, sussex spaniel,
Welsh springer spaniel.
Large breeds (50 to
80 pounds)
Chesapeake Bay retriever, Clumber spaniel, curly coated
retriever, english setter, flat-coated retriever, german
shorthaired pointer, german wirehaired pointer, golden retriever,
gordon setter, Irish setter, Irish water spaniel, labrador
retriever, pointer,vizsla,weimaraner, wirehaired pointing
griffon.
Activity level: Most sporting breeds have energy to burn, but the
low-slung Clumber and sussex spaniels are relatively calm.
The most popular sporting breed is the Labrador retriever. The
least popular is the Sussex spaniel.
Hounds group consists of scent hounds, sight
hounds, and one breed, the dachshund(pronounced dash hound)
that, based on it's development to "go to the ground"
after vermin, arguably belongs with the terriers.
The size range is really strange and incredible, from miniature
dachshunds, about five inches tall at the shoulder with a weight
of less then 10 pounds, to the tallest dog of all, the Irish
wolfhound, more than 30 inches tall and weighing more than 100
pounds.
"Come" is a very difficult concept with hounds. They
would rather be spending time with their nose on the ground,
sniffing and/or looking for an animal.
Tiny breeds (less
than 20 pounds)
Dachshunds, standard and miniature
Small to medium sized
breeds(20 to 50 pounds)
Basenji, basset hound, beagle, harrier, Norwegian elkhound, petit
basset griffon Vendeen, whippet.
Large breeds (50 to
80 pounds)
Afghan hound, American foxhound, black and tan Coonhound, english
foxhound, greyhound, Ibizian hound, Pharaoh hound, Rhodesian
ridgeback, saluki.
Giant breeds (more
than 80 pounds)
bloodhound, borzoi, Irish wolfhound, otterhound, Scottish
deerhound.
Activity level:
Most hounds have energy to burn, but many breeds are fairly calm
in the house.
Working dogs are pretty tough. The most popular
working dog is the rottweiler.
Small to medium sized
breeds (20 to 50 pounds)
Portugese water dog, standard schnauzer.
Large breeds (50 to
80 pounds)
Boxer, Doberman pinscher, Giant schnauzer, Samoyed, Siberian
husky
Giant breeds (more
than 80 pounds)
Akita, Alaskan malamute, Bernese mountain dog, bullmastiff, Great
dane, Great Pyrenee, Komondor, Kuvasz, mastiff, Newfoundland,
Rottweiler, St. Bernard, and greater Swiss mountain dog.
Activity level:
Many of these strong, powerful dogs are fairly laid-back,
although exercise is still a must.
The terriers should be looked at as two seperate
groups:
The first contains what most think of when they think
"terrier": Mostly small, wire-coated breeds such as the
Cairn terrier and miniature schnauzer, dogs developed to dispatch
rats, foxes, badgers, weasels, otters and anything else land
owners decided they could do better without.
The second contains those breeds that resulted from crossings of
bulldogs and terriers to produce animals such as the bull terrier
that were as solidly built and heavily muscled as the bulldog,
but with the terrier's classic tanacity and boldness. These
breeds, commonly -- but incorrectly -- lumped under the name
"pitbull", were developed to fight other dogs in cruel
contests that have been illegal for decades (but unfortunately
continue, in inner cities and backwoods alike).
The most popular breed is the Miniature schnauzer. The least
popular is the sealyham terrier.
Small to medium sized
breeds (20 to 50 pounds)
Australian terrier, Bedlington terrier, border terrier, bull
terrier, Cairn terrier, Dandie Dinmont terrier, Irish terrier,
Kerry blue terrier, lakeland terrier, standard manchester
terrier, miniature bull terrier, miniature schnauzer, Norfolk
terrier, Norwich terrier, Scottish terrier, Sealyham terrier,
soft coated wheaten terrier, smooth fox terrier, Staffordshire
bull terrier, Welsh terrier, West Highland white terrier, wire
fox terrier.
Large breeds (50 to
80 pounds)
Airedale terrier, american Straffordshire terrier.
Activity level:
The bull and terrier breeds can be quiet and calm. The classic
terriers have energy to burn.
They're cute. They're feisty. They're often quite
long-lived. Some places with " No Dogs Allowed" signs
don't enforce the rules when it comes to these charming little
dogs. Toy dogs are the only dogs who can travel in the cabins of
airliners because generally, they are the only dogs whose
carriers can fit under the seat. They are special. Just ask them.
You can give them ironic names like Spike, ripper and killer, and
people will think you're amusing. You can give them names like
daddy's itsy bitsy little cutesy-poo and people won't think you
are too addle-brained. You can dress them in sweaters, you can
have their toenails painted bright red. You can laugh at their
furious displays of territoriality when a large dog passes in
front of your house, and you can pick them up to keep them out of
trouble when that large dog decides he's not about to tolerate
insults from a scrap of fur no bigger than his head. Mostly what
you can do with a toy breed is enjoy. Many toy breeds have spent
their days being pampered while the bigger dogs were out slaving
all day. Many of these breeds have luxurious coats that need
either to be clipped short or groomed frequently to keep tangles
and mats away. Some real shedders are in here too, but because
the dogs are small, so too, is the problem of dealing with the
fur.
The most popular toy breed is the Pomeranian and the least is the
English toy spaniel.
Tiny breeds (less
than 20 pounds)
Brusels griffon, Cavalier King Charles spaniel, Chihuahua,
Chinese crested, english toy spaniels, italian greyhound,
Japanese chin, maltese, miniature pinscher, papillon, Pekingese,
Pomeranian, pug, shih tzu, silky terrier, toy poodle, toy
manchesterb terrier and yorkshire terriers.
Activity level:
Most toys are lively and energetic.
The only things these dogs have in common is they
don't have enough in common with the breeds of any other group.
This is the catchall group, and has been since the AKC had just
two groups --- Sporting and non-sporting
You will find animals like the bichon frise who were bred to be
pampered but bigger then toys. The poodle, a multipurpose breed
that today is primarily a companian, but has worked as a
retriever, truffle hunter and circus performer.
Most popular: poodle including the toy poodle as well as the
standard and miniature varieties.
Least popular: Finnish spitz
Tiny breeds (less
than 20 pounds)
Tibetan spaniel, Schipperke.
Small to medium sized
breeds (20 to 50 pounds)
American Eskimo dog, bichon frise, Boston terrier, bulldog,
shar-pei, Finnish spitz, French bulldog, Keeshond, Lhasa apso,
miniature poodle, shiba inu, Tibetan terrier.
Large breeds (50 to
80 pounds)
Chow Chow, Dalmatian, standard poodle
Activity level:
All across the board. Poodles at the high end, bull dogs at the
low end.
Not many people keep sheep and cattle these days,
but that doesn't bother the herding breeds much. These versatile
and intelligent dogs have made their mark in the modern day world
as police dogs, drug detection dogs, search-and-rescue dogs and
even movie stars.
Most popular: German shephard. Least popular: Puli
Small to medium sized
breeds (20 to 50 pounds)
Australian cattle dog, bearded collie, border collie, Cardigan
Welsh corgi, Pembroke welsh corgi, puli, Shetland sheepdog.
Large breeds (50 to
80 pounds)
Australian shepherd, Belgian malinois, Belgian sheepdog, Belgian
tervuren, bouvier des Flandres, Briard, German shepherd, Old
English sheepdog, rough collie, smooth collie.
Activity level: These agile breeds have energy to burn.
Just slightly more than 150 breeds in the seven different
groups are allowed to compete for American Kennel Club
championships; at least twice that many breeds are in the world.
That leaves a whole lot of purebred dogs unaccounted for, a
couple of them popular on the AKC's home turf.
Two non-AKC breeds: Jack Russel terrier and Nova Scotia duck
tolling retriever.
Copyright 1997 - 2003
Kathleen
All rights reserved.