Dog Breeds

Irish Wolfhound

A breed of domestic dog, specifically a very large sighthound from Ireland. The name originates from its purpose—wolf hunting with dogs—rather than from its appearance. Originally developed from war hounds with the purpose of being a hunting or guard dog.

Mastiff

A breed of extremely large dog perhaps descended from the ancient Alaunt and Pugnaces Britanniae, with a significant input from the Alpine Mastiff in the 19th century.

English Springer Spaniel

A breed of gun dog in the Spaniel family traditionally used for flushing and retrieving game. It is an affectionate, excitable breed with a typical lifespan of twelve to fourteen years.

English Cocker Spaniel

A breed of gun dog. They are active, good-natured, sporting dogs standing well up at the withers and compactly built. There are "field" or "working" cockers and "show" cockers.

Australian Cattle Dog

A breed of herding dog originally developed in Australia for droving cattle over long distances across rough terrain. This breed is a medium-sized, short-coated dog that occurs in two main colour forms.

German Shepherd

A breed of medium to large-sized working dog that originated in Germany. The breed was officially known as the Alsatian in Britain until 1977 when its name was changed back.

Beagle

A breed of small hound that is similar in appearance to the much larger foxhound. It is a scent hound, developed primarily for hunting hare.

St. Bernard

A breed of very large working dog from the western Alps in Italy and Switzerland. They were originally bred for rescue by the hospice of the Great St Bernard Pass on the Italian-Swiss border.

Pembroke Welsh Corgi

A cattle herding dog breed which originated in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It is one of two breeds known as a Welsh Corgi. The other is the Cardigan Welsh Corgi, and both descend from the line that is the northern spitz-type dog.

Chow Chow

A dog breed originally from northern China, where it is referred to as Songshi Quan, which means "puffy-lion dog".

Poodle

A group of formal dog breeds, the Standard ______, Miniature ______ and Toy ______. The origin of the breed is still discussed, with a prominent dispute over whether the poodle descends from Germany as a type of water dog, or from the French Barbet.

Chinese Crested

A hairless breed of dog. Like most hairless dog breeds, it comes in two varieties, with and without fur, which are born in the same litter: the Powderpuff and the Hairless.

Afghan Hound

A hound that is distinguished by its thick, fine, silky coat and its tail with a ring curl at the end. The breed is selectively bred for its unique features in the cold mountains of Afghanistan. Its local name is Tāžī Spay or Sag-e Tāzī.

Alaskan Malamute

A large breed of domestic dog originally bred for their strength and endurance to haul heavy freight, and later as a sled dog. They are similar to other arctic breeds and spitz breeds, such as the Greenland Dog, Canadian Eskimo Dog, the Siberian Husky, and the Samoyed.

Golden Retriever

A large-sized breed of dog bred as gun dogs to retrieve shot waterfowl, such as ducks and upland game birds, during hunting and shooting parties, and were named 'retriever' because of their ability to retrieve shot game undamaged.

Rottweiler

Abreed of domestic dog, regarded as medium-to-large or large. The dogs were known in German as Rottweiler Metzgerhund, meaning Rottweil butchers' dogs, because their main use was to herd livestock and pull carts laden with butchered meat to market.

Airedale Terrier

Also called Bingley Terrier and Waterside Terrier, it is a dog breed of the terrier type that originated in the valley of the River Aire, in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is traditionally called the "King of Terriers" because it is the largest of the terrier breeds.

Papillion

Also called the Continental Toy Spaniel, is a breed of dog, of the spaniel type. One of the oldest of the toy spaniels, it derives its name from its characteristic butterfly-like look of the long and fringed hair on the ears. One with dropped ears is called a Phalène.

Shih Tzu

Also known as the Chrysanthemum Dog, is a toy dog breed, weighing from 4 to 7.25 kilograms when fully grown. The breed developed in China. The exact origin is unknown and is thought to have originated in the Tibetan Plateau.

Cocker Spaniel

Dogs belonging to two breeds of the spaniel dog type: the American Cocker Spaniel and the English Cocker Spaniel, both of which are commonly called simply Cocker Spaniel in their countries of origin. In the early 20th century, Cocker Spaniels also included small hunting Spaniels.

Australian Shepherd

Often known simply as the "Aussie", a medium-sized breed of dog that was, despite its name, developed on ranches in the Western United States during the 19th century.

Akita

The Akita is a large breed of dog originating from the mountainous regions of northern Japan. There are two separate varieties of Akita: a Japanese strain, commonly called "Akita Inu", or "Japanese Akita"; and an American strain, known as the "Akita" or "American Akita".

Great Dane

A German breed of domestic dog known for its giant size. The German name of the breed is Deutsche Dogge, or German Mastiff. The French name is Dogue Allemand. The record holder for tallest dog was one of them called Zeus, that measured 111.8 cm from paw to shoulder.

Bull Terrier

A breed of dog in the terrier family. There is also a miniature version of this breed. This dog is also Target's(A store's) mascot.

Pomeranian

A breed of dog of the Spitz type that is named for the Pomerania region in north-west Poland and north-east Germany in Central Europe. Classed as a toy dog breed because of its small size, the Pomeranian is descended from the larger Spitz-type dogs, specifically the German Spitz.

Boston Terrier

A breed of dog originating in the United States of America. This "American Gentleman" was accepted in 1893 by the American Kennel Club as a non-sporting breed. Color and markings are important when distinguishing this breed to the AKC standard.

Pug

A breed of dog with physically distinctive features of a wrinkly, short-muzzled face, and curled tail. The breed has a fine, glossy coat that comes in a variety of colours, most often fawn or black, and a compact square body with well-developed muscles.

Greyhound

A breed of dog, a sighthound which has been bred for coursing game and Greyhound racing. Since the rise in large-scale adoption of retired racing __________, the breed has seen a resurgence in popularity as a family pet.

Maltese

The Maltese, Canis familiaris Maelitacus, is a small breed of dog in the Toy Group. It descends from dogs originating in the Central Mediterranean Area. The breed name and origins are generally understood to derive from the Mediterranean island nation of Malta.

Dachshund

The dachshund is a short-legged, long-bodied, hound-type dog breed. The standard size dachshund was developed to scent, chase, and flush out badgers and other burrow-dwelling animals, while the miniature dachshund was bred to hunt smaller prey such as rabbits.

Chihuahua

old breed of tiny short-coated dog with protruding eyes from Mexico held to antedate Aztec civilization

Rough Collie

A long-coated breed of medium to large size dog that in its original form was a type of collie used and bred for herding in Scotland. Originating in the 1800s, it is now well known through the works of author Albert Payson Terhune, and through the Lassie novel, movies, and television shows.

Siberian Husky

A medium size working dog breed that originated in Northeast Asia. The breed belongs to the Spitz genetic family. With proper training, they make great home pets and sled dogs. It is recognizable by its thickly furred double coat, erect triangular ears, and distinctive markings.

Pointer

A medium to large-sized breed of dog, developed in England as a gun dog. It is one of several pointing breeds.

Doberman Pinscher

A medium-large breed of domestic dog that was originally developed around 1890 by Karl Friedrich Louis Dobermann, a tax collector from Germany. This breed has a long muzzle. It stands on its pads and is not usually heavy-footed.

Bulldog

A medium-sized breed of dog. It is a muscular, hefty dog with a wrinkled face and a distinctive pushed-in nose. The American Kennel Club, The Kennel Club, and the United Kennel Club oversee breeding records.

Boxer

A medium-sized, short-haired breed of dog, developed in Germany. The coat is smooth and tight-fitting; colors are fawn or brindled, with or without white markings, and white.

American Pit Bull Terrier

A purebred dog breed recognized by the United Kennel Club and American Dog Breeders Association. It is a medium-sized, solidly-built, intelligent, short-haired dog, whose early ancestors came from the British Isles. They were trained as fighting dogs, and many people stereotype them as vicious.

Irish Setter

A setter, a breed of gundog, and family dog. The term Irish Setter is commonly used to encompass the show-bred dog recognised by the American Kennel Club as well as the field-bred Red Setter recognised by the Field Dog Stud Book.

Basset Hound

A short-legged breed of dog of the hound family. A scent hound that was originally bred for the purpose of hunting hare. Their sense of smell and ability to ground-scent is second only to that of the Bloodhound. They are one of 6 recognized basset-type breeds in France.

Miniature Pinscher

A small breed of dog originating from Germany. The breed's earliest ancestors may have included the German Pinscher mixed with Italian greyhounds and dachshunds.

Italian Greyhound

A small breed of dog; of the sighthound type, sometimes called the Italian for short, and nicknamed the "IG" or "Iggy".

French Bulldog

A small breed of domestic dog. They were the result in the 1800s of a cross between bulldog ancestors imported from England and local ratters in Paris, France.

Yorkshire Terrier

A small dog breed of terrier type, developed during the 19th century in Yorkshire, England. Ideally its maximum size is 7 pounds. A popular companion dog, it has also been part of the development of other breeds, such as the Australian Silky Terrier.

King Charles Spaniel

A small dog breed of the spaniel type. In 1903, the Kennel Club combined four separate toy spaniel breeds under this single title.

Cavalier King Charles Spaniel

A small spaniel classed as a toy dog by The Kennel Club and the American Kennel Club, that originated in the United Kingdom. Since 2000, it has grown in popularity in the United States and ranks as the 18th most popular pure-breed in the United States.

Bichon Frise

A small sturdy dog of a breed with a curly white coat and a tail that curves over its back

Jack Russell Terrier

A small terrier that has its origins in fox hunting. It is principally white-bodied and smooth, rough or broken-coated but can be any colour. It is frequently confused with the Parson Russell terrier and the Russell terrier, which is a shorter-legged, stockier variety.

Labrador Retriever

A type of retriever-gun dog. It is one of the most popular breeds of dog in Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Border Collie

A working and herding dog breed developed in the Anglo-Scottish border region for herding livestock, especially sheep. It was specifically bred for intelligence and obedience.

Havanese

The national dog of Cuba, developed from the now extinct Blanquito de la Habana. The Blanquito descended from the also now extinct Bichon Tenerife. It is believed that the Blanquito was eventually cross-bred with other Bichon types, including the Poodle, to create this breed.