Selection of Dog Breed
Selecting the right dog breed depends on several factors, including lifestyle, living space, activity level, and personal preferences of owners.
Group of Dog Breeds
The AKC (American Kennel Club) divides dogs into seven groups into sporting, hound, working, terrier, toy, non-sporting, and herding.
The non-sporting group includes several breeds that could easily fit elsewhere; the Dalmatian and Standard Poodle have sporting dog personalities and energy level; the Chow, Finnish Spitz, and Shiba were originally hunting dogs; and the Boston Terrier is by rights a terrier.

The American Kennel Club (AKC) divides dog breeds into seven groups based on their historical roles, characteristics, and original functions. The classification is as follows:
- Sporting Group
- Hound Group
- Working Group
- Terrier Group
- Toy Group
- Non-sporting Group
- Herding breeds Group

Sporting Group
Dogs in the sporting group include the setters, pointers, spaniels, retrievers, and a handful of others, all bred to hunt game birds. Some work in water, others on land, and still others in both. Their personalities range from mild to hard-headed to tough, but all are suitable family dogs for an active household of patient owners.
Cocker Spaniels will not abide rough handling or teasing.
If you cannot keep your dog confined in a securely fenced yard when he’s not under direct supervision, choose a breed that is more willing to be a homebody; the sporting dogs were bred to hunt, and most will take advantage of every opportunity to follow their noses up hill and down dale.
The stars of the sporting group are the Golden Retriever and Labrador Retriever. They enjoy the attention of well-behaved children and will usually put up with some bratty behavior. They are relatively easy to train, easy to care for, and often seem to be perpetually young.
The setters are very high energy dogs that are fine for active families, and the pointers are working dogs that tolerate children but are not particularly easy to train as house pets.
Sporting group, this breeds should be kept confined in a secured fence, they enjoy the attention of well behaved children, easy to train, care.
Hound Group
Two basic types are scent and sight hounds. Scent hounds are lethargic, almost frenzied to get about the business, difficult to train for obedience.
The hounds come in many sizes and in two basic types, scent hounds, who follow their noses anywhere, and sight hounds, whose gaze lingers on the horizon in the search for game. Some of the scent hounds are lethargic, others are almost frenzied to get about the business of following a trail.
Most are difficult to obedience train because their noses are always responding to the pungent world of odours far beyond the ken of humans.
The scent hounds are friendly critters accustomed to working with their handlers in the field. Sigh hounds, bred to work independently of the hunter, tend to be aloof and rather tough to obedience train.
The scent hounds are Basset; Beagle; Black and Tan Coon hound; Bloodhound; Dachsunds (three coats types-wire, smooth, and long-and two sizes-standard and miniature); American and English Foxhounds; Harrier; Norwegian Elkhound; Otterhound; and Petit Basset Griffon Vendeen.
The Elkhound looks more like a sled dog than a hound; it was bred to hunt moose in snow-covered mountains and has the typical northern dog thick undercoat that sheds profusely.
The sight hounds are pictures of grace and elegance with their long legs, slender bodies, and long noses. They are Afghan Hound; Basenji; Borzoi (Russian Wolfhound); Greyhound; Ibizan Hound; Irish Wolfhound; Pharaoh Hound; Rhodesian Ridgeback; Saluki; Scottish Deerhound; and Whippet.
Rhodesian Ridgebacks are also used as guard dogs, and Greyhounds still race at tracks in several states.
Many sight hound owners participate in lure coursing, a chasing sport that mimics the hunts for which their dogs were originally bred. In lure coursing, the dogs chase a plastic bag pulled along a wire on a marked course.
Working Breeds
The working dogs are medium-to-giant size and are often independent and difficult to manage. Some were developed to guard palaces, homes, and livestock, occupations that require true grit. Others were draft animals, hauling carts of fish or cheese or carrying the worldly goods of nomadic tribes.
Several of these breeds are jacks of many trades; Rottweiler as a cattle drover and farmer’s protector and Akitas as palace guards and big game hunters.
Many of these breeds are aloof and independent with strangers. Working dogs should be accustomed to children at an early age, for a child’s staring, quick and unpredictable movements, and high-pitched voice can trigger prey drive in unsocialized or poorly socialized adults of these breeds.
Of the working breeds, the Samoyed, Saint Bernard, Portuguese Water Dog, Newfoundland, and Siberian Husky have the mildest temperaments, and the Akita, Rottweiler, Boxer, Komondor, and Doberman can be the most domineering.
The remaining working breeds are Alaskan Malamute, Bernese Mountain Dog, Bullmastiff; Giant Schnauzer; Great Dane; Great Pyrenees; Kuvasz; Mastiff; and Standard Schnauzer.
A working breed that is not socialized as a puppy and young adult can easily become a domineering pet prone to jumping on people and furniture, growling at children and unconfident adults, and refusing to come when called or lie down on command.
Often independent and difficult to manage some used in guarding and some in hauling, unsocialised at young age are prone to jumping on people and furniture, growing at children and unconfident adult.
With few exceptions, working breeds are not suitable for first time dog owners without a commitment to formal obedience training and willingness to establish and maintain control from the moment the puppy walks in the door.
Many of the working breeds have thick, downy undercoats and moderately long topcoats that shed once or twice each year. The undercoats are fine and drift everywhere; the topcoats are somewhat coarse and can pierce human skin. During shedding, these dogs should be combed daily.
Owners need a laissez-faire attitude about neatness as the hair gets into every nook and cranny and on every piece of clothing in the house semi-annually.
Those who are unprepared for the volume of hair involved will wonder just how all that fuzz fit on one dog, so be sure you don’t mind ubiquitous hair if you consider one of these breeds.
Other working breeds that need a firm hand are Akita, Alaskan Malamute, Boxer, Great Pyrenees, Kuvasz, Bullmastiff, Mastiff, Giant Schnauzer, Doberman, Komondor, Siberian Husky, and Standard Schnauzer. Akitas, Malamutes, Boxers, Komondor, and the Schnauzers can be dog aggressive and Akitas and Mals will hunt small game and cats.
Working dogs that are easier to handle are Newfoundland, Portuguese Water Dog, Samoyed, Bernese Mountain Dog, Greater Swiss Mountain Dog, Great Dane, and Saint Bernard.
Many working dogs are susceptible to degenerative joint disease, particularly hip dysplasia, and should only be purchased from breeders who clear their breeding stock of this genetic abnormality.
Working Breeds are not suitable for first time dog owners, hairs tends to shed regularly and need combing, many are susceptible to degenerative joint diseases.
Terriers Breeds
The terriers are also hunting dogs, but their game is generally vermin, not birds and animals for the dinner table. With few exceptions, terriers developed in the British Isles to control rats, mice, foxes, and other predatory animals that raided farmer’s grains and chickens, shopkeepers storage bins, and housewives’ kitchen larders.
The terriers come in wire, smooth, and soft coats and in short-and long-legged body types.
Terrier temperament is fiery. The smallest terriers are scrappy, ready to take on even giant sized adversaries. This attitude stood them well in vermin-hunting and gives them an earnest and often boisterous attitude toward life as a pet. On the down side, some terriers are happy and can be nippy with overactive children. They can also be quite independent and difficult to train for the weak-of will.
The wire-haired terriers have special grooming needs. Dead hairs must be pulled out of their coats to maintain good coat color and texture. The hard-coated terriers are Airedale, Australian, Border, Cairn, Irish, Lake land, Miniature Schnauzer, Norfolk, Norwich, Scottish, Sealyham, Skye, Welsh, West Highland White, and Wire haired Fox.
Terriers are not generally good for rowdy children, for they will give back as good (or better) than is dished out. Three terriers, the Border, Irish, and the Soft-coated Wheaten, are considered to be generally good with children. The others are recommended only for families with older, well-behaved youngsters
Hard-coated terriers are often preferred by families with allergies because they do not drop their dead hairs throughout the house.
Instead, the dead hairs must be pulled out in order to keep the skin healthy and maintain the coats’ rich colors and bright whites. Many terrier owners prefer to have a groomer do the job.
Most terriers are tough to train, for they have their own idea of how the world works and that idea frequently differs from the owners. Few will back down from a confrontation with another dog.
Terriers Breeds are quite independent and difficult to train, some breed need special grooming, not good for rowdy children.
Toy Breeds
Toy breeds dogs, often smaller versions of other breeds, were developed as companions to the ladies and gentlemen of the courts in various nations.
Diminutive size does not mean a mildness of temperament; many little dogs are as tough as their larger cousins.
As a rule (Pug excepted), they do not like small children, and their movements can be too quick for elderly family members. Many breeders of toy dogs keep their puppies until they are 10-12 weeks old instead of selling them at the more-typical eight weeks. And many will not sell to a family with young children or very active children.
Toy dogs are generally easy care pets. Some (Shih-Tzu, Pomeranian, Yorkshire Terrier, Maltese, and Pekingese) require heavy grooming; some (Japanese Chin, Toy Poodle, and English Toy Spaniel) require moderate grooming; and other require little or no grooming.
The important thing is to keep the long, fine hairs free of tangles and mats to avoid pain and skin problems for the dog and a big grooming or vet bill for you. Some need relatively more exercise than larger breeds and are frantic apartment dwellers.
Most are less than 12 inches tall and weigh less than 12 pounds.
The toy breeds are Affenpinscher, Brussels Griffon, Chihuahua (long-haired and smooth-coated),
English Toy Spaniel, Italian Greyhound, Japanese Chin, Maltese, Toy Manchester Terrier, Miniature Pinscher, Papillon, Pekingese, Pomeranian, Toy Poodle, Pug, Shih Tzu, Silky Terrier, and Yorkshire Terrier.
Toy breeds are good companion to ladies, are tougher than their large cousins, except pug other breed don’t like children, required grooming.
Non-Sporting Dogs
Non-Sporting dogs are a diverse group of dogs ranging in size from the small Bichon Frise to the 60-pound Dalmatian and including the northern-type Keeshonden and Finnish Spitz and two of the three Poodle varieties.
There’s no unifying theme here; in fact, several of these breeds could easily fit another group.
These dogs have come to be known as companions even though they started out with a variety of jobs in their native lands.
English Bulldog was designed to grab a bull by the snout and hang on for dear life until the animal could be killed.
The Dalmatian was a Gypsy camp dog in Europe and then a coach dog in England. The Standard
Poodle was a German hunting dog, the Tibetan Terrier alerted the monastery to the approach of strangers, the Shiba hunted small game in Japan, the Keeshond oversaw the start of a new political party, and the Finnish Spitz hunted large game birds.
Of the non-sporting dogs, the Dalmatian and Chow Chow are probably the most misunderstood. The Dalmatian is an active, independent, athletic dog that needs a firm hand.
The personalities of these dogs range from the calm of the Bulldog to the high energy of the Dalmatian and cover about everything in between.
The Dalmatian has been overbred to satisfy the market created by the movies and by the popularity of black-and-white fashion design.
Families looking for a Dalmatian should choose their source very carefully to avoid getting a hyperactive, fearful, aggressive, or deaf puppy.
The remaining non-sporting breeds are Boston Terrier, Bulldog, French Bulldog, Lhasa Apso, Schipperke, Tibetan Spaniel, Tibetan Terrier.
Herding Dogs
About a dozen years ago, the AKC separated herding dogs from the working group. These are the dogs who began their careers as livestock herders in the British Isles, on the European Continent, and in the US, the indispensable farmers’ dogs that could work dawn-to-dusk to bring the sheep to the barn or to market. Several of these breeds have gone on to excel in police work, search and rescue, tracking, service to handicapped owners, and as sentries and couriers during wartime.
Most herding dogs are active, intelligent, courageous, and determined. Many are favorites for obedience competition for their strong working bond with their owners.
Herding dogs are mostly medium-to-large in size, but include the smaller Shetland Sheepdog and the two Corgis.
The German Shepherd, a versatile working dog, is part of this group, as is the Border Collie.
Herding dogs are more active, intelligent, courageous and determined.
The Border Collie is not a breed for everyone. It is very smart and must be kept very busy. Unless you can spend lots of time playing Frisbee or fetch, find someone with agility equipment you can use, or teach the dog to herd sheep or ducks, forget the Border Collie. This dog doesn’t just need exercise, he needs meaningful exercise. A walk won’t do unless he gets to fetch something, herd something, or climb over, under, around, and through something.
Border Collie rescue always has several dogs whose owners did not realise these things before they bought the dog.
The other herding breeds are calmer. The German Shepherd is prone to temperament problems because of over breeding, so it is imperative to seek out a responsible breeder who deals only in dogs of good temperament.
The German Shepherds from European working lines tend to have higher drives than the US dogs; these dogs also must have work to do or they can become destructive.
The rough-coated Collie is a true family companion. If grooming is not in your repertoire, try smooth-coated version of the breed. The Old English Sheepdog must be groomed often to prevent mats and is somewhat hard-headed.