Select a Purebred Dog as a Pet

In this section, you will find an overview of some of the more popular Purebred breeds of dogs, some large and some small. The American Kennel Club divides Purebred dogs into seven categories or groups. The first group was established in 1878 and is the Sporting Group. The second group was established in 1928 and is the Hound Group which was reclassified out of the Sporting Group. The third group was the largest with thirty two breeds prior to 1983, when the Working Group was revamped. The fourth group the Terrier Group started out with two divisions, Short Legged Terriers and Long Legged Terriers but came together to form the Terrier Group. The fifth, the Toy Group was established in 1928. The sixth group was the Non-Sporting Group, any dog that did not fit into the other group found themselves in this group. The last group, the Herding Group train easily because of their interaction with humans.

The Sporting Group

The American Kennel Club's Sporting Group has twenty seven breeds, which are the American Water Spaniel, Brittany, Chesapeake Bay Retriever, Clumber Spaniel, Cocker Spaniel, Curly-Coated Retriever, English Cocker Spaniel, English Setter, English Springer Spaniel, Field Spaniel, Flat-Coated Retriever, German Shorthaired Pointer, German Wirehaired Pointer, Golden Retriever, Gordon Setter, Irish Red and White Setter, Irish Setter, Irish Water Spaniel, Labrador Retriever, Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever, Pointer, Spinone Italiano, Sussex Spaniel, Vizsla, Weimaraner, Welsh Springer Spaniel and Wirehaired Pointing Griffon. To learn more about some of this group that I am familiar with. - Click Here

The Hound Group

There are twenty three breeds in the American Kennel Club's Hound Group. They are the Afghan Hound, American Foxhound, Basenji, Basset Hound, Beagle, Black and Tan Coonhound, Bloodhound, Borzoi, Dachshund, English Foxhound, Greyhound, Harrier, Ibizan Hound, Irish Wolfhound, Norwegian Elkhound, Otterhound, Petit Basset Griffon Vendéen, Pharaoh Hound, Plott, Rhodesian Ridgeback, Saluki, Scottish Deerhound and Whippet. To learn more about some of this group that I am familiar with. - Click Here

The Working Group

There are twenty six breeds in the American Kennel Club's Working Group. They are the Akita, Alaskan Malamute, Anatolian Shepherd Dog, Bernese Mountain Dog, Black Russian Terrier, Boxer, Bullmastiff, Doberman Pinscher, Dogue de Bordeaux, German Pinscher, Giant Schnauzer, Great Dane, Great Pyrenees, Greater Swiss Mountain Dog, Komondor, Kuvasz, Mastiff, Neapolitan Mastiff, Newfoundland, Portuguese Water Dog, Rottweiler, Saint Bernard, Samoyed, Siberian Husky, Standard Schnauzer and Tibetan Mastiff. To learn more about some of this group that I am familiar with. - Click Here

The Terrier Group

There are twenty seven breeds in the American Kennel Club's Terrier Group. They are the Airedale Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier, Australian Terrier, Bedlington Terrier, Border Terrier, Bull Terrier, Cairn Terrier, Dandie Dinmont Terrier, Glen of Imaal Terrier, Irish Terrier, Kerry Blue Terrier, Lakeland Terrier, Manchester Terrier, Miniature Bull Terrier, Miniature Schnauzer, Norfolk Terrier, Norwich Terrier, Parson Russell Terrier, Scottish Terrier, Sealyham Terrier, Skye Terrier, Smooth Fox Terrier, Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier, Staffordshire Bull Terrier, Welsh Terrier, West Highland White Terrier and Wire Fox Terrier. To learn more about some of this group that I am familiar with. - Click Here

The Toy Group

There are twenty one breeds in the American Kennel Club's Toy Group. They are the Affenpinscher, Brussels Griffon, Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Chihuahua, Chinese Crested, English Toy Spaniel, Havanese, Italian Greyhound, Japanese Chin, Maltese, Manchester Terrier, Miniature Pinscher, Papillon, Pekingese, Pomeranian, Poodle, Pug, Shih Tzu, Silky Terrier, Toy Fox Terrier and Yorkshire Terrier. To learn more about some of this group that I am familiar with. - Click Here

The Non-Sporting Group

There are seventeen breeds in the American Kennel Club's Non-Sporting Group. They are the American Eskimo Dog, Bichon Frise, Boston Terrier, Bulldog, Chinese Shar-Pei, Chow Chow, Dalmatian, Finnish Spitz, French Bulldog, Keeshond, Lhasa Apso, Löwchen, Poodle, Schipperke, Shiba Inu, Tibetan Spaniel and Tibetan Terrier. To learn more about some of this group that I am familiar with. - Click Here

The Herding Group

There are twenty two breeds in the American Kennel Club's Herding Group. They are the Australian Cattle Dog, Australian Shepherd, Bearded Collie, Beauceron, Belgian Malinois, Belgian Sheepdog, Belgian Tervuren, Border Collie, Bouvier des Flandres, Briard, Canaan Dog, Cardigan Welsh Corgi, Collie, German Shepherd Dog, Old English Sheepdog, Norwegian Buhund, Pembroke Welsh Corgi, Polish Lowland, Puli, Pyrenean Shepherd, Shetland Sheepdog and Swedish Vallhund. To learn more about some of this group that I am familiar with. - Click Here

Miscellaneous Class

The Miscellaneous Class Group as considered by the American Kennel Club consists of the American English Coonhound, Cane Corso, Cesky Terrier, Entlebucher Mountain Dog, Finnish Lapphund, Icelandic Sheepdog, Leonberger, Norwegian Lundehund, Russell Terrier, Treeing Walker Coonhound and Xoloitzcuintli. To learn more about some of this group that I am familiar with. - Click Here

Independent and unbiased dog food comparison resource.

Subscribe in a reader

Dog and puppy classifieds. Find your next dog from a local breeder near you.

footer for pet page