Which Breed

Welcome to Which Breed

What dog breed is best for you

A Border Collie or a French Bulldog? A Golden Retriever or a Belgian Malinois? I am strongly opposed to suggesting breeds for people. Recommending specific breeds may sound like helpful and harmless advice, but it is insidiously dangerous and not in the best interests of dogs or of dog-owning families. Advice either for or against specific breeds often leads owners to believe that training is either unnecessary or impossible. Thus many poor dogs grow up without an education.

Breed recommendations often lead unsuspecting owners to believe that once they have selected the right breed, there is nothing more to do. Thinking they have the best possible breed, many owners suffer the misconception that training is unnecessary and so don't bother. This, of course, is when things start to go downhill.

Even more disturbing, when certain breeds are recommended, other breeds are automatically being advised against. "Experts" often suggest that certain breeds are too big, too small, too active, too lethargic, too fast, too slow, too smart, or too dumb, and therefore too difficult to train. Well, we know that regardless of helpful "advice," people are probably going to pick the breed they wanted in the first place. But now they may feel disinclined to train the puppy, feeling that the process is going to be difficult and time consuming. Furthermore, owners may rationalize their negligence by citing any one of the pack of convenient excuses listed above.

Some people like to rank order breeds in terms of supposed relative intelligence, citing Border Collies and Golden Retrievers as being smart and Bassett Hounds, Coonhounds, Irish Wolfhounds and Afghan Hounds as being not so smart. Certainly, analyzing differential responses to cognitive tests and puzzles is interesting, but generalizing about breed intelligence can have sad repercussions. For example, a Border Collie owner didn’t bother training their puppy because they thought it was so smart that training was unnecessary. And an Afghan Hound owner didn’t bother training their puppy because they thought it lacked smarts and that training would be impossible.

Breed is a very personal choice. Choose the breed you like, investigate breed-specific qualities and problems, and then research the best way to raise and train your pup. If you select what others consider an easy breed to raise and train, train your pup so that he becomes the very best individual — an ambassador — of that breed. And if you select a breed that some people consider difficult to raise and train, train him, train him, and train him, so that he becomes the very best example — an ambassador — of that breed.

Breed's Bad Points

Regardless of your eventual choice, and certainly once you have made it, success or failure is now entirely in your hands. Your puppy's behavior and temperament now depend completely on good husbandry and training.

When evaluating different breeds, the good points are obvious. What you need to find out are the breed's bad points. You need to investigate potential breed-specific (or line-specific) problems and to know how to deal with them. If you want to find out more about a specific breed, find at least six adult dogs of the breed you have selected and talk to their owners at length, but most importantly, meet the dogs! Examine and handle them; play with them and work them. See if the dogs welcome being petted by a stranger — you. Will they sit? Do they walk nicely on leash? Are they quiet or noisy? Are they calm and collected, or are they hyperactive and rambunctious? Can you examine their ears, eyes, and rear end? Can you open their muzzle? Can you get them to roll over? Are the owners' houses and gardens still in good condition? And most important, do the dogs like people and other dogs?

Learn what to expect, because when your eight-week-old puppy comes home, he will grow up with frightening speed. Indeed, in just four month’s time, your pup will develop into a six-month-old adolescent that has gained almost adult size, strength, and speed, while at the same time retaining many puppy constraints on learning. Your puppy has so much to learn before he collides with impending adolescence.

In terms of personality, behavior, and temperament, please be aware that dogs of the same breed may show considerable variation. If you have siblings or more than one child you probably appreciate the incredible range of temperaments and personalities of children from the same parents. Dogs are similar. Indeed, there may be as much variation of behavior among individuals of the same litter as there is among dogs of different breeds.

Environmental influences (socialization and training) exert a far greater impact on desired domestic behavior and temperament than genetic heredity. For example, the temperamental differences between a good (educated) Alaskan Malamute and a bad (uneducated) Alaskan Malamute or between a good Golden Retriever and a bad Golden Retriever are much greater than temperamental differences between a Golden and a Malamute with an equivalent experiential and educational history. A dog's education is always the biggest factor determining his future behavior and temperament.

Please make sure you fully understand the above paragraph. I am not saying training necessarily has a greater effect on dog behavior than genetic heredity. Rather, I am stating quite categorically that attaining a desired domestic dog behavior is almost entirely dependent on socialization and training. For example, dogs bark, bite, urine mark, and wag their tails largely for genetic reasons — because they are dogs. The frequency of their barks, however, the severity of their bites, the location of their urine marks, and the enthusiasm of their tail wags depends pretty much on the nature of their socialization and training. Your dog's domestic success is in your hands.

Try to find people with the breeds you have short listed and ask questions about their characteristics and the demands they place on owners. Ask a local dog trainer or behaviourist for their opinions. They are very useful sources of information, particularly if there is a prospect for a new student at puppy class. Look at the websites for the breed clubs; these sites often have detailed information about the breed for which the club represents. The many breed specific books available are also a useful source of detailed information. The website www.dogclub.co.uk is a useful directory of breed clubs and breed specific books.

When evaluating different breeds, the good points are obvious. What you need to find out are the breed's bad points. You need to investigate potential breed-specific (or line-specific) problems and to know how to deal with them. If you want to find out more about a specific breed, find at least six adult dogs of the breed you have selected and talk to their owners at length, but most importantly, meet the dogs! Examine and handle them; play with them and work them. See if the dogs welcome being petted by a stranger — you. Will they sit? Do they walk nicely on leash? Are they quiet or noisy? Are they calm and collected, or are they hyperactive and rambunctious? Can you examine their ears, eyes, and rear end? Can you open their muzzle? Can you get them to roll over? Are the owners' houses and gardens still in good condition? And most important, do the dogs like people and other dogs?

Learn what to expect, because when your eight-week-old puppy comes home, he will grow up with frightening speed. Indeed, in just four month’s time, your pup will develop into a six-month-old adolescent that has gained almost adult size, strength, and speed, while at the same time retaining many puppy constraints on learning. Your puppy has so much to learn before he collides with impending adolescence.

In terms of personality, behavior, and temperament, please be aware that dogs of the same breed may show considerable variation. If you have siblings or more than one child you probably appreciate the incredible range of temperaments and personalities of children from the same parents. Dogs are similar. Indeed, there may be as much variation of behavior among individuals of the same litter as there is among dogs of different breeds.

Environmental influences (socialization and training) exert a far greater impact on desired domestic behavior and temperament than genetic heredity. For example, the temperamental differences between a good (educated) Alaskan Malamute and a bad (uneducated) Alaskan Malamute or between a good Golden Retriever and a bad Golden Retriever are much greater than temperamental differences between a Golden and a Malamute with an equivalent experiential and educational history. A dog's education is always the biggest factor determining his future behavior and temperament.

                                Please make sure you fully understand the above paragraph. I am not saying training necessarily has a greater effect on dog behavior than genetic heredity. Rather, I am stating quite categorically that attaining a desired domestic dog behavior is almost entirely dependent on socialization and training. For example, dogs bark, bite, urine mark, and wag their tails largely for genetic reasons — because they are dogs. The frequency of their barks, however, the severity of their bites, the location of their urine marks, and the enthusiasm of their tail wags depends pretty much on the nature of their socialization and training. Your dog's domestic success is in your hands.

Small Dogs Breeds

Generally a small dog is considered to weigh less than 22lbs or be shorter than 16 inches. Some of the small dog breeds on our site are much lighter and shorter than this and some of them are a little heavier and taller than this--but they are all small dogs nevertheless (even though a few are borderline between small and medium sized).

Some breeds, such as the Chihuahua, are the smallest of the small... weighing in at only 6 to 8 pounds and standing only 6 to 10 inches tall. While the larger of the small breeds like the Staffordshire Bull Terrier weigh 24 to 36 pounds and stand at 14 to 16 inches tall.

So, your first choice is to decide if you want a really small dog like a Chihuahua or if you don't mind a larger small dog like a Staffordshire Bull Terrier. It might not bother you either way. The really small guys are really easier to pick-up, transport, and carry around!

Large Dog Breeds

There is a long list of dogs that belong to the large dog breeds. Labrador Retriever, Mastiff, Doberman Pinscher, Saint Bernard, Great Dane, are just a few of them. What differentiates large dog breeds from other dogs is their height, weight, strength and size. There is no classic definition to classify the dogs above a particular height or weight into the large dog breeds. They are extremely loyal to their owners and are very courageous.

Dogs belonging to the breed of large dogs, grow faster as compared to the small dog breeds. Big space, large amount of food and also a big budget is required for their grooming and care. So people who have big houses or a farm house, usually prefer this breed of dogs. However, this isn't mandatory and people living in small houses can also own them. The only precondition is that you should take them out for some exercising for at least an hour. They should be taken out regularly for a walk or run, else they can become obese.

Smartest Dog Breeds

Does the Intelligence Quotient of your dog decide its smartness? It is accepted worldwide that human IQ cannot be tested based only on a single trait and the same is true for dogs. A dog's IQ cannot be tested based on a single trait. Every breed of canine is unique and has some specific qualities which distinguish it from other breeds. Hence, a set of tests are designed to measure the smartness of dogs.

A dog's reactions can be used as a criterion for measuring its smartness. When two different breeds of dogs are exposed to the same kind of situation, they react differently. A book written by Stanley Coren, "The Intelligence of Dogs", enlists the 3 kinds of intelligence exhibited by dogs namely, adaptive intelligence - how fast and how efficiently a certain problem is solved, instinctive intelligence - if all the known characteristics and traits of the breed are displayed and obedience intelligence - how frequently and how well the commands are executed. Stanley Coren, of the University of British Columbia, in Vancouver, Canada, came to the conclusion by taking into account, the votes of around 200 judges who judged dogs on obedience as well as physical and mental ability.

Ahead of all was the Border Collie followed by the Poodle and German Shepherd, securing 2nd and 3rd places respectively. The top five list featured the following canines in the ascending order of their smartness: