Doggy Mentor

Posts Tagged ‘AKC breed types’

Learning about the different classes of small dogs can help narrow down the search for a new dog. The AKC (American Kennel Club), which is the main registrar of breeds in the US, categorizes dog breeds into seven categories, plus the miscellaneous category. The miscellaneous [class is for those breeds who are in the process of getting their AKC registration, but are yet tobe recognized as official breeds due to some requirements for membership having not yet been met.

The 7 types of American Kennel Club recognized dog breeds are:

•  sporting
•  hound
•  working
•  terrier
•  toy
•  non-sporting
•  herding

You’ll find most small dog breeds are in the toy group, but there are also a lot in the terrier class, and some in the sporting, hound, herding, and non-sporting classes. There are no AKC recognized small dogs in the working class.

What Do These Classes Mean?

The dogs in most classes have common characteristics. Some are classified due to particular talents like a great hunting or herding ability, (in the herding and hound groups). Others because of their size (toy dogs), or ancestry (terriers). The working and sporting dogs are a bit like the medley racers in Olympic swimming – they are all-rounders, talented in doggy sports, or excelling in the many skills needed for working dogs. The non-sporting group are more dissimilar than similar however. This is the most diverse group of dog breeds.

Breed Types

Sporting Dogs

Sporting dogs are great hunters, although they make loyal and loving pets to the right owners. Sporting dogs can hunt all types of small game animals, including birds, on land or in the water. There are in this group 27 breeds, including the English cocker spaniel dog breed, a type of small spaniel. There are other larger spaniels in here as well, plus pointers, retrievers, and setters. Sporting dogs are high energy dogs, and do need exercise on a regular basis.

Hound Dogs

Dogs in the hound dog grouping have historically helped people in the hunt. And they were bred to hone particular talents each breed had. Some hounds use smell, others sight or speed, to find their prey. There are 23 breeds in this group, which includes 3 small breeds – the whippet, basenji, and dachshund.

Working Dogs

Dogs in the working group are kept as pets, but they are called working dogs because they provide some service to people, whether it is herding livestock, as a guide dog, or part of a paid entertainment act.

The AKC uses the definition a little bit differently. It puts breeds in the working dog category when they have been bred to do a task which cannot be properly categorized in one of the other existing categories. There aren’t any small dogs in this category.