Dog Breed Groups: What Types of Dogs Are There?
Table Of Contents
- Intro
- Gundogs
- Hounds
- Terriers
- Toys
- Pastoral
- Working
- Utility
With 223 dog breeds currently recognised by The Kennel Club, it can be hard to know where to start when looking for your next family companion. Every dog has an individual personality, which can be shaped to a certain degree by their early experiences and socialisation.
However, years of selective breeding for certain traits means that it’s their breed that has the most significant influence on their behaviour, temperament, exercise needs and training requirements.
Dogs bred for a specific purpose, that don’t receive the mental and physical stimulation they need, can express these genetic traits in ways that make keeping them as family pets troublesome. Knowing which breed category a dog belongs to, and the historic purpose of their breed, can help you to decide which traits might be useful to your circumstances – and which to avoid.
In the UK the breeds are classified into seven groups:
Gundogs
This group comprises dogs bred to find and retrieve game. There are further sub-categories depending on whether the dog is expected to hunt or flush, to point out or to retrieve.
Obeying commands in the field is essential and so gundogs tend to be intelligent, biddable, social dogs that work well with people. Although generally even-tempered and relatively easy to train, they are typically very active, have high stamina and require a moderate to high level of exercise.
In some gundog breeds such as the Cocker Spaniel, there is a distinction between those bred for working and those bred for the show ring – their appearance and temperament may differ significantly.
The gundog group includes many varieties of Retrievers, Spaniels, Setters, Pointers and hunt/point/retrieve dogs, like the Weimaraner and Vizsla.
Hounds
Hounds were also originally bred for hunting and can be classified into the scent hounds, bred for their sense of smell, and sight hounds, bred for giving chase to prey.
Hounds are very likely to have a high prey drive (a desire to chase small animals). These athletic dogs can often run very quickly or cover long distances. They tend to be independent and more difficult to train, particularly for recall, as their desire to scent and hunt overrides their obedience.
Conversely, many are affectionate companions at home and can have a couch potato nature when they are not distracted by sights and smells.
Breeds in the hound group include the Afghan Hound, Basset Hound, Beagle, Bloodhound, Deerhound, Greyhound, Irish Wolfhound, Saluki and Whippet – along with the six varieties of Dachshund.
Terriers
Terriers were bred to hunt vermin and are therefore likely to have a strong prey drive. They are usually smaller in size, historically intended to go to ground after rats, badgers or foxes, and many still retain a strong desire to dig.
These active, feisty dogs tend to have a strong personality and require perseverance in training but can make excellent companions for those with patience and a sense of humour.
Popular terrier breeds include the Airedale Terrier, Border Terrier, Bull Terrier, Jack Russell Terrier, Scottish Terrier, Staffordshire Bull Terrier and the West Highland White Terrier.
Toys
Toys are companion dogs bred to be affectionate, friendly and biddable. For this reason they are often suited to more inexperienced dog owners. They are typically small and have lower exercise needs, making them very adaptable – many are suitable for town and city living.
Some toy breeds grow long or profuse coats which can look very attractive but which require regular grooming to maintain.
Popular toy breeds include the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Maltese, Chihuahua, Papillon, Pomeranian, Pug and the Yorkshire Terrier.
Pastoral
The pastoral group includes dogs bred to herd and work with livestock. They are usually intelligent, love to learn and are happiest when they have a job to do. Easy to train, you will often find pastoral group dogs fulfilling many different duties and also competing in dog sports.
As they are typically resilient, high energy dogs with a lot of stamina, bred to work all day in adverse conditions, so can make for very full-on pets. Strong herding instincts often persist.
The quintessential pastoral dog is the Border Collie but this group also includes the German Shepherd. Better known today for their working ability and use as police or guard dogs, they were originally used as a ‘living fence’ – moving tirelessly up and down the pasture to keep sheep in the right location.
Other popular pastoral breeds include the Australian Shepherd, four varieties of Belgian Shepherd, the Rough and Smooth Collie, Samoyed, Shetland Sheepdog and the two types of Welsh Corgi.
Working
Working dogs are usually medium to large sized and bred to help people in practical tasks – these include guarding, pulling sleds or carts, search and rescue and many others. Most working dogs are loyal, strong, protective and courageous. Some have instincts to protect their family which can require careful training and management if they are to make well balanced pets.
The sled dog breeds, such as the Alaskan Malamute and Siberian Husky, can have extremely high exercise requirements and retain a strong desire to run and pull.
Other popular breeds in the working group include the Bernese Mountain Dog, Boxer, Dobermann, Dogue de Bordeaux, Great Dane, Leonberger, Newfoundland, Rottweiler and the St Bernard.
Utility
The utility group is for dogs bred for a purpose that either doesn’t exist any more or doesn’t fall into any of the other categories. As such, it’s hard to pinpoint key traits, as the breeds differ greatly from each other; it’s necessary to look at the individual history of each breed to determine its suitability.
Utility breeds include the Schipperke, bred as a small watch dog to guard barges and hunt vermin, and the Bulldog, originating from dogs used for bull-baiting, but now a companion dog.
Other popular breeds in this group are the Akita, Chow Chow, Dalmatian, French Bulldog, Lhasa Apso, the three types of Poodle, Schnauzer and the Shih Tzu.
Disclaimer
Please note that the content made available on this webpage is for general information purposes only. Whilst we try to ensure that at the time of writing all material is up to date and reflects industry standards, we make no representation, warranties or guarantees that the information made available is up to date, accurate or complete. Any reliance placed by yourselves is done so at your own risk.
Page last reviewed: 28th January 2025
Next review due: 28th January 2027