Genetics

---

When selecting a dog breed, it is best to look to the major breed clubs and the breeds they recognize. The most prominent clubs in the US are the AKC and UKC, but the most prominent club in Europe is the FCI. Other prominent breed clubs include the CKC (Canadian Kennel Club, not to be confused with the Continental Kennel Club, which is a sham registry) and The Kennel Club (the UK's major registry). There is also an arguably legitimate breed club in the US called the American Rare Breed Association (ARBA), which classifies breed groups similarly to the FCI but includes some additional breeds such as the Tamaskan Dog. Different clubs have different requirements and recognize different breeds, but this page will primarily focus on the AKC (the most significant club in the US). 

AKC Breed Groups

Herding

The Herding group consists of breeds with s strong instinct for herding sheep and/or cattle. This includes Collies, German Shepherds, Australian Cattle Dogs, Corgis, Beauceron, Belgian Shepherds, and many more.

Hound

The hound group includes both scenthounds and sighthounds, ranging from dachshunds and bloodhounds to whippets and afghan hounds.

Toy

The Toy group includes a variety of small dogs. Many are terriers, but other breeds include toy poodles, Chinese crested, Italian greyhounds, pugs, and Pomeranians. 

Non-sporting

The non-sporting group includes a variety of breeds produced for vastly different purposes, which is one of the reasons we do not laud the AKC the way many others do. This group includes Bostons, Dalmatians, Keeshonden, Chow chows, Xolos, and even Poodles.

Sporting

The sporting group is essentially a group of gundogs. It includes most of the spaniel, retriever, pointer, and setter breeds. 

Terrier

Terriers were originally bred for ratting but also include breeds for handling a variety of other pests, including foxes. Terriers tend to be spicy little dogs (meaning that they are tenacious and driven, not that they are aggressive toward humans), but many also make great household pets.

Working

This group is largely composed of livestock or estate guardian dogs, but some are used for other purposes. For example, the Dobermann was created as a personal protection dog, the Newfoundland was created as a water rescue dog, and the Siberian Husky was created as a sled dog. All of the dogs within this group were initially created for intense, physically demanding jobs, but the purpose and temperament of these breeds varies greatly based on their original purpose.

Miscellaneous

The AKC still has a handful of breeds that they recognize but have yet to categorize, including the Peruvian hairless dog, Kai Ken, Japanese Akita, and Dutch Shepherd.

Foundation Stock Service (FSS)

The AKC's FSS service contains numerous breeds who are in the process of obtaining AKC recognition, and most if not all of them are already recognized by major kennel clubs (Tosa, Thai Ridgeback, Stabyhoun, Yakutian Laika, Cuvac, Shikoku, Pudelpointer, Carpathian Shepherd, etc.). Even the American Bulldog does not yet have full AKC recognition, so obviously AKC status is not essential in determining whether a breed is legitimate, but this page offers an incomplete summary of the breeds that might appeal to someone looking for a puppy.

Breeds recognized by the UKC but not AKC

When it comes to titling dogs, the biggest difference between the AKC and UKC is that the AKC focuses more on form and the UKC focuses more on function. The AKC also has a lot of requirements for breed recognition, including 40 years of documentation (pedigrees), so there are many breeds that have been around for a long time but are still not AKC-recognized due to lack of documentation. The UKC recognizes all of the AKC breeds, as well as several others listed here:

Companion Breeds: American Bully, Mi-Ki, and Parti Poodle

Livestock Guardians: Aidi (Atlas Mountain Dog), Akbash, Alentejo Mastiff, Portuguese Cattle Dog, Cimarron Uruguayo, Kangal Dog, Karst Shepherd Dog, Majorca Mastiff, Maremma Sheepdog, Olde English Bulldogge, Tatra Shepherd, and Sarplaninac

Gundogs: Auvergne pointer, Ariège Pointer, Picardy Spaniel, Pont-Audemer Spaniel, Fresian Water Dog, Old Danish Pointing Dog, and Spanish Pointer

Herders: Bouvier des Ardennes, Catalonian Sheepdog, English Shepherd, Saarloos Wolfdog, South Russian Shepherd Dog, and White Shepherd

Northern Breeds: Canadian Eskimo Dog, East Siberian Laika, Greenland Dog, Russian-European Laika, and West Siberian Laika

Scenthounds: Alpine Drachsbracke, Black Mouth Cur, and many European hound breeds

Sighthounds: Portuguese Podengo, Polish Greyhound, Hungarian Greyhound, Podenco Canario, Silken Windhound, and Spanish Greyhound (Galgo)

Terriers: Austrian Pinscher, Dutch Smoushond, Mountain Feist, Patterdale Terrier, Sporting Lucas Terrier, and Treeing Feist

The American Pit Bull Terrier is also recognized by the UKC, but not the AKC, but this is because the AKC simply changed the name to American Staffordshire Terrier when they first began recognizing the breed in order to avoid having any association with the term "pit bull". This resulted in a breed split, so now the two breeds do not even look the same for the most part. The AKC standard focuses more on structure, and the UKC standard focuses more on temperament and working ability, so AKC dogs tend to be more mellow and UKC dogs tend to be stockier than the AKC standard calls for. However, there are still some breeding lines who are dual registered (registered in the AKC as ASTs and registered in the UKC as APBTs). So they are still the same breed but also simultaneously not the same breed, and they even show up differently on DNA tests. For the most part, their lines are mutually exclusive, even though the breed is technically the same.

Wolf/Dog Hybrids

There is a huge difference between well-established, standardized breeds like the Vlcak and Saarloos Wolfdog and random mixes of domestic dogs and wolves or coyotes. If you want a reliable, intelligent working dog, an ethically bred Vlcak might be good for you, but do not get an unstandardized wolf mix unless you are truly an expert at wolf training and behavior.