How To Use Dog Breed Groups When Finding Your Next Pet

Did you know the breed group a particular dog belongs to can show you the best breed for you and your family?
Choosing the right dog as a pet is a very crucial decision, because of the immediate responsibility but for the lomg term obligation you are undertaking. When you bring a dog into your home, your life will be changed forever. By picking the right kind of dog, you can be assured that you are altering your lifestyle for the better, not for worse.

Although some folk adopting their first dog think about it’s size, as the principle significant aspect for dog choice. There much more to it than merely having a small, medium or large dog breed. How your dog looks alone cannot afford you the dog breed that you need to fit in with your lifestyle.

You should begin by selecting the best dog breed category which has the breed of dog which will fit into your family. Here we start by looking at the different dog breeds you can choose from and their various personalities by category.

Fortunately, kennel clubs and originations all over the world use a way for placing dog breeds into broad groups by the type of job they were originally bred for. A fantastic place to start is your canine organization. The main ones are: American Kennel Club, Canadian Kennel Club and UK Kennel Club.

Typically the following categories to divide dog breeds:

Hunting Dogs (Gundogs)
Toy Dogs
Working Dogs
Hounds
Utility Dogs
Terriers

Now we will take a look at each of these categories in greater detail.

In the beginning, all terriers were bred to pursue vermin like mice. They are usually small to medium dogs, as they needed to be closer to the earth in order to capture the rodents and other pests that they hunted. These breeds are often very brave, and highly determined. They are ancient forms of dog, going back as far the Middle Ages. Today terriers are thought of as very attractive dogs, but are better choices for skillful dog owners due to their turbulent temperament. Examples of terriers in this category are: Airedale, Boston, Welsh, Border, Wire Fox, Cairn, Jack Russell, Staffordshire, Scottish, Lakeland and West Highland White and Miniature Schnauzer.

The Working breeds are those that were bred for rescuing, guarding and searching. Often they had specialist tasks for which they were highly trained. They like to be worked and if you spend time to spend with them make extremely rewarding breeds to own. Typicle breeds in this group are: Boxers, Corgis, Great Danes, Dobermanns, German Shepherds, Collies, and Rottweillers.

Toy dogs are the small companions and lap animals of the dog groups. Though each breed may have been bred for a certain job, they are put into this group only for their size. Overall, toy dogs are quite affectionate and faithful, and need lots of care. Often they are also quite clever andare often spoiled as their owners can be poor on obedience because of their small size. Look out for: Poodles, Yorkshire Terriers, Papillions, Chihuahuas, Cavalier King Charles Spaniels and Pekingese.

Hunting dogs were used first for tracking down and recovering game. usually they are easy to train, loyal and companionable dogs. They make great pets and have a outstanding temperament that makes for easy integration into homes with children. They do often need a lot of exercise and want attention which if not given can lead to behavior problems. The hunting dog group is broken down into four sub-groups: Spaniels, Hunt/Point/Retrieve, Retrievers, and Setters.

Hounds were bred for their keen sense of sight or smell. Again they were emplyed (and still are) for hunting. Dog breeds in this category do make good household pets but require a lot of exercise if you are to make them happy in your family. Well known examples are: Daschunds, Basset Hounds, Irish Wolfhounds, Deerhounds, Beagles, Whippets and Greyhounds. You may have noticed there great diversion of stature in this category.

Utility dogs are a group of many diverse kinds of breeds brought into the same segment due to their non-sporting beginnings. Generally they they were bred for a distinct reason, however, these functions are widely different. Here you will find breeds like: Shih Tzus, Poodles, Dalmatians and Bulldogs. Breeds in this category are often among the oldest breeds known documented.

Having shown you additional knowledge about different groups and their traits you should be able to find a group and dog to suit you and your family. Have fun and make the most of your pet!

Discover more information about dog breeds and how the group they are in can help you in picking your pet at Be Dog Savvy.com.

By Richard Cussons
Published: 12/20/2006
 
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