Affenpinscher
A wiry, monkey faced toy terrier with genuine confidence and grit, still rare enough to need patience and a breed club contact.
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Breeds starting with A
Afghan Hound
A large coursing hound from the mountains of Afghanistan whose glamorous coat hides a fast, independent hunter and demands hours of grooming each week.
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Airedale Terrier
The largest of the terriers, an athletic Yorkshire working dog that needs firm routine, real activity and a properly maintained wiry coat.
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Akita
A large, powerfully built guarding breed that is aloof with strangers and needs an experienced, consistent owner.
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Alaskan Malamute
A giant Arctic freight sled dog built for pulling heavy loads over distance, distinct from the lighter, faster Siberian Husky.
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American Cocker Spaniel
A smaller and heavier coated cousin of the English Cocker whose glamorous coat, long ears and prominent eyes set the daily routine for its owner.
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American Eskimo Dog
A bright white spitz bred in three sizes, quick to learn and quick to bark, suited to owners who enjoy training and can manage a heavy coat.
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American Foxhound
A tall, lean pack hound bred for long days at speed, with a carrying voice and a nose that overrides almost everything an owner asks of it.
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American Staffordshire Terrier
A muscular, people-focused bull-type terrier with real training demands and legal complications that vary by country.
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American Water Spaniel
A rare curly coated retrieving spaniel from the Wisconsin marshes that is seldom seen outside North America and almost always involves a wait.
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Anatolian Shepherd Dog
A giant Turkish livestock guardian bred for independent decision making, best suited to experienced owners with secure land and realistic expectations about strangers.
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Australian Cattle Dog
An intense Australian droving breed that thrives on daily work and nips without one, better suited to active, experienced owners than families with young children.
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Australian Kelpie
An exceptional working sheepdog with extraordinary stamina and drive, and one of the hardest breeds to keep satisfied as an ordinary pet.
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Australian Shepherd
An American ranch dog despite the name, exceptionally trainable and highly driven, needing daily structured work rather than long walks alone.
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Australian Silky Terrier
A small, silky coated terrier from Australia, feisty and alert well beyond its size, and still an uncommon sight in most countries.
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Australian Terrier
A hardy small terrier bred for Australian homesteads, rare outside Australia, valued for its steady nature and low maintenance coat.
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Azawakh
A rare West African sighthound kept by nomadic herders as a guard and hunter, listed on the UK Kennel Club's Imported Breed Register and bred in very small numbers.
Read breed guideBreeds starting with B
Barbet
An old French water retriever with a woolly non shedding coat, still rare and demanding real grooming commitment.
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Basenji
An ancient African hunting dog that yodels rather than barks, grooms itself like a cat and needs a DNA test for Fanconi syndrome before breeding.
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Basset Bleu de Gascogne
A rare French scent hound with a distinctive blue mottled coat, gentle in the house and loud on a trail, with very few litters bred anywhere.
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Basset Fauve de Bretagne
A compact harsh coated hunting hound from Brittany, gaining ground as a robust and good natured family dog with a nose that never switches off.
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Basset Hound
A heavy, low-slung French scent hound with a famous nose, a placid nature and a body that needs careful management from puppyhood onwards.
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Bavarian Mountain Hound
A specialist Bavarian tracking hound now gaining ground among deer stalkers, calm at home but only content when it has scent work to do.
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Beagle
A cheerful British pack hound governed by its nose and its appetite, sociable at home but rarely reliable off the lead outdoors.
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Bearded Collie
A bouncy, vocal Scottish herding breed with a long shaggy coat that demands thorough regular brushing and genuine daily exercise.
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Beauceron
A large, confident French herding and guarding breed that bonds closely with its family and needs an experienced, committed owner from puppyhood.
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Bedlington Terrier
A lamb shaped terrier from Northumberland with sighthound speed hidden under a curly coat that needs regular professional clipping.
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Belgian Groenendael
The solid black long-coated variety, the most recognisable of the four and historically the most numerous, with the same working brain under a striking coat.
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Belgian Laekenois
The rough-coated fawn variety and by far the rarest of the four Belgian Shepherds, with a wiry coat that needs stripping rather than clipping.
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Belgian Malinois
The short-coated fawn variety of the Belgian Shepherd, and the one that became the world's default police and military dog. Enormous ability, and the least forgiving of the four to own as a pet.
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Belgian Shepherd varieties
Belgian Shepherd is one Kennel Club breed with four varieties separated by coat, not by ability. This page explains the shared origin and points you at the right one of the four.
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Belgian Tervueren
The long-coated fawn variety, with the same drive as the Malinois in a softer, more sensitive package and a coat that needs real weekly attention.
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Bergamasco
A rare Italian sheepdog known for its naturally felted coat, calm temperament and litters that are few and worth a genuine wait.
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Bernese Mountain Dog
A gentle Swiss farm giant with a heavy tricolour coat, a short lifespan and running costs that match its considerable size.
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Bichon Frise
A cheerful white companion breed built for city life, whose curly coat needs regular professional clipping and whose sociable nature can tip into separation anxiety.
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Black and Tan Coonhound
An American trailing hound with a Bloodhound's nose and a voice to match, very rare outside North America and better suited to country homes than towns.
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Bloodhound
A giant scent hound with the finest nose of any breed, gentle and sensitive but heavy, drooling, prone to bloat and short-lived.
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Boerboel
A very large South African farm guardian, calm in the home but territorial by design and demanding to own responsibly.
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Bolognese
A placid white Italian lapdog with a cottony coat and a devotion to its owner that borders on the total, still rare in most countries.
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Border Collie
An exceptionally responsive working dog that needs skilled training, purposeful activity and a calm home routine.
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Border Terrier
A hardy working terrier from the Cheviot hills, small enough for most homes but built for a full day outdoors.
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Borzoi
A tall silky Russian sighthound bred to course wolves, quiet and reserved indoors and a serious chaser of anything that runs outdoors.
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Boston Terrier
A sociable tuxedo marked companion breed whose flattened face means genuine care is needed around heat and exercise.
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Bouvier des Flandres
A large rough coated Belgian cattle dog bred for droving and farm work, calm and protective but demanding on grooming and space.
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Boxer
A powerful, affectionate German working breed with a long adolescence, real heat sensitivity and heart conditions worth checking before buying.
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Boykin Spaniel
A compact brown retrieving spaniel from the American South, friendly and highly biddable, but built for long days of work rather than quiet evenings.
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Bracco Italiano
An ancient Italian pointing breed that is gentle and soft natured, but large, slow to mature and generous with drool.
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Braque d'Auvergne
A rare black and white pointer from central France that is gentle and easy to groom but needs daily free running and a long wait to buy.
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Briard
A large French herding and guarding breed with a long coat, double dewclaws and a naturally protective, watchful nature toward strangers.
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British Bulldog
An affectionate, home-loving companion whose exaggerated build brings real limits on breathing, heat tolerance and exercise that buyers must understand.
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Brittany
A compact French pointing spaniel with the drive of a working gundog, suited to homes that can give it hours in open country every day.
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Bull Terrier
A powerful, comical companion with an unmistakable head shape, strong play drive and a stubborn streak that rewards patient training
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Bullmastiff
A Victorian gamekeeper's dog bred to catch and hold poachers without savaging them, powerful and protective with a notably short life.
Read breed guideBreeds starting with C
Cairn Terrier
A hardy Scottish working terrier with a weatherproof coat, strong digging instincts and far more stamina than its size suggests
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Canaan Dog
A rare, primitive Israeli breed that is naturally wary of strangers and best suited to experienced handlers.
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Canadian Eskimo Dog
A rare, primitive Arctic sled dog built for survival and heavy hauling, essentially unchanged for centuries and unsuitable for casual ownership.
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Cane Corso
A powerful Italian farm guardian that rewards deliberate training and careful management, and punishes casual ownership.
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Cardigan Welsh Corgi
The older, heavier and far rarer Welsh Corgi, distinguished by a long brush of a tail, big rounded ears and a colour range that includes blue merle.
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Catalan Sheepdog
A shaggy Catalan herding dog with a sharp mind and a watchful nature, still rare enough to need patience to find.
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Cavalier King Charles Spaniel
A small, affectionate toy spaniel bred for company, well suited to gentle homes but needing careful health research before any purchase
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Cavapoo
A companionable Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and Poodle cross with variable coat and care needs.
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Cesky Terrier
A soft coated Czech terrier bred for a calmer temperament than its cousins, still rare and worth seeking through the breed club.
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Chesapeake Bay Retriever
A tough American water retriever with an oily wavy coat and a protective, reserved character that sets it apart from the Labrador.
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Chihuahua
The smallest recognised breed, devoted and surprisingly bold, needing real training and protection from being handled as an accessory
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Chinese Crested
A toy breed that comes hairless or coated in a soft powderpuff, needing sun cream, moisturiser or daily brushing depending on which variety arrives.
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Chow Chow
An aloof, heavily coated breed with a blue black tongue that needs an experienced, patient owner and careful eye care.
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Cirneco dell'Etna
A small primitive hunting hound from the slopes of Mount Etna, rare outside Sicily, sharp and affectionate but built to chase rabbits over lava rock.
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Clumber Spaniel
The heaviest of the spaniels, a slow and deliberate gundog from a Nottinghamshire estate that sheds, drools and snores in a house that loves it anyway.
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Cockapoo
A sociable Cocker Spaniel and Poodle cross whose coat, size and character can vary considerably.
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Cocker Spaniel
A merry, scent-driven gundog that fits family life well but needs daily activity, careful ear care and steady training through adolescence
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Coton de Tulear
A sociable Madagascan toy breed with a long white cotton textured coat that needs daily brushing but sheds hardly at all around the house.
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Curly Coated Retriever
The oldest of the British retrievers, now a vulnerable native breed, with a tight astrakhan coat and an independent mind.
Read breed guideBreeds starting with D
Dachshund
A bold, low-set hound whose long back calls for careful weight, exercise and home management.
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Dalmatian
A tireless carriage dog with a distinctive spotted coat, needing long daily exercise, patient training and careful health research
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Dandie Dinmont Terrier
A long backed Scottish terrier named after a fictional farmer, now one of Britain's rarest native breeds and in real need of new owners.
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Deerhound
A giant rough-coated Scottish sighthound bred to course red deer, gentle and quiet at home but short-lived and unsafe off the lead near anything that runs.
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Dobermann
An athletic German guarding breed that is sensitive, quick to learn and dependent on early socialisation and consistent adult handling
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Dogo Argentino
A white Argentine hunting dog of real physical and mental drive, banned or restricted in several countries including the United Kingdom.
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Dogue de Bordeaux
A short lived French mastiff built like a boxer, whose folded face and huge head bring heat, breathing and drool considerations.
Read breed guideBreeds starting with E
English Setter
A vulnerable native gundog that is gentle and beautiful but needs open ground, patient training and a good deal of coat care.
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English Toy Terrier
A sleek black and tan miniature terrier once common in every English town, now a vulnerable native breed kept going by very few litters a year.
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Entlebucher Mountain Dog
The smallest of the Swiss mountain dogs, a driven tricolour cattle drover rarely seen outside Switzerland and unsuited to a quiet life.
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Estrela Mountain Dog
A Portuguese livestock guardian of real size and independence, suited only to experienced owners with genuine space and secure boundaries.
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Eurasier
A calm German spitz companion bred for family life, reserved with strangers and happiest kept close to its own people.
Read breed guideBreeds starting with F
Field Spaniel
A solid coloured working spaniel between the Cocker and the Springer in size, gentle and easy to keep but now one of Britain's rarest native gundogs.
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Finnish Lapphund
A friendly Arctic herding spitz bred to work reindeer, increasingly popular despite a genuinely talkative nature.
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Finnish Spitz
Finland's national dog, a red spitz bred to find and bark at game birds, and one of the most vocal breeds an owner can choose.
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Flat-Coated Retriever
A cheerful Victorian gundog that keeps its puppy manners for years and asks for company, activity and honest health planning.
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Foxhound
The English Foxhound is a pack animal bred for kennels and a full day's hunting, and it is almost never kept as a pet for good reason.
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French Bulldog
A compact companion with modest exercise needs but serious breathing, heat and conformation considerations.
Read breed guideBreeds starting with G
German Longhaired Pointer
The oldest and rarest of the German pointing breeds, a feathered all round gundog that needs a working outlet and a patient buyer.
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German Pinscher
A sleek, sharp German ratting and guard dog, rare outside Germany, that needs a confident handler more than it needs a large garden.
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German Shepherd
A large, intelligent working dog that needs careful breeding, structured training and extensive daily activity.
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German Shorthaired Pointer
A versatile German hunting dog built for endurance, affectionate at home but unforgiving of households that cannot supply enough work.
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German Spitz
A small, foxy faced spitz that comes in two Kennel Club sizes, alert and vocal, needing regular brushing and a firm word about barking.
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German Wirehaired Pointer
A rugged all purpose hunting dog with a harsh weatherproof coat, a protective streak and an appetite for work that few pet homes can satisfy.
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Giant Schnauzer
A large German driving and guarding dog with a wiry coat and a genuine working drive that needs a job, not just a walk.
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Glen of Imaal Terrier
A low, strong Irish terrier bred to work vermin and go to ground, notably quieter than most of its cousins but just as stubborn.
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Golden Retriever
A friendly working retriever that needs substantial exercise, company and regular coat care.
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Goldendoodle
A Golden Retriever and Poodle cross, usually a large dog, whose coat and character are far less predictable than adverts suggest.
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Gordon Setter
The heaviest of the setters, a Scottish gundog in black and tan that needs long outdoor days and patience through a lengthy adolescence.
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Grand Basset Griffon Vendeen
The larger of the two rough coated hounds from the Vendee, a loud, sociable pack dog bred for hare and deer that needs company, exercise and tolerant neighbours.
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Grand Bleu de Gascogne
One of the oldest and largest French scent hounds, mottled blue and black, kept by a handful of enthusiasts and listed on the UK Kennel Club's Imported Breed Register.
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Great Dane
A calm giant bred for boar hunting whose size shapes every practical decision, from car choice to insurance to a short life expectancy.
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Greater Swiss Mountain Dog
The largest of the Swiss mountain breeds, a calm tricolour farm dog whose easy temperament sits inside a genuinely large, short lived body.
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Greenland Dog
A primitive Arctic sled dog built for pulling loads across ice, kept in tiny numbers and unsuitable for most households.
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Greyhound
A large sighthound that sprints briefly and sleeps for most of the day, and one of the easiest big dogs to rehome successfully.
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Griffon Bruxellois
A small Belgian toy breed with a strikingly human, monkeylike face, sold in rough or smooth coats and devoted to its owner almost to a fault.
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Griffon Fauve de Bretagne
A rough coated wheaten hound from Brittany, bred to push wild boar out of dense cover, and still a rarity almost everywhere.
Read breed guideBreeds starting with H
Hamiltonstovare
A tricolour Swedish hunting hound developed by the founder of the Swedish Kennel Club, which works alone on hare and fox and settles well in a home.
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Harrier
A pack hound sized between the Beagle and the Foxhound, bred in England for hunting hare, and rarely met outside hunt kennels.
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Havanese
A cheerful Cuban toy breed built entirely for company, easy in a flat but unhappy left alone for long stretches.
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Hovawart
A German estate guardian with a flowing coat, a naturally protective outlook and a long adolescence that tests patient owners.
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Hungarian Kuvasz
A white Hungarian livestock guardian bred to work independently, rare outside Hungary and best suited to experienced, rural owners.
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Hungarian Mudi
A small, sharply intelligent Hungarian herder with huge working drive, rare outside Hungary and easy to underestimate on looks alone.
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Hungarian Puli
A corded Hungarian sheepdog known for its mop like coat, high energy and constant commentary on everything around it.
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Hungarian Pumi
A curly coated Hungarian herder with distinctive tipped ears, sharp reactions and a strong need for structured daily work.
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Hungarian Vizsla
A russet Hungarian gundog of great sensitivity and stamina that struggles badly with solitude and rewards patient, consistent handling.
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Hungarian Wirehaired Vizsla
A separate breed from the smooth Vizsla, with a harsh weatherproof coat, a slightly calmer nature and the same need to be with its people all day.
Read breed guideBreeds starting with I
Ibizan Hound
A tall, leaping podenco from the Balearic Islands, bred to hunt rabbits by sight, scent and hearing, and famous for clearing garden fences from a standstill.
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Icelandic Sheepdog
A cheerful Nordic herding spitz that came to Iceland with the Vikings and still announces every arrival at the gate.
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Irish Red and White Setter
The older form of the Irish setter, a vulnerable native breed with a working outlook, a parti-coloured coat and a long boisterous adolescence.
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Irish Setter
A tall red gundog bred to range and gallop, affectionate at home but slow to grow up and demanding to exercise.
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Irish Terrier
A red haired Irish farm dog with real fire toward other animals, devoted to its own family and demanding of a knowledgeable owner.
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Irish Water Spaniel
The tallest of the spaniels, a curly liver retrieving dog with a rat tail and a topknot that thinks for itself and lives to swim.
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Irish Wolfhound
The tallest of all breeds, calm and gentle at home, with running costs, a short lifespan and health risks that need honest consideration first.
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Italian Greyhound
A miniature sighthound with genuine speed and remarkably fine bones, better suited to gentle adult households than boisterous families.
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Italian Spinone
A big, wiry, unhurried gundog from northern Italy that is gentle with everyone and brings drool, a dripping beard and a mind of its own.
Read breed guideBreeds starting with J
Jack Russell Terrier
A bold working terrier with far more energy, prey drive and training needs than its compact size suggests.
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Japanese Akita Inu
A dignified Japanese hunting breed, reserved with strangers and other dogs, that rewards an experienced, consistent owner rather than a first timer.
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Japanese Chin
A small brachycephalic companion breed with a notably independent streak, well suited to calm homes that can manage heat and breathing carefully.
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Japanese Shiba Inu
A small, fox faced Japanese hunting breed with a famously independent streak, better suited to an experienced owner than a first dog.
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Japanese Spitz
A small, brilliant white companion breed that looks like hard work to groom but sheds cleanly and copes well with flat living.
Read breed guideBreeds starting with K
Keeshond
A plush coated Dutch companion breed known for the spectacle markings around its eyes, sociable and vocal rather than reserved.
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Kerry Blue Terrier
A soft blue coated Irish terrier with real substance and a strong willed nature that needs an experienced, consistent handler.
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King Charles Spaniel
A rare, flatter faced toy spaniel and the older relative of the Cavalier, needing careful breathing and heat management and a patient search for a puppy.
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Komondor
A giant Hungarian flock guardian whose white corded coat and independent judgement suit rural life far more than a suburban garden.
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Kooikerhondje
A striking orange and white Dutch decoy dog, sensitive by nature, that needs gentle handling and thorough health screened breeding.
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Korean Jindo
A rare primitive spitz from South Korea prized for fierce one family loyalty, independence and strong hunting instinct.
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Korthals Griffon
A rare wirehaired pointing griffon on the Kennel Club Imported Breed Register, gentle in the house and thorough rather than fast in the field.
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Labradoodle
A Labrador and Poodle cross whose coat, adult size and character are decided by chance rather than by the label on the litter.
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Labrador Retriever
A sociable, active retriever for homes able to provide company, training and plenty of exercise.
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Lagotto Romagnolo
The Italian truffle dog, a curly-coated scenting specialist that sheds little, barks readily, digs with commitment and needs its mind occupied every day.
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Lakeland Terrier
A fell terrier from Cumbria bred to bolt foxes among rocks and scree, compact, tough and now a rare sight outside its home counties.
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Lancashire Heeler
A small black and tan drover's dog from Ormskirk, tough for its size and now rare enough to be listed as a vulnerable native breed.
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Large Munsterlander
A black and white German hunt, point and retrieve dog that has kept its working roots and needs open ground and a job.
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Leonberger
A giant, gentle dog bred in Germany for water rescue and draft work, needing serious grooming and a household ready for a short lifespan.
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Lhasa Apso
A watchful Tibetan companion breed with a heavy protective coat, genuine independence of mind and a naturally suspicious nature toward strangers.
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Lowchen
A cheerful, rare toy breed traditionally clipped like a small lion, sturdier and more playful than its ornamental appearance suggests.
Read breed guideBreeds starting with M
Maltese
A pure white toy companion with a striking coat, a strong attachment to its owner and a grooming and dental routine that never really stops.
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Manchester Terrier
A sleek black and tan ratting terrier from the industrial north, elegant to look at and sharp minded underneath a low maintenance coat.
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Maremma Sheepdog
A large white Italian guardian bred to live among sheep unsupervised, better suited to a smallholding than a family garden.
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Mastiff
The heaviest of the pedigree breeds, an affectionate but expensive giant whose drool, short lifespan and size demand a realistic budget.
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Miniature American Shepherd
A compact, collie brained herder developed in America from working stock, sold on temperament rather than size alone.
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Miniature Bull Terrier
A compact, egg headed terrier with the full Bull Terrier personality in a smaller frame that still needs firm, consistent handling.
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Miniature Pinscher
A bold, energetic toy breed with a distinctive high stepping gait and an escape artist streak, developed independently rather than bred down from a larger dog.
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Miniature Poodle
A scaled down version of the Standard Poodle that keeps the working intelligence, trainability and grooming demands of its larger relative.
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Miniature Schnauzer
An alert small dog with useful stamina, a low-shedding coat and a substantial grooming commitment.
Read breed guideBreeds starting with N
Neapolitan Mastiff
A wrinkled, heavily built Italian guardian breed that drools constantly, watches strangers closely and rarely lives much beyond eight years.
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Newfoundland
A calm, water loving giant bred for rescue work at sea, prone to heavy drooling and needing dedicated coat care.
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Norfolk Terrier
A drop eared, sociable small terrier from East Anglia, tougher than its size suggests and unusually easy going with people and other dogs.
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Norwegian Buhund
A cheerful Norwegian farm dog once kept for guarding and herding, still vocal, still busy, and still far from well known.
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Norwegian Elkhound
A grey Norwegian spitz bred to find and hold moose, with stamina, a loud voice and a coat that comes out twice a year.
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Norwegian Lundehund
A rare Norwegian cliff-climbing spitz with six toes on each foot, extraordinary joint flexibility, a very small gene pool and a digestive condition owners must plan for.
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Norwich Terrier
A prick eared East Anglian terrier, small enough for a flat but genuinely game, with a health point around the airway worth discussing with a breeder.
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Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever
The smallest retriever, a red Canadian gundog with startling drive, a piercing scream of excitement and a mind that needs work every day.
Read breed guideBreeds starting with O
Old English Sheepdog
A large shaggy drover's dog with an easy temperament and a coat that represents one of the biggest commitments in British dog ownership.
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Otterhound
A rare British scent hound built for rivers, with a rough oily coat, a carrying voice and a love of water and mud.
Read breed guideBreeds starting with P
Papillon
A bright, athletic toy breed with butterfly ears, better suited to considered training and secure handling than treatment as a fragile ornament.
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Parson Russell Terrier
A leggier Kennel Club cousin of the Jack Russell built for a full day following hounds across open country.
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Patterdale Terrier
A small unregistered working terrier from the Lake District fells, tough and affectionate but carrying a prey drive that shapes daily life.
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Pekingese
A dignified, heavily coated companion breed whose flattened face brings real breathing and heat considerations that shape daily care.
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Pembroke Welsh Corgi
The familiar foxy-faced Corgi from south-west Wales, bred to drive cattle and still built and wired for the job, with a long back that needs weight and jumping managed for life.
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Petit Basset Griffon Vendeen
A small French hound with a rough coat, a loud voice and a busy mind, well established and among the more manageable scent hounds for an active home.
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Pharaoh Hound
The national dog of Malta, a lean rabbit hunter that blushes when excited and needs secure space to run and a warm home.
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Picardy Sheepdog
A rough coated French herder from the flatlands of Picardy, quietly capable, rare in most countries, and easy to underestimate at first glance.
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Pointer
An elegant English gundog with enormous stamina, a thin coat and a soft temperament that needs far more running than its looks suggest.
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Polish Hunting Dog
A rare Polish scent hound on the Imported Breed Register, gentle at home, tireless on a trail and hard to find in most countries.
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Polish Lowland Sheepdog
A shaggy Polish herding breed with a sharp mind and a will of its own, hidden behind a fringe most people never see past.
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Pomeranian
A northern spitz breed reduced to toy size, bright and portable but fragile, vocal and carrying a demanding double coat.
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Portuguese Podengo
A Portuguese rabbit hound in three sizes and two coats, alert, quick and independent, with the small wire coat the most widely kept.
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Portuguese Pointer
A compact yellow gundog from Portugal that is still rare in most countries and forms an unusually close attachment to its household.
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Portuguese Water Dog
An intelligent, energetic Portuguese fishing dog with a low shedding curly or wavy coat that needs regular professional clipping.
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Pug
An affectionate companion breed whose flat face brings real breathing, heat and eye considerations that shape how the dog must be kept.
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Pyrenean Mastiff
A giant Spanish flock guardian, still rare in most countries, that thinks for itself and needs an owner used to that kind of dog.
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Pyrenean Mountain Dog
A giant white guardian bred to work alone at night with flocks in the Pyrenees, now kept mainly as a calm but independent household protector.
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Pyrenean Sheepdog
A small, wiry French herding dog bred for speed on mountain slopes, recognised by the Kennel Club in two coat varieties and packed with nervous energy.
Read breed guideBreeds starting with R
Rat Terrier
A quick, sharp witted American farm terrier that earns its keep as a companion, provided its owner enjoys an active and opinionated small dog.
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Rhodesian Ridgeback
A large southern African hound bred to track and hold big game, affectionate at home but independent, powerful and slow to grant reliable recall.
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Rottweiler
A powerful German drover's dog, calm and biddable in capable hands, requiring early socialisation, real handling skill and reliable manners in public.
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Rough Collie
The long-coated Scottish collie of film fame, gentle and biddable in the house, with an enormous coat and firm opinions about noise.
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Russian Black Terrier
A large Soviet military breed built for guarding, with a terrier name but none of a terrier's temperament.
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Russian Toy
A tiny, rare companion breed from Russia, genuinely delicate and still difficult to find, with very few litters bred.
Read breed guideBreeds starting with S
Saluki
An ancient desert sighthound, elegant and reserved, devoted to its own people and never to be trusted off the lead near hares or deer.
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Samoyed
A white Siberian spitz bred to herd reindeer and pull sledges, now valued as an affectionate, vocal companion with a demanding coat.
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Schipperke
A small black Belgian watchdog bred for canal boats and workshops, busy, vocal and always convinced of its own competence.
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Schnauzer
The original working sized Schnauzer, midway between the Miniature and the Giant, watchful and protective with real grooming demands.
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Scottish Terrier
A compact Highland terrier with a famously independent nature that answers to nobody in particular and asks for firm, patient owners.
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Sealyham Terrier
A calm, white-coated Welsh terrier now rare enough that finding a puppy takes patience and a direct approach to the breed club.
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Segugio Italiano
An ancient Italian hare hound, calm and undemanding in the house but relentless in the field, with a carrying voice and very little interest in recall.
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Shar Pei
A wrinkled Chinese guarding breed whose folded skin and short bristly coat carry real, well documented health considerations for owners.
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Shetland Sheepdog
A small, quick-witted crofting dog from Shetland that excels at anything it is taught and will bark at nearly everything until shown otherwise.
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Shih Tzu
A sturdy Tibetan companion breed with an enormous coat and a shortened face, easy in temperament and demanding in grooming and health care.
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Siberian Husky
A Siberian sled dog bred to run for a living, friendly with everyone and among the hardest breeds to contain in an ordinary home.
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Skye Terrier
A long, low Scottish terrier with a flowing coat and a famously one-person nature, now rare enough that a puppy takes real searching to find.
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Sloughi
A rare North African smooth sighthound, quiet and reserved, with a strong prey drive and a small population that means a wait for puppies.
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Slovakian Rough Haired Pointer
A grey rough coated hunt point retrieve gundog created in postwar Slovakia, still rare in most countries and needing a working outlet.
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Small Munsterlander
A medium sized brown and white German gundog that hunts, points and retrieves, still uncommon in most countries but easy to train and live with.
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Smooth Collie
A short coated variety of the collie, rare and vulnerable in most countries despite a temperament that suits most active families well.
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Smooth Fox Terrier
A once common fox bolting terrier now listed among Britain's vulnerable native breeds despite a lively, biddable and famously energetic character.
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Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier
An Irish farm terrier with a soft wheat coloured coat, a famously exuberant greeting and a good record with children and other dogs.
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Spanish Water Dog
A curly or corded herding and water dog from Andalusia that guards its family, learns fast and needs a job more than a garden.
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Springer Spaniel
An energetic gundog that thrives on close partnership, scent work and substantial daily exercise.
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St Bernard
A famously gentle Alpine giant whose drool, short life and growth care needs are as central to ownership as its calm temperament.
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Staffordshire Bull Terrier
A strong, affectionate terrier that needs consistent training, close company and thoughtful dog introductions.
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Standard Poodle
A tall working water retriever behind the show clip, highly trainable and sensitive, with a coat that demands lifelong professional grooming.
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Sussex Spaniel
A low, long, golden liver spaniel from the Sussex Weald that works slowly, talks on a scent and remains one of the rarest breeds in Britain.
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Swedish Lapphund
A rare black spitz bred to herd reindeer in Scandinavia, closely bonded to its family and still uncommon enough in most countries that buyers wait.
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Swedish Vallhund
A short legged Viking era herding dog often compared to a corgi, built for driving cattle and blessed with a voice well beyond its size.
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Thai Ridgeback
A rare, athletic Thai hunting and guarding dog with a ridge along its spine, an independent mind and a reserve with strangers that needs experienced handling.
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Tibetan Mastiff
An ancient Himalayan guardian breed with a strongly independent mind, seasonal shedding and a habit of barking through the night.
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Tibetan Spaniel
A small Tibetan monastery watchdog, not a spaniel at all, with an independent streak and modest exercise needs.
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Tibetan Terrier
A long coated Tibetan monastery companion, not a terrier by function, with snowshoe feet built for deep snow and rough ground.
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Toy Fox Terrier
A toy sized terrier with a full terrier temperament, quick to learn and quick to bark, best suited to a household that treats it as a small dog rather than an accessory.
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Toy Poodle
The smallest poodle variety, sharp and trainable but genuinely fragile, needing careful handling, dental care and a lifelong grooming routine.
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Treeing Walker Coonhound
A fast, friendly American scent hound bred to trail quarry at night and bay at the foot of a tree, with a voice that carries for a mile.
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Turkish Kangal Dog
A giant Anatolian livestock guardian bred to face wolves alone, calm around its own flock but built with a strength that demands an experienced handler.
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Weimaraner
A powerful German hunting breed whose striking grey coat sells more puppies than its stamina, wilfulness and dislike of solitude can support.
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Welsh Corgi
Welsh Corgi is the name of two separately recognised breeds. This page sets the Pembroke and the Cardigan side by side so you can work out which one you actually want.
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Welsh Springer Spaniel
A red and white spaniel from Wales that is steadier and more reserved than the English Springer and bonds hard to one household.
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Welsh Terrier
A black and tan working terrier from the Welsh hills, built like a smaller Airedale and increasingly hard to find.
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West Highland White Terrier
A hardy white Highland terrier with real terrier drive, best known now for the skin and ear problems that shape much of its veterinary care.
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Whippet
A small English sighthound bred for rabbiting and weekend racing, gentle and clean in the house but fast, fragile and hard to recall.
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White Swiss Shepherd Dog
A white shepherd dog developed in Switzerland from German Shepherd stock, gentler in temperament but every bit as active and still uncommon in most countries.
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Wire Fox Terrier
A wiry coated showring favourite bred to bolt foxes from cover, whose relentless curiosity and stripped coat suit a genuinely committed owner.
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Xoloitzcuintle
An ancient Mexican breed kept in three sizes and both hairless and coated varieties, still rare and mostly found through its breed club.
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Yakutian Laika
A Siberian sled and hunting spitz, still rare outside its home region, that needs sustained daily work rather than a walk around the block.
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Yorkshire Terrier
A Victorian mill town ratter turned toy companion, with a silk coat most owners trim short and a terrier character that surprises new buyers.
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