Six Classes Of Small Dogs – Part 1
Discovering the different classes of small dogs can help focus the selection process for a new canine friend. The AKC (American Kennel Club), the main breed registry in the United States, categorizes dog breeds into seven categories, with the addition of the miscellaneous class. The category] is for those breeds who are in the process of becoming AKC registered, but are yet tofinalize some of the membership requirements.
The seven classes of AKC recognized dog breeds are:
- sporting
- hound
- working
- terrier
- toy
- non-sporting
- herding
Most of the small dog breeds are in the toy class, but there are quite a number in the terrier category, and a smattering in the hound, non-sporting, herding, and sporting categories. There are no official American Kennel Club recognized small dogs in the working class.
What Do These Categories Mean?
The dogs in most classes have common characteristics. Some are classified because of particular talents like a great hunting or herding ability, (in the herding and hound groups). Others are there because of their size (toy dogs), or ancestry (terriers). The sporting and working dogs are a bit like the medley racers in Olympic swimming – they are all-rounders, talented in doggy sports, or excelling in the multitude of skills working dogs need. The non-sporting group don’t seem to have much at all in common however. The exception being that they don’t fit well in any other group.
Breed Types
Sporting Dogs
Sporting dogs excel at hunting, although they make excellent pets when paired with the right owners. Sporting dogs can hunt all types of small game, including birds, and they can hunt either on land or in the water. There are in this group twenty-seven breeds, including the English cocker spaniel dog breed, a type of small spaniel. Other breeds in this category are setters, pointers, other spaniels, and retrievers. Sporting dogs are high energy dogs, and need a lot of exercise and/or mental stimulation.
Hound Dogs
Hound dogs are also hunters. Hunting dogs classified in this group have helped humans in the hunt historically. And they were bred to take advantage of particular talents each breed developed. Some hounds use speed, others sight or smell, to find their prey. There are twenty-three breeds in this group, which includes 3 small dog breeds – the whippet, basenji, and dachshund.
Working Dogs
Dogs in the working group can be kept as pets, but the reason they are called working dogs is because they provide some service to people, whether that’s herding livestock, as a guide dog or a police dog.
The AKC uses this broad definition a little bit differently. , in that any dog who was originally bred for a task which doesn’t fit into one of the other categories, becomes classified by them as a working dog. There aren’t any small dogs in this category.
