UNRECOGNISED & RARE BREEDS OF DOGS

Nursery Rhymes

Unrecognised & Rare Breeds

Unrecognised &
Rare Breeds of Dogs - The Practise of Breeding Dogs

The practise of breeding dogs was introduced almost as soon as dogs were domesticated. Selective Breeding was originally introduced to produce traits that were useful for various types of work such as hunting large game (the hounds), hunting vermin (the terriers) driving and flushing out game (pointers and setters) and guarding duties.

Breeding just for appearance only really became popular in the 19th Century. The different types of breeds basically fall into two categories - purpose bred, or purebred dogs and random-bred dogs.

Bay Dogs

Unrecognised & Rare Breeds of Dogs - Dog Shows

Man's passion and pride in his dog led to the desire to show his dog and compare it to other breeds. The organised dog shows were therefore born in the middle of the 19th Century.

The dogs were unidentified except for their kennel names! This led to real confusion - there were quantities of dogs with the same names - Rover, Spot etc which were insufficiently described according to their breed or type. Organisation was required - descriptions and breed standards were needed - the Kennel Clubs were born!

Dog Breeds - ABC List

Unrecognised & Rare Breeds of Dogs - The Kennel Clubs
Official Breed Standards are produced by the Kennel Clubs. The two Major Kennel Club standards included on this site are:

The Kennel Club (KC) Great Britain
The American Kennel Club (AKC)

Unrecognised & Rare Breeds of Dogs - Breed Standards
A breed standard is the ideal dog of that breed looks like. It is an attempt to describe "perfection." The standard is the model breeders use in their efforts to breed better dogs. At Dog Shows the Judges use the standard as a guide when evaluating a dog. The objective of the AKC is to "Advance the study, breeding, exhibiting, running and maintenance of purebred dogs".

Unrecognised & Rare Breeds of Dogs - Breed Groups and Classes
There are 150 breeds eligible for AKC registration. Every breed is assigned to one of seven groups or Miscellaneous Class, based on the uses for which the breeds were originally developed. The Breed Groups and Classes consist of:

Sporting

Non-Sporting

Working

Herding

Terrier

Toy

Hounds

Miscellaneous

Unrecognised & Rare Breeds - Gaining Recognition
A Kennel Club unrecognised breed standard can obtain recognition once the breed has become sufficiently established within the country. Considerable research is conducted into the historical background, health and temperament of any new breed before Kennel Club recognition is granted.

Information about Unrecognised & Rare Breeds of Dogs
The following list of dogs have not yet gained recognition by the American or UK Kennel Clubs. To discover more about specific breeds as yet unrecognised, their origins, history, temperaments and characteristics please follow one of the following links:

Australian Kelpie Sheep Dog