Identifying a dog’s breed seems simple enough, but it’s often more complicated than it appears.
And the existence of over 450 dog breeds doesn’t exactly simplify matters. Some breeds are so alike you wouldn’t just think they are the same breed; you might even assume those two dogs are siblings.
First, we need to define what a dog breed is.
A dog breed could be considered a group of dogs that come from common ancestors and have been selectively bred. They share very similar characteristics in terms of behavior and appearance because they have been bred for specific functions by humans.
If we add the genetic component to the definition, a dog breed is a group of dogs with a closed and shared genetic heritage (all the alleles they can present).
Once again, this might sound straightforward, but it’s quite complex in reality.
Distinguishing Dogs: Breed Standards
This is why breed standards exist. They are a detailed description of a breed’s physical appearance (and sometimes character) and serve as an objective method to determine the morphology an animal must have to be considered part of a particular breed.
It’s an incredibly meticulous and precise description to differentiate very similar breeds. It even details the coat colors a breed may or may not possess. The standards take into account the sex of the animal since, on average, male dogs are about 20% larger than female dogs.
Here’s an interesting point: The International Canine Federation (FCI) is the World Canine Organization, the largest dog-related entity created by humans if you want to think of it in epic terms.
It is composed of 97 members, one for each participating country.
The FCI decided at one point that dog breeds are the “property” of countries. That is, the Spanish water dog, a breed originating in Spain, would belong to that country. However, the Portuguese water dog would belong to Portugal.
To avoid chaos, because a universal rule is that two people together will always argue, not just anyone can make breed standards.
Each of these member countries creates the breed standards for THEIR dog breeds. Spain manages the breed standard for the Spanish water dog, while Portugal does so for the Portuguese water dog. This task is performed in collaboration with the FCI itself, which translates and publishes them. The breed standards become the undisputed reference for the breeding of that breed and for competitions held by any FCI member country.
Additionally, breed standards are not set in stone. They are updated periodically to accommodate changes in the breeds they describe.
At the time of writing this entry, there are 356 breeds officially recognized by the FCI. These breeds are classified into 10 groups, based on the primary utility of the animal.
Curious fact: group 4 is the dachshund, also known as the sausage dog or teckel. This group literally consists only of this dog breed, although it is subdivided based on size and type of coat.
Another interesting fact is that over 40% of the dogs recognized by the FCI come from Great Britain, France, or Germany. These three countries have developed the most breeds.
And another point of interest: the Australian dingo has researchers quite puzzled. They are unsure whether to consider it a dog breed, a wolf subspecies, or its own species. That’s how complicated classifications can be. Personal note: they are gorgeous.
“Hold on,” a numbers lover might say. “How does the FCI have 356 recognized breeds if you mentioned earlier there are over 450 dog breeds?”
The existence of a breed and its official recognition by the FCI are two different things. Even if there are national organizations that recognize a breed, the FCI may have rejected it or it may still be under review.
An example would be the Spanish Alano. It is a large dog with written records in the Iberian Peninsula from the 14th and 15th centuries. The breed has been recognized since 2004 by the Royal Canine Society of Spain, but not by the FCI.
How Can I Determine My Dog’s Breed?
Once a breed has been established with its standard, it can be recognized based on its physical and behavioral traits.
Since animals of the same breed share common ancestors, they can also be distinguished by specific genetic variants that they share. However, this requires a sufficient number of studied individuals. That’s why there are currently breeds that are impossible to distinguish genetically: their population is too small to find and analyze enough markers to differentiate them from other similar breeds.
In 2004, a study was conducted with 414 purebred dogs from 85 different breeds. The study analyzed various microsatellites (short DNA fragments that repeat at specific locations in the genome). It found that the animals were distinct enough to correctly assign 99% of them to their respective breeds.
This was in 2004 and only using microsatellites.
Moreover, the study identified what are called “ancient breeds” or “old-world dogs.” These are breeds (initially 9, with others added later) that diverged many years ago from other dog breeds. As a result, they are the breeds most similar to wolves and the first domesticated dogs.
These ancient breeds can be classified separately from the so-called modern dogs, breeds that have mostly emerged in the last 200 years.
So currently, there are three main ways to determine your dog’s breed, provided your dog is not a purebred with a pedigree. In that case, you know because you have a very expensive paper that tells you.
- Take them to specialists. Based on their physical traits, an expert could identify the animal’s breed.
- Some apps claim to determine your pet’s breed through the analysis of photos and videos of the animal. With the photos I take, they couldn’t even distinguish it from a cat.
- The third option, which we offer, is dog DNA tests that differentiate breeds based on their DNA variants. For mixed-breed dogs, this is the most accurate option. No offense to the other two, but it’s the only one that can give you exact percentages. And if you don’t believe us, you can see it here.