When you look around while taking your dog for a walk you might wonder how many dog breeds are there actually? The short answer is that there are 190 dog breeds in the United States and worldwide there are 360 dog breeds that are officially registered.
Dogs are one of the animals in the world with the most diversity. For me, it is always hard to believe that that little dog that runs around in my neighbor’s yard comes from the same genetics that a wolf has. A larger breed such as a German Shepperd makes me believe that more. Let’s dig a little deeper into dog breeds and how a breed can be officially added to the list.
World Canine Organization
To find out how many dog breeds there actually are we have to take a look at the Fédération Cynologique Internationale (FCI). This is also known as the World Canine Organization. They have members from 84 countries including the United States which is represented by the American Kennel Club.
How Can You Establish A New Dog Breed
It would take up to much writing and since most of the readers here are from the USA I focus on the American Kennel Club in this article. The American Kennel Club is more than a registry for dogs. There is information available about any subject that is related to dogs. From training to products for dogs and even pet insurance.
If you are interested in the American Kennel Club I suggest you click on one of the links or have a look at their YouTube channel here. I can spend hours there watching their videos about all types of information that concern dogs.
The first thing I noticed is that mixed breeds are not on the official list of dog breeds. As much as most people love their Goldendoodle or a Puggle they are not recognized as a new breed since they are a mix of two existing breeds.
To have a new dog breed added in the USA there must be at least 300 to 400 dogs. I assume that they also want them to be spread out over as many people as possible. They also have to be at least 3 generations old. They also must have a list of standards that each dog in that breed must have. I found that only 25 new breeds have been approved in the last decade. There are, however, many more applications done.
When they meet all these qualifications they can apply for the AKC official breed status. This does not automatically that they will be approved.
The 7 Dog Breed Classifications In The AKC
In the AKC there are seven groups of dog breeds and a new dog breed needs to fit into one of the following categories.
- Sporting
- Hound
- Terrier
- Herding
- Working
- Non-sporting
- Toy
You can see that it is not an easy process and can take many years of consistent breeding with multiple breeders before there is even a chance to get on that list. The advantages for breeders are of course that they can start asking for higher prices for their pups.
Although I answered the question of how many dog breeds there are already in the intro of this article I will give it to you again in case you missed it. There are 360 registered dog breeds worldwide and in the USA the AKC has listed 190 dog breeds in the 7 categories I mentioned above.
My opinion
There are several more breeds that hope to be listed on the AKC’s list and breeders continue to create new dogs with special features. Just realize that at the end of the day it does not make a difference if your dog is a recognized breed or a mix of many different mutts. Most of them come with the guarantee to love you and make a great pet for you and your family without being judged by their appearance.
Charles Withrow
Charles Withrow is a pet lover and spent most of his free time at the local animal shelter and working for the human society. Through this work, he knows how important it is to have the right products for your pets. He shares his experience here on the Pet Bed Finder website.
You can read all about Charles Withrow here.
