How many dog breeds are there in the world?
You and your dog are certainly a great team and have decided after long consideration exactly for this breed. But you've probably often wondered how many dog breeds there actually are in 2021. The question can not be answered easily even by experts and varies between about 400 and 800 different dog breeds. The reason for this is that in addition to the officially recognized breeds defined by the Fédération Cynologique Internationale, known as the FCI for short, there are other cynological umbrella organizations that include four-legged friends in the dog breed list. The number of dog breeds are given differently in the different publications also because the number of designer and hybrid dogs is not considered in the fixed dog breed list.
The ancestry of your dog
Where does your dog come from and how far can you trace back his tracks? Old drawings and illustrations on objects, but also tooth and bone finds give information about the fact that your four-legged friend descends from the wolf. Humans recognized very early that the wolf not only serves as a valuable meat supplier, but is alive a guard, protector and tracker. It is believed that it was very young animals that broke the distance between the wolf and humans, recognized the owner as the pack leader, and laid the foundation for our human-dog relationship today.
The origin of the dog breeds
About 12000 B.C., the keeping of dogs began. As a result of domestication, not only the behavior, but also the appearance of dogs have changed over the many years. Although not one hundred percent proven, but to assume that man began very early, such dogs to mate with each other, which stood out with particularly good performance. Thus, the strongest and healthiest were automatically used for reproduction. It is to be assumed also that a very sharp selection was operated.
At the courts of princes there was already early race breeding. However, one can speak of a breed history only since the 19th century. From this time on, dog breeders have joined together in breeding associations in order to work together for the interests of a certain dog breed. Pedigrees, stud books and precisely defined and described standards are proof of their efforts to monitor the continued existence and purity of a breed and to maintain and continually promote their own defined criteria and qualities.
The ten most popular dog breeds at a glance
- German Shepherd Dog
- Jack Russell Terrier
- Golden Retriever
- German Boxer
- Yorkshire Terrier
- Pug
- Shih Tzu
- West Highland White Terrier
- Chihuahua
- Dalmatian
Modern dog breeds
Designer or hybrid dogs are puppies that were created by a planned mating of two animals of different dog breeds.
Well-known representatives are:
-
Jack Chi
The goal of such breedings is to combine the best breed characteristics of both dogs.
Conclusion: How many dog breeds are there in 2021 really in the world now?
The number, the dog breeds recognized by the FCI, fluctuates between 390 and 400. The fluctuation results from the fact that new breeds are recognized and some dog breeds are deleted from the list. At the same time, there are dog breeds that receive only provisional and temporary recognition.
