Choosing a dog as a family pet can be a difficult decision to make. Not only do you have to select the most appropriate dog but you have a responsibility for it for the whole of it's life. A dog will make a significant impact on you and your family. Choose the right dog breed and it will be for the better. Go for the incorrect one and you and your pet could be extremely unhappy indeed.

Sadly, many folks thinking about a dog and which breed to choose make looks or size or the way the look their main priority, yet,however there is much more in finding the best dog for you than may appear. Picking a dog breed whose innate manner and requirements fit into your lifestyle should be your main concern.

The fist step in attaining this goal is to choose the best dog breed category. This way you will be examining breeds of dogs whose inbred personality ensure they are suitable for your lifestyle.

Fortunately for you, kennel clubs and originations all over the world have a way for putting different dog breeds into broad groups using the nature of activity they have been originally bred to do. A good way to start your research is your Kennel Club. The one to examine are: UK Kennel Club, Canadian Kennel Club and American Kennel Club.

Usually Kennel Clubs use the following groups to separate the different dog breeds:

Hunting Dogs (Gundogs) Toy Dogs Working Dogs Terriers Hounds Utility Dogs

Now we will look at each of these groups in detail.

Toy dog breeds are put in this category because of their diminutive size. They are the human compadres of the dog world. They include: Poodles, Yorkshire Terriers, Papillions, Chihuahuas, Cavalier King Charles Spaniels and Pekingese. These dogs are loyal and must have a lot of human contact if they are to do well in your home. These are clever dogs but make sure you don't harm them with kindness as feeding too much can be a problem with loving owners. It is possible for Toy dogs can become very attached to one master so make sure they are socialized well or separation anxiety can be a real problem.

Utility breeds are a family of many many diverse breeds brought into the same segment because of their non sporting past. Generally they they were bred for a specific function, however, these functions are greatly different. In this section will find dog breeds such as: Poodles, Shih Tzus, Bulldogs and Dalmatians. Dogs in this category are often among the oldest breeds known documented.

Working dogs have been designed for searching, rescuing, and guarding. Typical breeds in this group include: Boxers, Corgis, Great Danes, Dobermanns, German Shepherds, Collies, and Rottweillers. Often referred to as the "champions" of the dog world, being adapted to succeed at their specialized job.

Breeds in the terrier group are small to medium breeds whose job was to pursue rabbits and other vermin. Their small statue allowed them to get up to, and into the areas were their quarry was to be found. Again these are old breeds of dog that can be traced back hundreds of years and include: Airedale, Boston, Welsh, Border, Wire Fox, Cairn, Jack Russell, Staffordshire, Scottish, Lakeland and West Highland White and Miniature Schnauzer. Terriers are very gutsy for their size, faithful and determined. They need bringing into a family with small children watchfully as they are often defensive of whoever they view as leaders of the pack to the exclusion of other people in the family.

Hunting dogs are the breeds which used to be bred to be easily trained in the area of finding and retrieving hunting game that has been killed. The hunting dog category is broken down into a number of sub-categories: Setters, Retrievers, Hunt/Point/Retrieve, and Spaniels. These dogs are also very loyal and pleasant companions with a great all-around temperament for a pet, however, they do require a great deal of attention and exercise.

Hounds were initially used for hunting because of their substantial senses of sight or smell. Commonly, they have been subdivided into sight hounds and scent hounds. Included here are: Beagles, Daschunds, Basset Hounds, Greyhounds and Whippets. These breeds must have substantial amounts of exercise, but make terrific pets for a family.

Now you have gained more information re individual catagories of dog and their characteristics you should be able to select a group and dog breed suited to you and your circumstances.