How to Determine a Dog's Breed

By eHow Pets Editor

Instructions

Step 1:
Look carefully at the size of the dog first to begin to eliminate specific breeds. Determine the dog's color and hair length; this characteristic will be broken into either long hair or short haired.
Step 2:
Determine the overall energy level of the dog whether it is playful or fairly sedentary. Observe whether the dog is friendly or aggressive to strangers. Also, notice how the dog reacts to other animals, especially other dogs. This behavior could help identify breed as well.
Step 3:
Figure out the dog's build. Decide if it is muscular, small, medium or very small. Then feel the coat of hair on the dog, and list if the fur is wavy, straight, silky or sparse. Write down your assessments of the dog.
Step 4:
Pay special attention to the color combination of your dog. Most dogs are colored with a mix of white, black, tan, brown and sometimes red. Next, study the dog's head to determine if it is round, flat or square; also pay special attention to the dog's snout and whether it is long or short.
Step 5:
Note whether the dog is very vocal or fairly silent. Many dog breeds have specific vocal cues. You can also look at the dog's tail as another indicator.
Step 6:
Write down as many observations about your dog's appearance as possible and get a book or web reference on dog breeds. Use your observations to single out breed possibilities to help determine the specific breed. Be aware that your dog could be a mixture of different breeds.

Tips & Warnings

If necessary, you can pay to have a DNA sample of your dog taken to determine its breed origins. However this testing is expensive and a bit invasive for the animal; plus, it only works with purebred breeds.

Resources

More Puppy Pages

How to Pick a Dog Breed

Instructions Things You’ll Need: A computer, or a book on dog breeds Access to a dog park, if possible References from people with dogs A big heart How to Pick a Dog Breed Step 1: 1. Decide if you want to go purebred, mutt or pound. You can get...

How to Choose Purebred or Mix Breed Puppies

Instructions Things You’ll Need: Local newspaper's classified ad section Computer with Internet access Step 1: Determine what size dog you wish to own. Consider the size of your home, yard space and your budget. Small dogs such as terriers don't...

Instructions Things You’ll Need: Books, magazines and/or websites with descriptions of the different dog breeds and their characteristics Step 1: Think about size. Do you now, or do you plan to, live in an apartment complex or other type of rental...

How to Adopt a Dog From a Breed Rescue Group

Instructions Step 1: Research the breed of dog you're interested in adopting to ensure the characteristics of the breed match your lifestyle. The American Kennel Club provides detailed information on more than 150 breeds of dogs. Step 2: Contact your...

Instructions Step 1: Look at the different breeds. You can narrow down your choices based on size of the dog, coat, temperament and activity level. You need to compare your lifestyle with the dog's requirements. Use the Eukanuba Breed Selector to find a...