Discovering the different classes of small dogs can help narrow down the search for a new canine friend. The AKC (American Kennel Club), which is the principle breed registry in the US, categorizes dog breeds into seven categories, plus the miscellaneous category. The miscellaneous [class is for breeds that have not yet completed all their registration requirements.

The seven classes of American Kennel Club recognized dog breeds are:

• sporting
• hound
• working
• terrier
• toy
• non-sporting
• herding

You’ll find most small dogs are in the toy category, but there are quite a number in the terrier group, and some in the herding, sporting, hound, and non-sporting categories. There are no American Kennel Club recognized small dog breeds in the working class.

What Do These Categories Mean?

Most of the breeds in these groups have common characteristics. Some are classified because of practical skills like a great hunting or herding ability, (in the herding and hound groups). Others are there because of their size (toy dogs), or ancestry (terriers). The sporting and working dogs are a bit like the medley racers in Olympic swimming – these dogs are all-rounders, either at doggy sports, or excelling in the many skills working dogs need. The non-sporting group are more dissimilar than similar however. The exception being that they don’t fit well in any other category.

Breed Types

Sporting Dogs

Sporting dogs are great hunters, although they make loyal and loving pets when paired with the right owners. Sporting dogs were bred to hunt all types of small game, including birds, and they can hunt either on land or in the water. There are in this group 27 breeds, including the English cocker spaniel dog breed, a type of small spaniel. Other breeds in this category are other spaniels, pointers, retrievers, and setters. Sporting dogs are high energy dogs, and do need exercise on a regular basis.

Hound Dogs

Hound dogs hunters as well. Hunting dogs grouped here have helped humans in the hunt historically. And they were bred to take advantage of particular skills each breed developed. Some hounds use smell, others sight or speed, to track their prey. There are twenty-three breeds in this group, which includes 3 small breeds – the whippet, basenji, and dachshund.

Working Dogs

Working dogs can be kept as pets, but the reason they are called working dogs is because they provide some function for people, whether that’s herding livestock, as a guide dog, or part of a paid entertainment act.

The AKC uses this broad definition another way. It places breeds here when they have been bred to perform a task which cannot be properly categorized in one of the other existing categories. There are no small dog breeds in this category.

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