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A breed group is a categorization of related breeds of animal by an overseer organization, used to organize the showing of animals. In dogs, kennel clubs define the Breed Groups and decide which dog breeds are to be included in each breed group. The Fédération Cynologique Internationale breed groups are used to organize dogs for international competition. Breed groups often have the names of, and are loosely based on, ancestral dog types of modern dog breeds.
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International
The mission of the Fédération Cynologique Internationale is to enable dogs in its 84 member countries to compete together by establishing common nomenclature and ensuring that pedigrees are mutually recognized in all the member countries. To achieve this goal internationally, dog breeds are organized in ten groups, each with subsections according to breed type and origin.
The Kennel Club
The Kennel Club in the United Kingdom is the original and oldest kennel club; it is not a member of the Fédération Cynologique Internationale. For The Kennel Club, dogs are placed in the following groups:
Working refers to dogs that work directly for people, such as police dogs, search and rescue dogs, etc. It does not imply that other types of dogs do not work. Dogs that work with livestock are in the Pastoral Group.
Australia and New Zealand
The Australian National Kennel Council and the New Zealand Kennel Club recognize similar groups to The Kennel Club.
Australian National Kennel Council recognized Breed Groups:
New Zealand Kennel Club recognized Breed Groups:
North America
The Canadian Kennel Club and the two major kennel clubs in the United States have similar groups, although they may not include the same dogs in the same groupings. Canadian Kennel Club recognized Breed Groups:
American Kennel Club recognized breed groups:
United Kennel Club (US) recognized breed groups:
Other
For most other countries, the major national kennel club for each respective country will organize breeds into breed groups. The naming and organization of those breed groups can vary significantly from country to country. In addition, some rare new breeds or newly documented traditional breeds could be awaiting approval by a given kennel club and might not yet be assigned to a particular breed group.
In addition to the major registries, a nearly infinite number of other entities, such as sporting clubs, breed clubs, minor kennel clubs, Internet-based breed registries, and dog registration businesses, will often create their own respective breed groups into which to organize individual breeds.