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Utility Group is the name of a breed group of dogs, used by kennel clubs to classify a defined collection of dog breeds. How Utility Group is defined varies among kennel clubs, and different kennel clubs may not include the same breeds in their Utility Group. Some kennel clubs do not use the Utility Group classification. Utility Group is not a term used by the international kennel club association, the Fédération Cynologique Internationale, which more finely divides its breed groupings by dog type and breed history.
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Definitions of Utility Group
There are two different kennel club definitions of Utility Group. In one, dogs which do not fit elsewhere are placed in the Utility Group, and in the other, certain breeds of working dogs are designated as part of the Utility Group.
The Kennel Club (UK) places in the Utility Group dog breeds that do not quite fit in other groups, such as the Shih Tzu, which other kennel clubs place in the Toy Group, but the Kennel Club does not, as it considers them to be too large. Other dogs are placed in the Kennel Club's Utility Group because the working purpose for which they were originally bred "has now become redundant", such as the function of the Dalmatian to run alongside horse-drawn coaches. The Kennel Club defines "Utility" as meaning fitness for a purpose, taken to mean fitness for a purpose not covered by other Groups. Therefore, there is little relationship between the breeds in this Group.
The New Zealand Kennel Club and the Australian National Kennel Council each recognize a Utility Group, with a different emphasis. In Australia and New Zealand, the Utility Group includes large breeds of livestock guardian type dogs, large Spitz types, as well as guard, rescue, and messenger dogs.
Other major kennel clubs in the English-speaking world that do not use the Utility Group category include the American Kennel Club and the Canadian Kennel Club. How the Utility Group breeds are placed by those kennel clubs and by the Fédération Cynologique Internationale are detailed in the section on Utility Group breeds.
In the Canadian Kennel Club and the American Kennel Club, the Working Group includes all breeds that do work other than hunting or herding. In the New Zealand Kennel Club, the Working Group includes all the dogs found in the Pastoral Group or Herding Group of other kennel clubs, and the breeds found in the Working Group of those kennel clubs are found in the Utility Group of the New Zealand Kennel Club. The Australian National Kennel Council Utility Group is defined in a similar manner to that of the New Zealand Kennel Club.
A second organisation in the United States, the United Kennel Club, is also often considered among the major registries. The United Kennel Club does not recognise a Utility Group.
The Kennel Club (UK) Utility Group
Twenty nine breeds are listed in the Utility Group by The Kennel Club. The purpose of this section is to compare the categorisation of those breeds by The Kennel Club with the way in which each individual Utility Group breed is categorised by the Fédération Cynologique Internationale and a few other national (major) kennel clubs.
New Zealand and Australia Utility Groups
The purpose of this section is to compare the placement of breeds in the Utility Group by the New Zealand Kennel Club and the Australian National Kennel Council with the breeds placed in the Kennel Club's Utility Group, and with the way in which each individual Utility Group breed is categorised by the Fédération Cynologique Internationale and a few other national (major) kennel clubs.
The New Zealand Kennel Club and the Australian National Kennel Council Utility Groups are similar to each other, but differ from the Kennel Club Utility Group. The New Zealand Kennel Club and the Australian National Kennel Council Utility Groups include large guardian and Spitz dog breeds that are found primarily in the Fédération Cynologique Internationale Group 2 Pinscher and Schnauzer - Molossoid Breeds - Swiss Mountain and Cattle Dogs and in Group 5 Spitz and Primitive types, although a few are in other groups. Other kennel clubs may place these same breeds in the Working Group or Pastoral Group.
Other kennel clubs and registries
Kennel Clubs in countries other than those listed may also use the term Utility Group, their definition may differ. "Utility Group" may also be a term used by minor registries, kennel clubs, breed clubs, sporting clubs, and internet dog businesses. Each may or may not define the term separately.
Not recognised
A breed that is not recognised by a kennel club means that it has not been sufficiently vetted according to that particular kennel club's rules. It does not mean that the breed is not a breed. Major kennel clubs usually require a breed to have a specific amount of documentation, as well as a large enough breed club to warrant the training of judges for the breed, for the breed to be accepted.
Utility Group winners
At the Crufts 2008 show (UK), the Utility Group prize was won by Japanese Shiba Inu Ch Janeryls - In The Line Of Fire JW, owned by Mrs J Bannister.