Just thinking aloud here so bear with me :D

Can anybody give us here is simple terms a description of breed types eg Gundog ,Terriers,etc with this info. 1.Typical temperament.
2.What they were meant to be breed for,
3. Whether they are used extensively for that purpose.

I know that maybe difficult but want a generalisation of type rather than individual breed.

I will reveal why I have asked if anybody is able to do this ! :)

Is that possible ??

Lucy
xx

typr terrier
1.terriers temperment is bold and fearless and tough
2,terrers were bred for catching rats and other vermin
3,some breeds are still used in hunting vermin

is this what you wanted

kerrie

Yes excatly what I wanted :)

The rest of the breed types please folks :)

Lucy
xx

Gundogs
1. Typical temperament would be biddable/wants to please, good with people and other dogs
2. Difficult as there are a few different types but mainly, hunting, flushing, pointing, retrieving
3. Lots of people work their gundogs, although most as more 'fun' IMO :) Gamekeepers obviously need their dogs for their work

HTH
Emily

Herding Breeds

1, Love to please loads of energy need keeping active mentally especially, very intelligent
2, bred for herding and still used today more commonly the border collie
3 excel in alot of doggie sports due to being intelligent
4, great with dogs and children if correctly bought up and socialised but can nip when they get excited due to the herding instinct

Thanks Emily :)

Right we need the rest of the groups , Hounds, Working, Pastoral, Utility and Toy :

Lucy
xx

Bordercollielover already covered Patoral under the heading of herding :D

Won't work for Hounds, Utility or working as these 3 have very diverse breeds :D

Won't work with my breed (Norwegian Elkhound) as it is unlike any other in the hound group other than the other spitz (Finnish Spitz). 

Also sight Hounds and Scent Hounds are quite different.

A Group description won't work for the Utility, (not same as USA Utility but an odds and ends group for dogs not fitting elsewhere), or Working Groups. 

Pastoral maybe as all these are used to Herd or guard livestock.

Hi this is very good info as I am trying to generalise but know that you have to be adaptable ! :)

Lucy
xx

Ok lets try and group them into acceptable groupings :)

Lucy
xx

ok sled dogs guard dogs bull breeds there pretty good groupings

OK please quanitify for the groupings :)

Lucy
xx

Well my dogs again are not sled dogs but have more in common with these than some of the hounds.  there are Spitz breeds in all the Groups except Gundog and Terrier and they all have more in common with each other than with the breeds theya re grouped with.

Spitz are Independant, double coated, and Primitive (least changed from wild canids).  Some are Very Dog Dominant but others pretty sociable, most are very affectionate to people but self willed.

Toy Breeds

Mainly bred as companion or "lapdogs"
Small in size
Some are more delicate than other dogs from other groups of similar size
Some are silky or fine coated
Mainly very much people dogs & all should have good temperaments with other animals & people

The two of the exceptions being The Cavalier KCS & KCS from the same spaniel originally & they were bred to be dual purpose hunting & companion from the 15th Century onwards & I am sure there will be others

So do we need a different group ? ;)

Lucy
xx

MM do you have any experience of Toys ? :)

Lucy
xx

LOLOLOLOL Only Cavaliers personally at home but have friends with Griffs, Affies(as in monkey dogs)Pekes,Jap Chins, Paps, Chihuahuas,Maltese, Yorkies, Chinese Cresteds,Min Pins, Pugs, Poms, Havenese, Cotons, ETT, Bolognese & Italian Greyhounds

So not much really ;) They are mainly in the group because they are small like the Silkies & ETT

Don't tell my Cavs they are toys tho' otherwise I will have to get a cat to catch the mice :D

And some of the herding spitz have traits of both pastoral and spitz groups.  The pastorals can be divided into herders and LGDs which are very different types...getting very complicated!

Julie

LGDs - Livestock Guardian Dogs, from the Pastoral group.  These are different from the herding breeds in the same group, as they have very little or no prey drive (i.e. no desire to chase (herd) their flock).

1. Very stable, calm temperament.  Use force only as a last resort, when all other attempts to put off a threat (typically a wolf or other large predator) have failed.
2. Developed to guard livestock - usually sheep - against any threats, be it predators or poachers, including other dogs not known to the LGD.
3. A good proportion of LGDs are still used - in particular the Anatolian Shepherd and Akbash (basically an Anatolian).  This is because they are excellent at what they do, and conversely often don't make great pet dogs - they need the space their breed was developed in, so town life doesn't suit them well.

Basically LGDs are the opposite of the herding breeds - they live, eat and sleep with the flock day and night to protect them, but never round them up.

thats why i did herding as not all pastoral herd

oh, and a separate note re: the original purpose of breeds - german shepherds were originally bred for herding sheep (and cattle I think, correct me if I'm wrong!), but today are widely used for police protection and detection dogs.  So the original purpose is often translated into quite different occupations today.

My gsd has very much so got the herding instinct more so than a guarding one

& of course GSDs do not work stock like BCs, when used as a shepherd dog, as opposed to a sheep dog, the shepherd divides the pasture & walks a line with the dog whose job it then is to shepherd the stock behind the line so that they are contained on the part of the pasture the shepherd wishes them to graze on Any erring sheep or cattle are forced back by the dog without command as the shepherd does not remain with the stock.

The BC type herding dogs require a shepherd to give commands

Then of course the Shelties were & are used to do a similar job except that they are trained to keep the sheep out of the sea as they graze on seaweed washed up on the shore & traditionally the dogs were left alone for upto 48 hours-hence shelties being independantly minded dogs & not little Rough Collies

Fascinating thread!  Don't know why the original question was asked, but glad it was.

I'm really not very experienced at all, but here's my suggestion for the sight hounds from what I've read, seen, and experienced.

1. Temperament:  independent and aloof, not overly expressive, but generally calm with other dogs and people
2.  Purpose:  to hunt by sight in packs, mostly independent of human guidance
3.  Not really used for their original purpose anymore, although I think some salukis still hunt in the middle east.  Their strong hunting instinct and desire to run are channelled into coursing these days.

(I haven't posted anything in a long long time, by the way, but still an avid reader)

Phil

"Fascinating thread!  Don't know why the original question was asked, but glad it was."

Agreed!  When watching dog shows on TV, I recall they make statements similar to what's been posted in this lovely little thread, but come on... we're all paying attention to the dogs then, not the announcer.  ;)

I would post on scent hounds, but I fear I'm not knowledgeable enough.  And as was mentioned, the hounds seem to be quite a diverse breed, not to mention it could be argued some are almost equally sight- and scent-.

God my breed are hard to describe as they have been and still are used for the following :d

Gundogs
Herding Dogs
Guard Dogs
Water Dogs

:d :d

Ahh, that's why they are so hard to explain.

In the Gundog group I think that we need another Group like they do with the FCI, as they have the water dogs in the Gundog group.  My breed at the moment if I had to chose would want them in the HPR group, but some don't hunt far enough, although they are retrieve mad and do point.  Could they be in the retriever side, yes, but they do so much more.

Boy it's hard work this