Breeds from The Americas

Native and Foreign Breeds

There are dogs of many different types, with varying roles and personalities, to be found in the Americas. Some of the breeds are descended from European dogs, while others are entirely native. Canada is home to the world's most popular breed, the Labrador Retriever, which is named after the province on Canada's east coast. All four corners of the United States are home to well-known dog breeds, from the Boston Terrier in the northeast to the Treeing Tennessee Brindle in the south. (O'Meara, 2008).

Central and South America

Some of the world's largest and smallest breeds were developed in Central and South America - the Mexican Chihuahua is the smallest breed on the earth. Mexico is also home to the Mexican Hairless, one of only a handful of hairless dogs in the world.

Cuba and Peru have their own dog breeds, too, which re now poppular throughout the world. Brazil and Argentina are famous for their large and powerful breeds, such as the Argentine Dogo and the Brasil Mastiff, but small and feisty terriers are also native to that part of the world.

Some of the breeds that are natiave to the Americas have never become established outside of their home countries, such as the fast and powerful hound breeds that were bred in the Southern American states, while others are popular throughout the world. (O'Meara, 2008).

See the table below for a list of these breeds and you may follow the link for more information.

Table 1

BREED	AKC CATEGORIZATION	HEIGHT	WEIGHT	COLOR	COAT CARE (Maintenance)	DIET (Consumption)
Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever	Sporting	17-21 in	55-80 lb	Yellow, black, chocolate	Moderate/High	Moderate/High
Canadian Eskimo Dog	Misc Class	19-28 in	40-88 lb	White, black and white	Moderate/High	Moderate/High
Labrador Retriever	Sporting	21-24 1/2 in	55-80 lb	Yellow, black, chocolate	Moderate/High	Moderate/High
Newfoundland	Working	25-29 in	110-152 lb	Black or brown with white tip on chest	High/Very High	Very HIgh
Toy Fox Terrier	Toy	8-11 in	3.5 - 8 lb	Combination of black, white, and tan	Low	Low
American Eskimo Dog	Nonsporting	9-19 in (3 sizes)	No standard	White	High	Moderate
Boston Terrier	Nonsporting	15-17 in	15-25 lb	Brindle w/ white markings	Low	Low/Moderate
Rat Terrier	Terrier	13-18 in	10-25 lb	Various	Low	Low
Boykin Spaniel	Misc Class	No standard	No standard	No standard color; typically comparable to other spaniels	Moderate/High	Moderate/High
American Water Spaniel	Sporting	15-18 in	25-40 lb	No standard;typically liver and white	High	Moderate/High
Treeing Tennessee Brindle	Misc Class	No standard	No standard	Brindle	Moderate	High
American Staffordshire Terrier	Terrier	17-19 in	57-67 lb	Various, including brindle, brown, white, black, or liver	Low	High
American Pit Bull Terrier	Misc Class	No standard	No standard	Any	Low	High
Australian Shepherd	Herding	19-23 in	35-75 lb	Various, including blue merle and black merle	High/Very High	Moderate
Plott Hound	Hound	20-25 in	40-60 lb	Any shade of brindle	Moderate	High/Very High
Catahoula Leopard Dog	Misc Class	19-25 in	45-95 lb	Various	High/Very High	High/Very High
Treeing Walker Coonhound	Misc Class	No standard	No standard	Various, typically tan and white	Moderate/High	High/Very High
American Foxhound	Hound	21-25 in	65-75 lb	Tricolor; any	Moderate/High	Moderate
Chinook	Misc Class	21-27 in	59-90 lb	Sandy	Moderate	Moderate
Chesapeake Bay Retriever	Sporting	23-26 in	55-80 lb	Red-gold, brown or straw	Very High	Moderate/High
Redbone Coonhound	Misc Class	19-23 in	45-70 lb	Red	Moderate/High	Moderate/High
Black-and-Tan Coonhound	Hound	23-27 in	64-125 lb	Black and tan	Moderate	High/Very High
American English Coonhound	FSS	No standard	No standard	Red and white	Low	High/Very High
Alaskan Malamute	Working	23-25 in	75-85 lb	Light gray, black or red	High/Very High	High/Very High
Bluetick Coonhound	Misc Class	21-27 in	40-80 lb	Black, white, or gray with blue or black ticks	High	High
Mexican Hairless	Nonsporting	9-23 in	10-50 lb	Black, dark gray, brown, liver, or blonde	Zero	Low
Chihuahua	Toy	6-10 in	4-7 lb	White, spotted, brindle, piebald,tan, sable, or combinations of thereof	Moderate	Minimal
Havanese	Toy	8-12 in	No standard	Any, although most commonly white	High/Very High	Low/Moderate
Brazilian Terrier	Misc Class	14-16 in	14-20 lb	White, black, tan, brown, or blue	Moderate	Moderate
Brazilian Mastiff	Discovery Group	27-29 1/2 in	86-90 1/2 lb	Solid yellow, reddish tan, black, or brindle	Minimal	High/Very High
Peruvian Inca Orchid	Hound	20-26 in	26-50 lb	Chocolate brown, elephant gray, copper, or mottled	Zero	Moderate
Argentine Dogo	FSS	24 1/3-27 in	80-100 lb	White	Zero	High
Greenland Dog	Misc Class	23-27 in	75-105 lb	All known dog colors, or combinations thereof	Moderate/High	High

AKC Recognized Breeds (2009). Breeds By Group. Retrieved August 2, 2009, from the Americn Kennel Club Web site: http://www.akc.org/breeds/breeds_a.cfm# [Online reference site]

Independent Representative