Random Dog Breed Generator Wheel

Spin for a random dog breed, then read where it comes from and the job it was bred to do.

Random Dog Breed Generator Wheel

On the wheel

    Click the button or the wheel, or press Space or Enter. Press again to skip.Tap the button or the wheel. Tap again to skip.

    Irish SetterEng. SetterTollerFlat-CoatedIrish WaterBassetDeerhoundRottweilerGreat DaneMalamuteKomondorNorfolkPomeranianPekingeseRussian ToyDalmatianBostonBichon FriseShiba InuCotonBorder ColliePembrokeMalinoisBuhund

    Sample result

    Norwegian Buhund

    Norway. A spitz used as a watchdog and for general farm and herding work.

    More options

    The wheel shows a new part of the list on every spin.

    The wheel shows 24 of 140 breeds. Every spin picks from all 140.

    Results

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      Next step Spin any animal, not only dogsSpin a letter and name a breed that starts with it

      How it works

      This random dog breed generator wheel holds 140 breeds, 20 in each of the seven show groups used in the United States. Each card gives the breed's place of origin and the job it was bred for.

      Read the full guide

      Pick a group, then spin

      The Show only menu lists Sporting, Hound, Working, Terrier, Toy, Non-Sporting and Herding. Choose one and its 20 breeds fill the wheel by name. A long name is shortened on its slice, so Toller on the wheel is the Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever on the card.

      What the groups hold

      On this wheel the Sporting group is all gun dogs: retrievers, setters, pointers and spaniels. The Hound group hunts by scent or by sight. Most of the Terriers began as vermin or fox hunters. Non-Sporting is the mixed group, which is why the Poodle, the Dalmatian and the Bulldog share it.

      Tips
      • For school reports, switch to Elimination under More options: each student spins a breed nobody else has.
      • Quiz the card: spin, cover the line under the name and guess the country first.

      Questions and answers

      What are the seven dog show groups?

      Sporting, Hound, Working, Terrier, Toy, Non-Sporting and Herding are the groups used at dog shows in the United States. Clubs in other countries sort some breeds differently: the Basenji is a hound here and sits with the spitz and primitive types on the international list.

      Is every dog breed on the wheel?

      No. The wheel holds 140 breeds chosen for this site, 20 from each group. Mixed breeds and crosses are not on it. The full list is printed under the wheel, group by group.

      Which dog breeds have a misleading name?

      Several. The Australian Shepherd was developed in California. The Great Dane is a German breed. The Labrador Retriever was developed in the United Kingdom from dogs brought over from Newfoundland. The Tibetan Terrier is not a true terrier.

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      Browse Number & Random Wheels

      All 140 breeds

      Sporting 20

      • Boykin Spaniel United States. Bred in South Carolina to hunt wild turkeys and ducks in a river swamp.
      • Brittany France. A spaniel-type gun dog from Brittany, bred mainly for bird hunting.
      • Chesapeake Bay Retriever United States. Used around Chesapeake Bay in the 1800s to retrieve waterfowl and pull fishing nets.
      • Cocker Spaniel United States. A sporting spaniel that parted from the English cocker in the 1900s; cocker likely comes from woodcock hunting.
      • English Cocker Spaniel England. A gun dog; the small spaniels called cockers were used for woodcock hunting.
      • English Setter England. A gun dog used to find game birds such as quail, pheasant and grouse.
      • English Springer Spaniel England. A gun dog used to flush, or spring, game birds and bring them back.
      • Flat-Coated Retriever England. Developed as a retriever for both land and water.
      • German Shorthaired Pointer Germany. An all-purpose gun dog from the 1800s that hunts and retrieves on land and in water.
      • Golden Retriever Scotland. Developed on a Scottish estate in the 1800s as a retriever, from a flat-coated retriever and water spaniels.
      • Gordon Setter Scotland. A large setter whose first purpose was hunting game birds such as grouse and partridge.
      Show all 140 breeds (129 more)

      Sporting, continued

      • Irish Setter Ireland. A setter, which is a kind of gun dog, and a family dog; its Irish name means red setter.
      • Irish Water Spaniel Ireland. The tallest of the spaniels, a hunting dog that finds and retrieves game.
      • Labrador Retriever United Kingdom. Bred as a retrieving gun dog from water dogs brought over from Newfoundland.
      • Lagotto Romagnolo Italy. A water retriever from the marshes of the Po delta that later hunted for truffles.
      • Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever Canada. From Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia; it draws waterfowl in close, then retrieves them.
      • Pointer England. Finds game for hunters and points at it; retrieving is not its purpose.
      • Spinone Italiano Italy. A hunting dog traditionally used to track, point and retrieve game.
      • Vizsla Hungary. A sporting dog that hunts fowl and upland game.
      • Weimaraner Germany. An all-purpose gun dog named after the city of Weimar, where it began.

      Hound 20

      • Afghan Hound Afghanistan. A sighthound from cold mountain country that was once kept for hunting.
      • American Foxhound United States. A scent hound bred to follow foxes by their smell, close kin to the English foxhound.
      • Basenji Central Africa. A hunting dog bred from dogs of the Congo region, nicknamed the barkless dog.
      • Basset Hound Great Britain. Developed from French basset hounds to hunt rabbit and hare with hunters on foot.
      • Beagle England. A scent hound bred mainly to hunt rabbit and hare.
      • Black and Tan Coonhound United States. A scent hound bred from the bloodhound and a foxhound, used mainly for raccoon hunting.
      • Bloodhound Belgium, France and the United Kingdom. Bred to hunt deer and wild boar, and since the Middle Ages to track people by scent.
      • Borzoi Russia. A sighthound once used for wolf hunting, and called the Russian wolfhound until 1936.
      • Dachshund Germany. Bred to scent, chase and flush out badgers and other animals that live in burrows.
      • Greyhound England. An ancient kind of sighthound, developed to hunt game by sight and speed.
      • Harrier United Kingdom. A pack hound developed mainly to hunt hares by following their trail.
      • Irish Wolfhound Ireland. A giant hound kept in the past to chase wolves in the Dublin and Wicklow mountains.
      • Norwegian Elkhound Norway. Tracks elk and other large game, then holds the animal at bay while barking for the hunter.
      • Otterhound England. A rough-coated scent hound first recorded with otter hunts in the 1800s.
      • Petit Basset Griffon Vendéen France. One of four griffon hounds from the Vendée, bred to follow hares in bramble country.
      • Pharaoh Hound Malta. Hunts rabbits on the rocky islands; its Maltese name means rabbit dog.
      • Rhodesian Ridgeback Southern Africa. Bred by settlers from local ridged dogs and European dogs to hold lions at bay.
      • Saluki Middle East. First bred in the Fertile Crescent, where nomadic tribes used it to run down game.
      • Scottish Deerhound Scotland. A large rough-coated sighthound once bred to hunt red deer.
      • Whippet United Kingdom. Bred as a hunting and racing dog, at first for catching rabbits.

      Working 20

      • Akita Japan. From the mountains of northern Japan, where its ancestors tracked bear and wild boar for hunters.
      • Alaskan Malamute United States. A large spitz from Alaska, bred strong and tireless to pull loaded sleds.
      • Bernese Mountain Dog Switzerland. Named for the canton of Bern; a general farm dog that also hauled carts.
      • Boxer Germany. A mastiff-type dog bred from the bulldog and the Bullenbeisser, an older German breed; a guardian.
      • Bullmastiff England. Developed in the 1800s as a guard dog by crossing the mastiff with a bulldog.
      • Doberman Pinscher Germany. Created in Thuringia about 1890 by a tax collector, who meant it to be a guard dog.
      • Giant Schnauzer Germany. Began on farms, driving livestock to market and guarding the property.
      • Great Dane Germany. Its ancestors were medieval hunting dogs for boar and deer, and guard dogs of German nobles.
      • Great Pyrenees France. A livestock guardian from the Pyrenees that protects flocks from wolves and bears.
      • Komondor Hungary. A large white dog long employed to guard livestock and other property.
      • Kuvasz Hungary. A flock guardian that has also served as a royal guard dog.
      • Leonberger Germany. Bred in the town of Leonberg in the mid-1800s; often seen pulling carts in Bavarian villages.
      • Mastiff United Kingdom. A very large dog long used to guard country estates.
      • Newfoundland Canada. Worked for the fishermen of Newfoundland; its webbed paws and thick coat suit water rescue.
      • Portuguese Water Dog Portugal. Worked for fishermen: it drove fish into nets, fetched lost gear and carried messages between boats.
      • Rottweiler Germany. Its German name means butchers' dog of Rottweil: it herded livestock and pulled meat carts to market.
      • Saint Bernard Switzerland. Bred for rescue work by a hospice on the Great St Bernard Pass in the Alps.
      • Samoyed Russia. Named for the Samoyedic peoples; it helps with herding, hunting and sled pulling.
      • Siberian Husky Russia. Developed in the Russian Far East by the Chukchi people to pull sleds.
      • Standard Schnauzer Germany. Traditionally a farm dog with a knack for catching rats.

      Terrier 20

      • Airedale Terrier England. From the valley of the River Aire in Yorkshire; a hunting dog and all-around farm dog.
      • Australian Terrier Australia. Developed from British terriers whose kind were kept to clear mice and rats.
      • Bedlington Terrier England. Takes its name from a mining town in Northumberland; originally bred to hunt.
      • Border Terrier United Kingdom. Named for the Anglo-Scottish border, where it ran with fox hunts.
      • Cairn Terrier Scotland. From the Highlands and the Isle of Skye; counted among Scotland's earliest working dogs.
      • Glen of Imaal Terrier Ireland. From County Wicklow, bred for hunting vermin and general farm work.
      • Kerry Blue Terrier Ireland. Bred to control vermin, and later a general working dog that herded cattle and sheep.
      • Miniature Schnauzer Germany. The smallest schnauzer, bred by farmers in the late 1800s as a ratting dog.
      • Norfolk Terrier Great Britain. Bred as a barn dog to clear vermin from the barn.
      • Norwich Terrier England. One of the smallest terriers, bred to hunt small rodents.
      • Parson Russell Terrier England. The original fox terrier of the 1700s, named after a clergyman credited with the type.
      • Rat Terrier United States. A farm dog and hunting companion, common on family farms in the 1920s and 1930s.
      • Russell Terrier England. Comes from small working terriers used for fox hunting in the 1800s; it hunts underground.
      • Scottish Terrier Scotland. Bred to hunt vermin on farms, and badgers and foxes in the Highlands.
      • Sealyham Terrier Wales. A working terrier developed in the 1800s at a house called Sealyham in Pembrokeshire.
      • Smooth Fox Terrier England. The first fox terrier given official recognition, bred to go after small animals.
      • Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier Ireland. An all-purpose farm dog that herded, guarded livestock and hunted vermin.
      • Welsh Terrier Wales. Bred to hunt fox, rodents and badger in the mountains of north Wales.
      • West Highland White Terrier Scotland. Bred for catching small rodents on farms; often called the Westie.
      • Wire Fox Terrier England. Developed by fox hunters, and thought to have been bred to chase foxes into their burrows.

      Toy 20

      • Affenpinscher Germany. Once a farm and stable dog that caught mice and rats.
      • Biewer Terrier Germany. Began with two Yorkshire terriers that carried a rare coat gene; a companion or show dog.
      • Brussels Griffon Belgium. A toy dog named for Brussels, the city it comes from.
      • Cavalier King Charles Spaniel United Kingdom. A toy spaniel; from the 1920s breeders tried to bring back the look of older toy spaniels.
      • Chihuahua Mexico. A toy dog kept mainly as a companion; no recognized breed is smaller.
      • English Toy Spaniel England. A toy spaniel linked with English royalty since the 1500s.
      • Havanese Cuba. The national dog of Cuba, developed from an older little white dog of Havana.
      • Italian Greyhound Italy. A small sighthound bred to hunt hare and rabbit, now kept mostly as a companion.
      • Japanese Chin Japan. A toy dog, both a lap dog and a companion; also called the Japanese spaniel.
      • Maltese Italy. A small white dog kept for companionship and linked by name with the island of Malta.
      • Miniature Pinscher Germany. A small pinscher that traditionally hunted mice and other pests.
      • Papillon Belgium and France. A toy spaniel with upright ears, named with the French word for butterfly.
      • Pekingese China. Named for Beijing, once written Peking, where royalty kept it as a companion.
      • Pomeranian Pomerania, now in Poland and Germany. A toy dog descended from larger spitz dogs.
      • Pug China. Bred mainly to be a companion; traders carried it from China to Europe in the 1500s.
      • Russian Toy Russia. Bred from the English toy terrier as a companion for the Russian nobility.
      • Shih Tzu Tibet. A pet dog believed to be bred from the Pekingese and the Lhasa Apso.
      • Silky Terrier Australia. Developed from British terriers and used in the past to hunt rodents and snakes.
      • Toy Fox Terrier United States. Descended from the smooth fox terrier; a farm dog and house pet that caught rodents.
      • Yorkshire Terrier England. Bred in Yorkshire in the 1800s by mill workers and miners who wanted a small ratting terrier.

      Non-Sporting 20

      • American Eskimo Dog Germany. Bred from the German spitz and renamed in the United States; a watchdog and companion.
      • Bichon Frise France and Belgium. A small bichon; dogs of its kind lived at the royal courts of Spain, Italy and France.
      • Boston Terrier United States. Dates from around 1870 and descends from bull and terrier dogs.
      • Bulldog England. Bred as a companion from an older kind of bulldog that no longer exists.
      • Chinese Shar-Pei China. Traditionally kept in the south as a property guardian.
      • Chow Chow China. A spitz-type dog from the north, where the breed was also used to pull sleds.
      • Coton de Tulear Madagascar. Named for the city of Tuléar; once the companion dog of the island's ruling Merina.
      • Dalmatian Croatia. First bred as a hunting dog, then ran with horse-drawn fire carriages.
      • Finnish Spitz Finland. A hunting dog that points to game in the trees by barking.
      • French Bulldog France. Appeared in Paris in the mid-1800s from English toy bulldogs and local ratters; a companion dog.
      • Keeshond Netherlands. Once called the Dutch barge dog, because it rode the barges on canals and rivers.
      • Lhasa Apso Tibet. Traditionally an indoor watchdog.
      • Löwchen Europe, possibly France. A small companion breed whose name is German for little lion.
      • Norwegian Lundehund Norway. A small spitz developed for puffin hunting on cliffs and in caves.
      • Poodle Germany or France. A water dog first bred to fetch waterfowl for hunters.
      • Schipperke Belgium. Believed to date from the 1600s in Flanders, where it is counted as a small shepherd.
      • Shiba Inu Japan. The smallest of Japan's native breeds, bred to flush game for hunters.
      • Tibetan Spaniel Tibet. Developed by monks as a companion, and a sharp-eyed watchdog for the monastery.
      • Tibetan Terrier Tibet. Kept as a watchdog, herding dog and companion; it is not a true terrier.
      • Xoloitzcuintli Mexico. An ancient hairless dog whose name comes from the Aztec god Xolotl.

      Herding 20

      • Australian Cattle Dog Australia. Developed for driving cattle over long distances across rough country.
      • Australian Shepherd United States. A herding dog developed in California in the 1800s, not in Australia.
      • Bearded Collie Scotland. A herding dog once used mainly by Scottish shepherds.
      • Beauceron France. A herding dog from the plains of central France, also called the sheepdog of Beauce.
      • Belgian Malinois Belgium. The short-haired fawn variety of the Belgian shepherd, a herding dog.
      • Border Collie United Kingdom. A sheepdog from the border of England and Scotland, kept mostly for herding sheep.
      • Bouvier des Flandres Belgium. Its French name means cow herder of Flanders; it drove cattle, minded sheep and pulled carts.
      • Briard France. A large shepherd dog used both to herd sheep and to defend them.
      • Cardigan Welsh Corgi Wales. One of the oldest breeds of the British Isles, a herder of cattle, sheep and even poultry.
      • Collie United Kingdom. Bred for herding sheep in Scotland; it comes in a long rough coat or a short smooth one.
      • Finnish Lapphund Finland. A spitz-type dog traditionally used for herding reindeer.
      • German Shepherd Germany. Bred to herd sheep, starting in 1899 from the old herding dogs of the country.
      • Icelandic Sheepdog Iceland. Descends from dogs brought by Viking settlers; it herds sheep and horses.
      • Norwegian Buhund Norway. A spitz used as a watchdog and for general farm and herding work.
      • Old English Sheepdog England. A large shaggy dog that emerged from early types of herding dog.
      • Pembroke Welsh Corgi Wales. A cattle herding dog from Pembrokeshire; corgi is Welsh for dwarf dog.
      • Puli Hungary. A herding dog known for its long corded coat.
      • Pumi Hungary. A sheepdog that works close to farm stock to keep it under control.
      • Shetland Sheepdog Scotland. A small herding dog from the Shetland Islands.
      • Swedish Vallhund Sweden. Bred long ago to drive and herd cows; vallhund means herding dog.

      How this list was compiled: An original selection of 140 dog breeds made for this site on 2026-10-01: 20 from each of the seven groups the American Kennel Club uses at dog shows in the United States (Sporting, Hound, Working, Terrier, Toy, Non-Sporting and Herding). Each breed's group was read on 2026-10-01 from the breed's own page at akc.org/dog-breeds/, for example akc.org/dog-breeds/beagle/ and akc.org/dog-breeds/st-bernard/. The place of origin and the job on each card follow the opening section of the breed's English Wikipedia article, read on 2026-10-01, for example en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beagle, /wiki/Dachshund, /wiki/Labrador_Retriever, /wiki/Rottweiler, /wiki/Portuguese_Water_Dog, /wiki/Norwegian_Lundehund, /wiki/Australian_Shepherd, /wiki/Great_Dane, /wiki/Pharaoh_Hound and /wiki/Yorkshire_Terrier. Where the two sources name different places, the card follows the Wikipedia article: it gives the United Kingdom for the Labrador Retriever and the United States for the Australian Shepherd. Where an article names no job, the card says what kind of dog the breed is. Breed names follow the kennel club's spelling, except German Shepherd and Poodle, which it lists as German Shepherd Dog and Poodle (Standard). A long name is shortened on the wheel (Toller, Westie, Sheltie) and written in full on the card and in this list. No popularity rank, height, weight or temperament score is given. Licence: own work