The Governing Bodies of Canine Registries
Certain groups govern the registration of canine breeds. Generally, these groups are confined to individual countries. For instance, the AKC is the American Kennel Club, and they’re a US-based governing body. Of course, they’re far from the only such governing body. Some other similar groups include Britain’s Kennel Club (KC), the Federation Cynologique International (FCI), and Europe’s Continental Kennel Club (CKC).
What’s interesting about these groups is that they each utilize entirely different protocols for breed determination. Because of this, they each recognize a different number of dog breeds. This makes it a bit difficult to determine how many breeds there truly are in the world since each of the regulating bodies that keep track of canine breeds disagrees about the number. For example, the AKC only recognizes 195 breeds, while the FCI recognizes 360 breeds officially. Then, there are all the experimental breeds. So there isn’t an exact, worldwide, internationally agreed-upon number, but it would be safe to say there are anywhere between 195 and 500 dog breeds in the world.
How does a dog become a recognised breed?
The rules on having a new breed recognised depend on where you are in the world and what governing body determines doggy recognition where you live. But these governing associations and clubs all follow similar rules. Here in the UK, the Kennel Club is the main breed association.
The Kennel Club will only recognise a new purebreed of dog once it has an established pup-ulation within the UK, usually with several generations of dogs that can be accurately traced back through time. The Kennel Club then conducts a lot of research into the history of the new breed, and the general health, temperament, and traits within the population of pooches to establish that they are a viable, healthy group of dogs with common characteristics.
A breed standard will also need to be drawn up. This is basically a description of the dog’s specific appearance and character they inherit by being part of that breed, and all breeders agree that this description is fitting to how that breed of dog should typically look and behave if they are purebred. At this point, the Kennel Club might grant them recognised status as a breed.
However, the new breed still won’t be a fully-fledged purebreed. When a new breed is first given recognition by the Kennel Club, they are placed on the “Imported Breeds Register” for a while until they are deemed “eligible” to be moved onto the Breeds Register. The Breeds Register is the official registry of all purebreed dogs recognised by the Kennel Club.
Crossbreeds are very common and pup-ular pets. For some though, they want to make sure people recognise their particular crossbreed as a recognised pedigree breed.
For example, the charming and rapidly pup-ular Cockapoo is a crossbreed dog bred from a Cocker Spaniel and a Poodle, but a number of breeders are pushing for it to become a recognised breed of its own. There is now a Cockapoo Club and several generations of dogs in the UK, so it’s possible they might be recognised by the Kennel Club in the future.
What is the newest dog breed in the UK?
The newest breed recognised was the Black and Tan Coonhound back in June 2018. It’s been a recognised breed by the American Kennel Club since 1945, but it’s never been pupu-ular enough here across the pond to be given the same recognition. Even when the Black and Tan Coonhound was finally given recognition here with the Kennel Club, there were only 70 Black and Tan Coonhounds in the UK!
There have only been 11 new breeds recognised since 2008 and some of these “new” additions might surprise you. For example, they include the Jack Russell Terrier which was only given official breed status back in 2016!
Whilst some breeds surge to pup-ularity, others fall out of favour or are absorbed into new breeds that eventually replace them. This means that many dog breeds have gone extinct in the past, and other breeds become vulnerable or endangered.
The Kennel Club has a list of vulnerable native breeds which is made up of British born and bred dogs that are declining in pup-ularity. For example, the beloved Bloodhound famed for its super-powered nose is extremely vulnerable, and only 32 Bloodhounds were registered with the Club in 2020. The handsome and clownish Otterhound, which can resemble a big Cockapoo, is one of the most vulnerable dog breeds around and only 7 dogs were registered last year.