AKC Sporting Dog
Breeds

The Wirehaired Pointing Griffon doesn’t have the name recognition of the German Shorthair or the Labrador, but among hunters who have run one, the reputation is remarkably consistent: close-working, biddable, versatile, and durable. The breed handles point, flush, and retrieve in a single d...

The English Setter is one of the oldest gun dog breeds in existence, and one of the most elegant. That combination of age and elegance has produced a dog that is refined in both appearance and working style — a breed that covers ground with a distinctive, flowing movement, finds birds with ...

The Brittany was officially called the Brittany Spaniel until 1982, when the AKC dropped “Spaniel” from the name to reflect what the breed actually is: a pointing dog, not a flushing spaniel. Most Brittany owners and many breeders still use the full name out of habit and tradition, an...

The Beagle is one of the most recognizable dogs in the world and one of the most consistently popular breeds in the United States — the AKC has ranked it among the top ten most popular breeds for decades. That popularity is earned. The Beagle is compact, sturdy, genuinely good-natured, exce...

The Labrador Retriever held the top spot on the AKC’s annual most popular breed list for 31 consecutive years — from 1991 through 2022 — the longest reign in AKC history before finally being displaced. The record alone tells you something about how consistently the Lab has earne...

The melodic sound of a baying hound in hot pursuit can raise the hair on the back of a hunter’s neck in a way that very little else in the field does. It’s a sound that communicates information — the track is hot, the prey is close, the dog is working — and to anyone who h...

The Chesapeake Bay Retriever is in a different category from other retrievers — not better or worse, but genuinely different in ways that matter for the hunter who’s choosing a dog. The Chessie was built for a specific job in specific conditions: retrieving ducks from the icy, rough w...

The German Shorthaired Pointer consistently ranks among the most popular hunting breeds in the United States, and the case for that popularity is easy to make. No other breed combines upland pointing, retrieving on land and water, tracking, and versatile game coverage in a single package at the l...

The AKC Sporting group is the group most directly connected to what we do here at Sporting Dog Pro. These are the dogs developed to work alongside hunters in the field — to locate, flush, point, and retrieve upland birds and waterfowl. They are, as a group, among the most trainable, most bi...