Vulnerable Dog Breeds

What is a vulnerable native breed?

Vulnerable native breeds are dog breeds of British and Irish origin that are considered to be vulnerable due to their declining registration numbers. These breeds are at risk of disappearing from our parks and streets, simply because people don’t know they exist or because they aren’t considered fashionable.

Why we’re raising awareness

Some breeds have such low numbers that they are completely unrecognizable to the public, which is a concern because it means that breeds that might be the perfect fit for people’s lifestyles are being overlooked in favor of other breeds that might not be, simply because they are not as well known.

How you can help

To give these dogs the chance they deserve, it is important that if you’re thinking about getting a dog you consider the lesser known breeds. There are over 200 breeds of dog recognized in the the United States so there is a breed for everyone. We find that people tend to choose a breed from the pool of breeds they have heard of before, which means that the perfect breed for them and their lifestyle might be overlooked.

Which native breeds are vulnerable?

In order to protect those breeds of British and Irish origin that are considered at risk of disappearing, we created the vulnerable native  breeds list (breeds with fewer than 300 registrations a year) and the ‘at watch’ list (breeds with between 300 and 450 registrations a year) so that we can monitor them. A list of those breeds identified is below: