Dog Breed Word Search Printable with 129 Breed Names in Seven Groups

Press New puzzle for 16 of 129 breed names, sorted by the job each dog was bred for, then print.

Name Date

Dog Breed Word Search

Find every word hidden in the grid. Words go across and down.

0 of 16 words found

CHIHUAHUABGNFRA

DEBAWSILBOOISUS

FRENCHIELRLRWWQ

BAISHIRBODDWNBE

UOBFNHRHOEESSUW

SAOUUTLGDRNHBLP

HTXSNZETHCRORLO

FTEMPURYOOEDDDO

CORGIDEIULTNNOD

ICHSAHAINLRDAGL

GREYHOUNDIIXHYE

RGREATDANEEREDP

YORKIEISETVGPMU

TIILBBEAGLEOEBG

SEALABRADORIFES

This grid is wider and taller than its box. Slide it to see every letter.To drag, hold the first letter for a moment, then slide.Keyboard: Tab to the grid, arrow keys to move, Enter on the first and last letter.

LabradorLABRADOR
Golden RetrieverGOLDEN RETRIEVER
BeagleBEAGLE
GreyhoundGREYHOUND
BloodhoundBLOODHOUND
BoxerBOXER
Great DaneGREAT DANE
PugPUG
ChihuahuaCHIHUAHUA
Shih TzuSHIH TZU
YorkieYORKIE
PoodlePOODLE
BulldogBULLDOG
FrenchieFRENCHIE
Border CollieBORDER COLLIE
CorgiCORGI

16 of 24 words from the Dog Breed Favorites list.

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Answer key: Dog Breed Word Search

CHIHUAHUABGNFRA

DEBAWSILBOOISUS

FRENCHIELRLRWWQ

BAISHIRBODDWNBE

UOBFNHRHOEESSUW

SAOUUTLGDRNHBLP

HTXSNZETHCRORLO

FTEMPURYOOEDDDO

CORGIDEIULTNNOD

ICHSAHAINLRDAGL

GREYHOUNDIIXHYE

RGREATDANEEREDP

YORKIEISETVGPMU

TIILBBEAGLEOEBG

SEALABRADORIFES

LABRADOR, GOLDEN RETRIEVER, BEAGLE, GREYHOUND, BLOODHOUND, BOXER, GREAT DANE, PUG, CHIHUAHUA, SHIH TZU, YORKIE, POODLE, BULLDOG, FRENCHIE, BORDER COLLIE, CORGI

Next step Scramble the hound names, Bloodhound to Otterhound Make a puzzle with your own dog's name in it

All 149 dog breed words

Sporting Dogs 18

Barbet A French water dog. Its name comes from barbe, the French word for beard.
Boykin Spaniel South Carolina's state dog, bred there to hunt wild turkeys and ducks.
Brittany A French gun dog bred mainly to hunt birds, named for a region of north-west France. Americans drop Spaniel from its name.
Clumber Spaniel The largest of its family of gun dogs, white with lemon or orange markings, named for a park in Nottinghamshire.
Cocker Spaniel A small gun dog, in American and English breeds, whose first name is thought to come from hunting the woodcock.
English Setter A gun dog whose mostly white coat carries flecks of color, a pattern that breeders call belton.
Field Spaniel First bred as an all-black show dog, then redeveloped in the mid-1900s with longer legs so that it could hunt.
Golden Retriever A Scottish gun dog, developed in the late 1800s and known for a gentle, affectionate nature. It often works as a guide dog.
Gordon Setter A Scottish gun dog with a black-and-tan coat, bred to find gamebirds.
Irish Setter A gun dog from Ireland, easy to spot by its red coat. It is known for a friendly, gentle nature.

Show all 149 dog breed words (139 more)

Sporting Dogs, continued

Kooikerhondje A small Dutch breed from the 1500s, used to lure ducks into a decoy. It appears in paintings of the Dutch Golden Age.
Labrador The short name of a British retriever bred from fishing dogs brought from Newfoundland. Many are trained as guide dogs.
Lagotto An Italian water retriever from the marshes of the Po delta. After the wetlands were drained, it hunted truffles instead.
Pointer A gun dog developed in England that stops and aims its nose at hidden birds. It shows the hunter the game but does not fetch it.
Spinone Italiano A hunting dog from Italy, traditionally used for tracking, pointing and retrieving game.
Toller The short name of the smallest retriever, from Nova Scotia. It plays at the edge of the water to lure ducks within range.
Vizsla A smooth-coated sporting dog from Hungary, also called the Hungarian Pointer. It hunts fowl and upland game.
Weimaraner A large German gun dog named for the city of Weimar. The breed was recognized in 1891.

Hounds 19

Afghan Hound Its coat is thick, fine and silky, and its tail ends in a ring-shaped curl. It was bred for cold mountains.
Azawakh A lean sighthound from West Africa, named for the Azawagh Valley.
Basenji A hunting dog from central Africa that makes a yodel-like sound in place of a bark, so it is called the barkless dog.
Basset Hound A short-legged scent dog whose sense of smell is second only to that of the Bloodhound.
Beagle A small scent dog bred to hunt rabbit and hare. Its nose suits it to sniffing out food that travelers may not bring into a country.
Bloodhound A large scent dog used since the Middle Ages to track people. It can follow a trail that is several days old.
Borzoi A Russian sighthound, called the Russian Wolfhound in English until 1936.
Dachshund A short-legged, long-bodied breed whose German name means badger dog.
Deerhound A large, rough-coated sighthound from Scotland, once bred to course red deer. It looks like a bigger, heavier-boned Greyhound.
Greyhound A sighthound bred for coursing and racing. It can reach about 69 kilometers an hour, or 43 miles an hour.
Harrier A pack dog bred to hunt hares, smaller than the English Foxhound and larger than the Beagle.
Irish Wolfhound A sighthound from Ireland, among the very largest breeds. A regiment of foot guards has kept one as its mascot since 1902.
Otterhound A British scent dog and one of the rarest breeds. A 2012 estimate counted only about 600 in the whole world.
Pharaoh Hound The hunting breed of Malta. Its Maltese name means rabbit dog.
Plott Hound The state dog of North Carolina since 1989, a large scent dog first bred for hunting bears.
Ridgeback The short name of a large breed from southern Africa. A strip of hair along its spine grows the opposite way from the rest.
Saluki A sighthound developed in the Fertile Crescent, where nomadic tribes used it to run down game.
Sloughi An ancient sighthound from Morocco, found across North Africa and also called the Arabian Greyhound.
Whippet A British sighthound believed to speed up from a standstill faster than any other dog.

Working Dogs 19

Akita A large Japanese breed from the snowy mountains of the north. Japan declared it a natural monument in 1931.
Alaskan Malamute A large Arctic sled dog, strong and tireless, bred to pull heavy loads of freight.
Boerboel A large South African breed of mastiff type, with a short coat and strong bones, kept as a family guard dog.
Boxer A short-haired breed developed in Germany, fawn or brindled, with a square muzzle and very strong jaws.
Cane Corso An Italian breed of mastiff, kept as a companion or guard. In the past it hunted large game and herded cattle.
Chinook New Hampshire's official state dog, bred there in the early 1900s to pull sleds.
Doberman The short name of a breed developed about 1890 by a tax collector in Germany, whose surname it carries.
Great Dane A giant breed from Germany. It and the Irish Wolfhound are the world's two largest breeds.
Great Pyrenees A white French guardian of mountain sheep flocks. In France it is called the Patou.
Komondor A large Hungarian flock guardian whose long white coat hangs in cords, so that some people call it the mop dog.
Kuvasz A Hungarian flock guardian. In the past, dogs of this kind also served as royal guard dogs.
Leonberger A large German breed from the mid-1800s, named for the city in Baden-Wurttemberg where breeding began.
Mastiff A British breed of enormous size, with a massive head and always a black mask. It is noted for a gentle nature.
Newfoundland A large working dog of Canadian fishermen. Webbed paws and a thick coat make it a strong swimmer, used in water rescue.
Rottweiler A German breed once known as the butcher's dog, since it herded livestock and pulled carts of meat to market.
Saint Bernard A very large rescue breed from a hospice on a high pass in the Alps, which had its first dogs between 1660 and 1670.
Samoyed A spitz with a thick, white, double-layered coat. It helped peoples of Siberia to herd, hunt and pull sleds.
Schnauzer A German working breed in Standard and Giant sizes; a Miniature cousin is a terrier. The name comes from a word for snout.
Siberian Husky A sled dog with a thick double coat, smaller than the Alaskan Malamute that it resembles.

Terriers 19

Airedale The largest of the terriers, often called their king. Its name comes from the valley of the River Aire in Yorkshire.
Bedlington A small terrier named after a mining town in Northumberland, England. It is noted for looking like a lamb.
Border Terrier A small, rough-coated British breed from the Anglo-Scottish boundary country, bred to hunt foxes and vermin.
Bull Terrier Easy to spot by its egg-shaped head. From the front, the skull and face look almost flat on top.
Cairn Terrier A breed from the Scottish Highlands, named in 1909 for the piles of stones among which it chased its quarry.
Cesky Terrier A small breed created in Czechoslovakia in 1948 to hunt in Bohemia's forests.
Irish Terrier A breed from Ireland, believed to be among the oldest of its kind. A Dublin dog show gave it a class of its own in 1873.
Kerry Blue An Irish terrier first bred to control vermin, which later herded cattle and sheep. It is now an endangered breed.
Lakeland The short name of a terrier from the Lake District in England, first kept on farms to hunt vermin.
Norfolk Terrier A small British breed with ears that drop forward. Until 1964 it was counted as one breed with its prick-eared cousin.
Norwich Terrier A small breed from England with upright, pricked ears, bred to hunt small rodents.
Rat Terrier An American farm dog and hunting companion. In the 1920s and 1930s many family farms kept one.
Scottie The popular name of one of five terrier breeds that began in Scotland. An older name for it was the Aberdeen Terrier.
Sealyham A rare white, rough-coated terrier from Wales, developed between 1850 and 1891 at a country house in Pembrokeshire.
Skye Terrier A long, low, hardy breed from Scotland. Among Britain's native breeds, it is one of those most at risk of dying out.
Welsh Terrier A breed from Wales, first used to hunt foxes, badgers and rodents. For the last hundred years it has mostly been a show dog.
Westie The short name of a Scottish terrier with a harsh white coat over a soft white undercoat.
Wheaten The short name of a soft-coated terrier from Ireland, named for a coat the color of ripe wheat.
Wire Fox Terrier A rough-coated breed developed in England. It is believed it was bred to follow its quarry down into a burrow.

Toy Dogs 18

Affenpinscher A German breed once kept to catch mice and rats. Affe, the first part of its name, is German for monkey.
Biewer Terrier A breed that arose from Yorkshire dogs carrying a rare piebald gene. It was recognized in the United States in 2021.
Brussels Griffon A small breed named for its city of origin, the capital of Belgium.
Cavalier The short name of a small spaniel named for a king. Its four colors are Blenheim, tricolor, black and tan, and ruby.
Chihuahua A Mexican breed named for a state of Mexico. It is one of the smallest dog breeds in the world.
Chinese Crested A small breed in two kinds, hairless and powderpuff. One litter can hold puppies of both.
Havanese The national dog of Cuba, a small bichon-type breed named for the capital city of the island.
Japanese Chin A small breed kept as a lap dog and companion. Its other name calls it a spaniel of Japan.
Maltese A small white-coated breed linked with an island in the Mediterranean and related to the Bichon and the Havanese.
Papillon A small spaniel whose name is French for butterfly, after its upright ears. The drop-eared kind is called Phalene, or moth.
Pekingese A breed from China, favored by the Imperial court. Its name refers to the old English name of Beijing.
Pomeranian A small spitz named for a region on the Baltic coast, in what is now Poland and Germany.
Pug A small breed with a wrinkled, short-muzzled face and a curled tail. It reached Europe from China in the 1500s.
Russian Toy A very small breed from Russia, bred from small English terriers, with either a smooth coat or a long one.
Shih Tzu A breed from Tibet whose name comes from a Mandarin word for lion.
Silky Terrier A small breed developed in Australia from British ancestors. The Yorkie is a close relative.
Toy Fox Terrier A small American breed, descended from a larger smooth-coated cousin and registered on its own since 1936.
Yorkie The pet name of a terrier from Yorkshire, England, that should weigh no more than 7 pounds.

Non-Sporting Dogs 18

Bichon Frise A small Franco-Belgian companion breed. Its French name means curly-haired small dog.
Boston Terrier A small, compact American breed with a short tail and upright ears. It was accepted as a breed in 1893.
Bulldog A stocky British breed. Its head is large, its face hangs in thick skin folds and its lower jaw juts forward.
Chow Chow A sturdy spitz from northern China. It has a purple or blue-black tongue, and the color reaches the lips.
Coton de Tulear A small breed from Madagascar, named for a port city there and for a soft coat that feels like cotton.
Dalmatian A spotted breed once used as a carriage dog. Puppies are born plain white, and their spots appear within about 10 days.
Finnish Spitz A hunting breed of Finland. It barks to show where game is hiding, so hunters call it a bark pointer.
Frenchie The pet name of a small bat-eared breed that appeared in Paris in the mid-1800s, bred from toy bulldogs and local ratters.
Keeshond A spitz with a plush silver and black coat, a thick ruff and a tail that curls. It once rode the canal barges of the Netherlands.
Lhasa Apso A small breed from Tibet, traditionally used as a sentinel inside buildings.
Lowchen Its name is German for little lion. It was once among the rarest breeds, with only 65 registered in 1973.
Poodle A water dog, called Pudel in German and Caniche in French. Large ones once fetched shot birds from the water.
Schipperke A small breed believed to have begun in the 1600s in Flanders. Belgians think of it as a small shepherd.
Shar-Pei A breed from southern China, known for the deep wrinkles of its skin.
Shiba Inu The smallest of the six native spitz breeds of Japan, a hunting dog whose name may mean brushwood dog.
Tibetan Spaniel A small, assertive companion breed from Tibet. Unlike the gun dogs that share its second name, it never hunted.
Tibetan Terrier A medium-sized breed named by European travelers for its looks. Its home name means shaggy or bearded dog from Tsang.
Xoloitzcuintli A hairless breed from Mexico that comes in three sizes: miniature, intermediate and standard. Its name comes from Nahuatl.

Herding Dogs 18

Aussie The short name of a herding breed that, despite that name, was developed in California in the 1800s.
Bearded Collie A British herder once kept mainly by Scottish shepherds, also known as the Hairy Mountain Dog.
Beauceron A herding breed from central France's plains, also called Bas Rouge. It too has double dewclaws on its hind legs.
Bergamasco A sheepdog from the Italian Alps whose thick coat mats into felt.
Berger Picard A French herder from a region in the north. It nearly died out after each World War and is still rare.
Blue Heeler A nickname of the Australian Cattle Dog, from its coloring and its habit of nipping at the feet of slow cattle.
Border Collie A British sheepdog that does well in sheepdog trials. Some people call it the cleverest of all breeds.
Bouvier The short name of a farm breed from Flanders that drove cattle, herded sheep and pulled carts. Many now work with police.
Briard A large French sheepdog with a long, thick coat like that of a goat and a double dewclaw on each hind leg.
Canaan Dog The national breed of Israel. At American shows it is placed in the herding group.
Corgi A short-legged herder of cattle from Wales, in Cardigan and Pembroke breeds. Its name is Welsh for dwarf dog.
German Shepherd A working breed developed from 1899, used by police and in search and rescue. In Britain it was long called the Alsatian.
Malinois The short-haired fawn variety of the Belgian Shepherd. In the United States it is listed as a breed of its own.
Mudi A Hungarian herding breed. It was counted together with two other Hungarian herders until the 1930s.
Puli A small Hungarian herder whose long coat forms tight cords that look like dreadlocks.
Pumi A Hungarian sheepdog with a wavy, curly double coat, prominent ears and a tail curled over its back.
Sheltie The short name of a small, clever, vocal herder from islands north of Scotland. It was first called a collie.
Swedish Vallhund A Scandinavian breed whose second name means herding dog. It drove and herded cows more than 1,000 years ago.

Everyday Dog Words 20

Bark The sound most often made by dogs. Wolves, coyotes, foxes and seals make it too.
Breed A kind of dog that people have bred for a job or a look. There are upward of 360 kinds, and all belong to one species.
Coat All the hair that covers a dog. A double one has a soft under layer beneath a tougher top layer.
Crate A box of wire, plastic or fabric where a dog can rest or travel. It is designed to feel like a den.
Fetch A game in which a person throws a ball or stick and the dog runs to bring it back.
Fur The dense coat of hair on the skin of nearly every mammal.
Groom To brush, comb, wash and trim the coat of a dog to keep it clean and healthy.
Hound A hunting dog that tracks or chases prey, by scent or by sight. One of the seven breed groups carries this name.
Howl A long, sustained sound that can be heard over long distances, made by wolves and by many dogs.
Leash A rope or strap clipped to a collar or harness to keep a dog close. In British English it is called a lead.
Mutt An everyday word for a mongrel, a dog whose parents were of mixed or unknown kinds.
Nose It holds 125 million to almost 300 million smell receptors in a dog, roughly forty times a person's count.
Pack A group of wolves or wild dogs that live and hunt together, usually led by a breeding pair.
Paw The soft foot of a dog, with pads underneath and claws at the tips of the toes.
Puppy A young dog, generally less than 12 to 18 months old.
Sled A vehicle on runners that teams of dogs have pulled over Arctic snow for at least 8,000 years.
Snout The part of the face of an animal that sticks out, made up of the nose, mouth and jaw. On a dog it is also called the muzzle.
Spitz A type of dog with upright ears, a sharp muzzle, a two-layer coat and a tail that curls. The name is German for pointed.
Tail The part of a dog that trails behind the hips. It helps with balance and sends signals to other dogs.
Wag To swing the tail from side to side, which dogs do as a social signal.

How this list was compiled: Each of the 129 breeds sits in the group that the American Kennel Club's public list gave on 2026-09-19: https://www.akc.org/public-education/resources/general-tips-information/dog-breeds-sorted-groups/. This site is not affiliated with or endorsed by the American Kennel Club. A long breed name appears in its short form, such as Yorkie or Sheltie. Clue facts: English Wikipedia, 2026-09-19; Whippet, Nose and Otterhound corrected 2026-09-20. Licence: own work

How it works

This dog breed word search printable opens on 16 favorites, Beagle, Pug and Corgi among them, across and down only. Seven lists hold 129 breed names, sorted the way American dog shows group them, plus 20 everyday dog words.

Read the full guide

One list for each job dogs were bred to do

Each breed list holds 18 or 19 names. Sporting Dogs find and fetch birds, Hounds follow a scent or chase by sight, Working Dogs guard, haul and rescue, Terriers go after vermin, and Herding Dogs move sheep and cattle. Toy Dogs are companions, and Non-Sporting Dogs is the mixed group, from Poodle to Dalmatian. Easy Dog Words has 27 words of 3 to 5 letters, such as Paw, Pug and Corgi.

Many breeds carry a place name. After the hunt, pupils find Labrador, Newfoundland, Chihuahua and Brittany on a map.
Sorting favorites into the seven groups? Poodle is the trap: a water dog that sits in Non-Sporting Dogs.
Tell pupils to look for GREATDANE, SHIHTZU and SHARPEI: the grid drops spaces and hyphens.

Questions and answers

Why does the puzzle say Labrador, Yorkie and Frenchie?

Labrador Retriever has 17 letters and the grid is 15 squares wide. French Bulldog would let a solver ring BULLDOG alone. So 27 entries use the short name owners say, and Collie is out because Border Collie holds it.

Which kennel club do the seven groups follow?

The American Kennel Club's list of breeds by group, read in September 2026, which is why Boxer is a Working Dog and Dalmatian is Non-Sporting. Homeroom Tools is not affiliated with or endorsed by the American Kennel Club.

What is the longest breed name in the puzzle?

Five names have 15 letters and fill a whole row: Golden Retriever, Spinone Italiano, Alaskan Malamute, Brussels Griffon and Swedish Vallhund. The longest single word is Xoloitzcuintli, 14 letters, a hairless breed from Mexico with a Nahuatl name. Hard Dog Breeds stops at 11 letters.

All 149 dog breed words

Sporting Dogs 18

Sporting Dogs, continued

Hounds 19

Working Dogs 19

Terriers 19

Toy Dogs 18

Non-Sporting Dogs 18

Herding Dogs 18

Everyday Dog Words 20

How it works

One list for each job dogs were bred to do

Questions and answers

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