Compare Australian dog breed profiles: temperament, energy, grooming, puppy prices, insurance and who each breed suits best.
Choosing a dog is a ten-to-fifteen-year decision, and the right match has far more to do with your lifestyle than with looks. Below you’ll find honest, Australian-specific profiles for our most-searched breeds — what they’re really like to live with, what they cost to buy and keep, their health watch-outs, and the homes they thrive in. Every profile is written or reviewed by people who work with animals for a living.
The monkey dog — a tiny, whiskered comedian with terrier courage and an expression that’s permanently unimpressed.
The king of dogs — a silk-coated, ancient sighthound of breathtaking beauty and famously aristocratic independence.
The King of Terriers — the largest of the breed group, a versatile clown-athlete that hunts, hikes and headlines family life.
The Arctic freighter — a powerful, wolf-like giant built to haul heavy loads, with a friendly soul and an escape artist’s cunning.
A people-first powerhouse — confident, affectionate and famously devoted, for owners who lead with training and kindness.
Turkey’s ancient flock guardian — an independent, imposing protector bred to make decisions without humans for millennia.
Smart, tireless and born to work — the Kelpie needs a job, a run and your heart.
The American cowboy’s dog (yes, really) — a brilliant, merle-coated herding athlete that needs a job and gives everything.
Sydney’s own glamour terrier — a silky-coated sparkplug bred in Australia, for Australia, with terrier attitude in a toy frame.
Australia’s first native show dog — a plucky, hardy little ratter bred for our conditions and full of self-importance.
The barkless dog of the Congo — a cat-clean, yodelling primitive hunter that’s unlike any domestic dog you’ll meet.
The little French hunter — a scruffy, merry, red-wheaten hound that’s all nose, stamina and charm.
The low-riding detective — the second-best nose on earth in a melancholy, droopy package that’s impossible not to love.
The merry little hound — a nose-powered optimist that loves everyone, follows every scent and sings about both.
The bouncing Beardie — a shaggy, boinging Highland herder with endless enthusiasm and a heart of pure optimism.
A lamb in wolf’s clothing — the gentlest-looking terrier with one of the gamest hearts, and a coat that turns heads everywhere.
The elegant black Belgian — intensely loyal, whip-smart and athletic, a thinking owner’s dog that thrives on work and partnership.
The rarest Belgian — a rough-fawn, wire-coated herder with the full Belgian drive and an antique charm all its own.
The world’s most driven working dog — the choice of police and military, and a full-time lifestyle, not a pet.
The Swiss gentle giant — tri-coloured, patient and heartbreakingly short-lived, one of the most beloved family dogs on earth.
The powder-puff optimist — a cheerful, non-shedding companion bred for centuries to do one thing: make people happy.
The nose with a dog attached — 300 million scent receptors, a detective’s focus and the gentlest of souls.
The brainiac of the dog world. Brilliant, bouncy and best with an active owner.
The terrier that plays well with others — a plucky, good-natured little worker with an otter head and a forgiving nature.
The aristocratic Russian wolfhound — a silent, cat-like sighthound of extraordinary grace that lives for the occasional full-tilt sprint.
The American Gentleman — tuxedo-coated, endlessly amusing and bred for companionship, one of the best city dogs going.
The Flemish cattle dog — a bearded, powerful farmhand with a calm mind, a protective streak and a heart for work.
The eternal puppy — a bouncy, muscled clown that adores children, guards the family and never quite grows up.
The Renaissance pointing dog — a statuesque Italian gundog of ancient lineage, soulful eyes and gentle, tireless devotion.
The French heart wrapped in fur — a loyal, sensitive herding guardian with eyebrows for days and devotion to match.
The bird dog with the bouncing gait — a merry, tireless pointer-spaniel that’s as sweet at home as it is driven afield.
The egghead gladiator — an unmistakable, clownish powerhouse that plays hard, loves harder and needs a confident captain.
The egghead in miniature — all the Bull Terrier’s clownish courage packed into a smaller, bouncier frame.
The British icon — a waddling, snoring sweetheart of legendary determination, with a health ledger that demands informed ownership.
The gamekeeper’s night dog — a silent, powerful guardian that pins intruders rather than biting, and adores its family.
Toto’s breed — a shaggy, fearless little digger from the Scottish cairns with terrier spirit and a happy-go-lucky heart.
Australia’s sweetheart — a gentle, velvety-eared companion bred purely for love, equally happy on a lap or a beach walk.
A cuddly, low-shedding Aussie favourite that suits apartments and families alike.
The Bohemian terrier — a silky, soft-mannered Czech original that’s calmer than any terrier has a right to be.
The toughest retriever — a wave-crashing, ice-breaking duck dog with an independent mind and a heart for family.
The world’s smallest dog with the world’s biggest attitude — a loyal, portable shadow that rules the household from your lap.
The hairless pixie (or its powderpuff twin) — an affectionate, cat-like oddball that sunbathes, perches and charms devoted fans.
The lion dog of China — aloof, dignified and blue-tongued, a one-family companion that’s more cat than dog.
The show-ring cocker — a smaller, glamorous, merry spaniel with a domed head and a disposition of pure sweetness.
The merry cocker — a pocket rocket of enthusiasm that’s equally happy flushing quail or hogging the family couch.
The Lassie dog — gentle, sensitive and stunning, a family companion that herds children with a soft mouth and a soft heart.
The Rough Collie in a wash-and-wear coat — the same sensitive, gentle genius without the grooming marathon.
Small body, huge personality. A brave little shadow that loves laps and blankets.
The firehouse icon — a spotted, tireless coach dog with an athlete’s engine and a comedian’s grin.
The literary terrier — a long, low, top-knotted original from a Walter Scott novel, with dignity and devotion in equal measure.
The royal dog of Scotland — a rough-coated, dignified giant sighthound of ancient lineage and exquisite gentleness.
The athlete-aristocrat — velcro-loyal, whip-smart and elegant, a thinking person’s guardian that lives to work with you.
The French titan — a wrinkled, devoted mastiff with the biggest head in dogs and the softest heart for its family.
The old English gentle giant — the heaviest breed on earth and one of the softest, a dignified nanny in a fawn coat.
The gentleman of gundogs — a speckled, sweet-natured setter with an elegant feathered coat and a merry heart.
The miniature Manchester — an elegant, glossy little ratter with a whip-smart mind and a cuddly after-hours personality.
The reindeer herder with the smile — a gentle, fluffy spitz from Lapland that’s as sweet-natured as it is weather-tough.
The barking bird dog of Finland — a fox-red, fennec-eared original that hunts by voice and sings about everything.
The dapper original fox terrier — sleek, fearless and stylish, the Wire’s smoother but no less sparky sibling.
The wire-coated spark — twice a king of the show ring, a stylish, fearless terrier with energy to burn and style to spare.
The pack athlete — a tireless, musical hound bred to run with horses all day, happiest with a job and company.
The inner-city comedian — quiet, compact and endlessly entertaining. Handle the heat with care.
The loyal guardian — smart, brave and devoted to its family. Needs training and a job.
The versatile gundog’s versatile gundog — points, retrieves, swims and sprints in one sleek liver-and-white package.
A fox-faced fluffball with a watchdog’s voice and a comedian’s timing — the attentive little spitz Australia is just discovering.
The bearded all-weather gundog — a rugged, weatherproof hunter with webbed feet and a bushy-eyebrowed sense of humour.
Sunshine in dog form — gentle, patient and devoted. The classic family dog.
The black-and-tan Scot — the heaviest and most loyal of the setters, a thoughtful gundog that bonds one family deep.
The Apollo of dogs — a gentle giant that thinks it’s a lapdog, with a heart as big as its food bill.
A majestic white mountain guardian — calm, patient and independent, bred to think for itself among the flocks.
The 60-kilometre-an-hour couch potato — a gentle, quiet sprinter that sleeps twenty hours a day and makes a superb pet.
A Golden Retriever–Poodle teddy bear — friendly, smart and low-shedding.
The middle hound — bigger than a Beagle, smaller than a Foxhound, and one of the cheeriest pack dogs you’ve never met.
Cuba’s little velvet dog — a cheerful, trainable companion bred for Havana’s drawing rooms and totally at home in yours.
The corded comet — a mop on legs with a herding dog’s brain and an acrobat’s bounce, unlike anything else on four feet.
The velcro vizsla — a rust-coloured rocket that’s equal parts elite athlete and anxious-to-please cuddlebug.
The vizsla in a wire coat — the same velcro devotion and athletic brilliance, armoured for rough weather and bush.
The Balearic bunny-chaser — a deer-eared, pink-nosed athlete that leaps fences from a standstill and grins about it.
The red flash — a gloriously beautiful, rollicking gundog with boundless enthusiasm and a coat like mahogany silk.
The red daredevil — Ireland’s fiery farm dog and WWI messenger, as brave and loyal as any terrier ever bred.
The tallest of all dogs — a shaggy, gentle colossus bred to hunt wolves, now specialising in couches and quiet devotion.
The miniature aristocrat — a dainty, trembling sliver of sighthound elegance that lives on your lap and in your bed.
A monument of a dog — silent, dignified and devoted to one family, for experienced owners who speak fluent dog.
The aristocrat of the toy breeds — cat-like, charming and quietly hilarious, a thousand years of lap-warmer refinement.
A permanent smile wrapped in white fluff — cheerful, clever and apartment-sized, Australia’s underrated family comedian.
The smiling Dutchman — a spectacled, silver-cloud companion breed with an unmatched talent for making friends.
The Irish blue — a striking, silky-blue terrier born without its adult colour, versatile enough to herd, hunt and charm.
The corded colossus — Hungary’s dreadlocked flock guardian, a mop with the heart of a lion and the instincts of a sentinel.
Australia's favourite family dog — loyal, gentle and always up for a swim.
The Lake District’s fell terrier — a bold, beautiful working terrier bred to face foxes in Cumbria’s crags.
The lion sentinel of Tibet — a thousand-year-old monastery watchdog with a floor-length coat and a suspicious, regal mind.
The little lion dog — a rare European companion clipped like a lion, with the heart to match the mane.
The ancient aristocrat — three thousand years of lap-dog excellence in a flowing white coat, with a fearless little heart.
The Victorian gentleman ratter — a sleek, black-and-tan athlete that’s part terrier fire, part sighthound grace.
Australia’s favourite livestock guardian — a calm, independent white giant that protects penguins, chickens and everything it calls its own.
The wrinkled titan — an ancient Italian guardian of staggering size and surprising tenderness, draped in famous folds.
The gentle lifeguard — a massive, web-footed water dog with a nanny’s patience and a hero’s instinct for rescue.
The drop-eared Norwich — the same pocket-sized extrovert with folded ears and one of the sweetest terrier temperaments going.
A pocket-sized extrovert with a terrier’s courage — among the rarest terriers in Australia and one of the most charming.
The Dulux dog — a shaggy, bear-rolling comedian with a herding brain under all that famous grey-and-white hair.
The butterfly dog — dainty ears, giant brain: the toy breed that beats Border Collies at obedience and charms everyone after.
The original Jack Russell — a rocket-powered, fox-hunting comedian with boundless energy and terrier confidence to spare.
The blushing hound of Malta — an elegant sighthound that literally glows pink with happiness when excited.
The aristocrat of bird dogs — a graceful, tireless pointing machine with a kind heart and an on-off switch at home.
A lion-hearted two-kilo extrovert — the spitz personality at full volume in a powder-puff body.
The middle Poodle — all the genius and none of the shedding in a just-right size that suits almost every home.
The original Poodle — a brilliant, athletic water retriever in a cloud of curls, as clever as any breed on earth.
The second-smartest dog on earth in a three-kilo package — athletic, trainable and hypoallergenic, with a genius for mischief.
The fisherman’s mate — an athletic, non-shedding water dog that worked Portugal’s fleets and now rules family boats.
Multum in parvo — a lot of dog in a little body: comical, devoted and charming, with health fine print every buyer must read.
The oldest and most independent retriever — a liver or black ringlet-covered athlete with a mind of its own.
The Peter Pan of retrievers — a glossy, wagging optimist that stays puppyish for a decade and loves everyone it meets.
The Roman drover — a calm, confident powerhouse whose devotion to family is matched only by its need for a fair, consistent leader.
The Alpine rescuer — a drooling, devoted mountain of patience that’s gentler than its film reputation suggests.
The royal hound of the desert — perhaps the oldest breed on earth, graceful, gentle and independent as the wind.
The smiling sled dog — a cloud of white fluff with a working heritage, a comedian’s soul and a voice that carries.
The little black fox of the canals — a tailless, tireless Belgian barge dog with a watchdog’s soul and a comedian’s grin.
The commanding Schnauzer — a powerful, bearded working guardian with drive, dignity and a coat that means business.
The original Schnauzer — a bearded, versatile farm dog with a watchdog’s nerve and a comedian’s timing.
The Diehard — a short-legged, bearded aristocrat with unshakeable dignity and a terrier’s fearless core.
The wrinkled wonder of China — an ancient, dignified guardian whose hippopotamus muzzle hides a loyal, independent soul.
The Sheltie — a miniature Rough Collie with a giant brain, devotion to spare and a voice that reports everything.
Japan’s ancient fox-dog — fastidious, independent and internet-famous, with a scream you’ll never forget.
The little lion dog — a palace-bred companion whose only job for a thousand years has been to be adorable, and they’re very good at it.
The born runner — wolf-beautiful, escape-artist clever and comedically dramatic, bred to pull sleds all day and talk about it.
The loyalist of Skye — a long, low aristocrat with a heavenly coat and a heart that chooses one person forever.
The Arabian greyhound — North Africa’s noble desert hunter, elegant, reserved and rare enough to turn heads everywhere.
The gentle plodder of the spaniel world — a big, mellow, drooling aristocrat that hunts at a stately pace and naps like a champion.
The irrepressible gundog — tireless, biddable and joyfully muddy, a top pick for active Australian families.
The thinking person’s spaniel — a docile, beautiful mid-size gundog that’s rarer than the cocker and calmer than the springer.
The clown of the spaniels — the tallest spaniel, in liver-coloured ringlets, with a rat tail, webbed feet and a comic soul.
The slow-and-steady spaniel — a golden-liver, low-slung charmer that "talks" while it works and adores its people.
The little lion of the monastery walls — a cat-like, perching sentinel that watches the world and adores its chosen people.
The merry red-and-white velcro dog — a softer, slightly shyer cousin of the English Springer that lives to be near you.
A big softie in a muscle suit — affectionate, courageous and devoted to its people.
The Viking wolf-corgi — a thousand-year-old Swedish herder that’s part corgi, part spitz, and all cheerful work ethic.
Australia’s own pocket rocket — a bright, hardy little rat-catcher from the New England tablelands that’s all heart.
The Irish charmer — a bouncy, bearded, wheaten-coated optimist that greets life like it’s the best party ever thrown.
The Himalayan lion-dog — a primitive, majestic guardian of nomad camps, independent to its core and magnificent beyond words.
The Holy Dog of Tibet — a shaggy, snowshoe-footed monastery companion that’s all charm, agility and devotion.
The silver ghost — a stunning, tireless gundog with an athletic brain and an absolute need to be with you.
The other corgi — the older, tailed Cardigan: a thoughtful, steady herder with a big-dog heart on little legs.
A big dog on little legs — smart, comical and bossy in the best way, with a builtin smile and a herding dog’s work ethic.
The gentleman terrier — a miniature Airedale in outlook, calmer than most terriers and dapper in black and tan.
The Westie — a snow-white, carrot-tailed extrovert that packs a full terrier spirit into the most cheerful package in Scotland.
Seven pounds of rat-catching terrier in a show-dog coat — brave, bossy and utterly devoted to their person.
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More breeds we cover in the selector and are expanding next: Border Terrier, Pug, Boxer, Boston Terrier, Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Australian Shepherd, Whippet, Bull Terrier, Newfoundland and more.