Physical Characteristics

The Poodle comes in three sizes that are recognized by the American Kennel Club Standard, Miniature, and Toy. All three sizes have elegant bone structure. Well proportioned body with a longish head and muzzle. Oval shaped dark eyes that are expressive and show great intelligence. The Poodle has long ear flaps that should reach the tip of their nose.  Poodles have a curly, springy coat that comes in a wide assortment of colors champagne, black, gray, chocolate as a matter of fact any solid color is possible. Poodles that show more than one color…like white with darker patches of color are called Parti-colored. Then there is the phantom colored Poodles where the points (ears, muzzle, legs and neck) are a different color than the rest of the dog.

Size

The Poodle as mentioned comes in three recognized sizes.

Standard: The dog must be 15 in. or more at the withers and should weigh between 45 and 70 lbs. to be considered a Standard Poodle.

Miniature: The dog must be 11 to 15 in. in height at the withers and should weigh between 15 and 17 lbs. to be considered a Miniature Poodle.

Toy: The dog should be 10 in. or under at the withers and weigh between 6 to 9 lbs to be considered a Toy Poodle.

With the American Kennel Club it is the height alone the determines the dogs classification.

Physical Characteristics

This adorable pint sized pooch is definitely a cutey, but don’t let his looks fool you…he doesn’t know he is a small dog. They have a small round head with a tiny pointed muzzle, and nicely shaped nose. Incredibly large and luminous round eyes that can range in color from very dark to a deep red color and are prominent on the face. They have very prominent pointed upright ears that remind one of a bat or maybe a deer, and like human babies are born with a soft spot on the top of there heads that heal over upon maturity. They are longer than they are tall, but have good conformation. The Chi’s tail curls like a scythe either over the back or to the side. They have finely boned and well defined toe and foot structure. The Chihuahua comes in two coat types either long or short, and a wide variety of colors including fawn, red, red and tan, sand, blue, silver, chestnut, black and tan, and parti-colors…basically any and all colors are acceptable.

Size

A fully mature Chihuahua should stand between 6 and 9 in. tall and weigh between 2 and 6 lbs. Female Chihuahuas are markedly daintier than the males.

Physical Characteristics

The Doberman Pinscher is wonderful dog. They are muscular with a well defined sharply angled head on top of a lean and powerful neck. Almond shaped, keenly alert, dark golden, or amber colored eyes. Large nose with wide nostrils. The ears of a Doberman if left natural are facing forward folding triangles. They have a broad chest, strong legs, and a neatly tapered waist. The tail also is long and tapering if not docked. The Doberman Pinscher has a magnificent sleek and shiny short coat that is close fitting coming in black and tan, blue-gray, fawn and white, and red…only some clubs consider the white markings to be a flaw.

Size

Mature male Doberman Pinschers stand between 26 and 28 in. tall at the withers, and the mature weight of the male is somewhere between 66 and 88 lbs. Female Doberman Pinschers when mature stand between 24 and 26 in. tall at the withers and their weigh is at full maturity is also somewhere between 66 and 88 lbs. As with most dog there are exceptions to this rule and some dogs have reached well over the 100 lb mark both female and male alike, and have been knows to stand over 30 in height at the withers…but these are exceptions.

Physical Characteristics

The adorable little spaniel has darkly luminous eyes that are exceptionally expressive. The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel is a happy little dog full of loyalty and love. He has a cylindrical muzzle and a that is almost completely flat between the ears. The head that has a shallow indent and stop. Nicely shaped nose with large nostrils. Long ears with fairly thick leathers. The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel is a well made and balanced dog with a strong lightly arched neck. He has a regal gait when in motion.  The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel has a silky soft coat that feathers around the ears, chest, tail, and back of legs (both front and rear). This beautiful coat comes in black and tan, tri-color, chestnut and white (Blenheim), or ruby. Sometimes the coat can have a certain amount of waviness to it, but it should never be curly.

Size

The Mature Cavalier King Charles Spaniel should stand between 12 and 13 in. tall at the withers and when mature should weigh somewhere between 10 and 18 lbs. Females Cavalier King Charles Spaniels will be on the shorter and lighter end of both scales, but not by much maybe an inch or two shorter and a couple of pounds lighter than the males.

Physical Characteristics

Coton De Tulear is a beautiful dog…Coton is the French word for Cotton, and that is exactly what he looks like…a large cotton ball with a sweet face and legs. The Coton has a lithe body structure under all that fur. He has intelligent and expressive eyes, and a solid disposition. A strong neck, that is slightly arched, and triangular shaped ears that are thin skinned and set high upon the head. His body is well proportioned with his size. When excited, or on the move he will carry his tail over his back otherwise it hangs down. The Coton as you can imagine is completely covered in a cottony or downy fur. Generally the coat of the Coton De Tulear comes in all white, but it has been knows to come in white and black or white and tri-colored…Of course all white dogs are the dogs of choice and preferred by show breeders and dog clubs.

Size

The fully mature Coton De Tulear should stand between 10 and 12 in. tall at the withers and at full maturity should weigh between 12 to 15 lbs. Of course females Cotons will be the daintier of the breed, and will come in somewhere between 9 to 11 in. tall and weigh between 10 and 12 lbs.

Physical Characteristics

The Rottweiler is perhaps one of the most handsomest dogs around. His solid well muscled, well developed, and well toned body has broad chest, and stout legs. A good strong neck and well shaped head that is wide with two dark eyes that express loyalty, intelligence, and warmth. Triangle shaped ears properly spaced and facing forward, docked tail. The coat of the Rottweiler is hard and short, and come in two color patterns…the most common color pattern being black and tan. the other more rare color patter is due to a deficient hair gene where the dog is a red color and has brown markings. The points of the Rottweiler are tan (legs, rump, eyebrows, and bit on the chest) the rest being a jet black or red.

Size

A mature male Rottweiler will stand between 24 and 27 in. tall at the withers. A mature female Rottweiler will stand between 22 and 25 in. tall at the withers. Mature males should weigh between 95 and 135 lbs. Mature females should weigh between 85 and 115 lbs. There is some dispute that there is a German Rottweiler and an American Rottweiler. The German Rottweiler being shorter and much stockier and the American Rottweiler having longer legs and not as big a head. And naturally there are some who believe there is no difference at all.

Physical Characteristics

The American Pitbull Terrier is a exceptionally strong dog. The body is designed to be stocky and well muscled, he has a broad chest and sturdy legs. He has a squared head that is proportioned to accommodate the set of inordinately powerful  jaws that are inside. His natural ears uncropped are little folded triangles that rest close to the side of his head. His tail is well tapered from the base. He has round eyes that come in many colors and depends a great deal on what color his short thick coat is. The American Pitbull Terrier can come in a wide assortment of colors…brindle, black, white, silver, blue, tiger, red, fawn and White with patches of a darker contrasting color…just to name a few. He is meant to be intimidating, but does make a wonderful family dog with proper education and training.

Size

The American Pitbull Terrier stands between 18 and 22 in. at the withers and can weigh between 22 and 110 lbs (110lb American Pitbull Terriers are most rare), however, the average weight range for a mature American Pitbull Terriers is usually around 35 to 55 lbs. The original Pitbulls were more in the 20 to 40 lb range and were bred for fighting.

The English Mastiff or Mastiff presents as a very imposing figure. The sheer size of this breed usually dissuades anyone from approaching them. Large and exceptionally strong. Muscular and intimidating. This is a large boned, heavy headed dog. The Mastiff has a powerful and sturdy stance, short muzzle with small ears and small dark or hazel colored eyes. The Mastiff has a close, short and flat coat that regardless of the overall color will have a  mask on the face and around the eyes that is black. The coat colors are silver, tiger, fawn…including light fawn, apricot and brindle. Looks can be a bit deceiving the English Mastiff when properly socialized can be quite a gentle giant…loyal and loving.

Size

One could just comment and say that this dog is enormous, but that wouldn’t really cover it.

The mature male English Mastiff is 30-36 in. or more at the withers. The mature female English Mastiff is 27-33 in. or more at the withers. The weight of a male usually is around 160 to 200 lbs, but it’s not unheard of for a male to hit 230 lbs. at full maturity. Females usually weigh around 150-200 lbs, but again not unheard of for a fully mature female to weigh more.