- 2024 AKC popularity rank: #69 out of 201
- Temperament: Affectionate, intelligent, outgoing
- Height: 18-21 inches (male), 17-20 inches (female)
- Weight: 35-50 pounds
- Life expectancy: 12-14 years
- AKC group: Sporting group

The Nova Scotia duck tolling retriever historically was used to trap ducks. The breed resembles a fox, and it would draw the attention of the water birds that were lured into the range of hunters. The dogs may not bark, but they are known to let out a piercing, high-pitched scream when excited.

- 2024 AKC popularity rank: #67 out of 201
- Temperament: Affectionate, loyal, brave
- Height: 25-27 inches (male), 24-26 inches (female)
- Weight: 110-130 pounds (male), 100-120 pounds (female)
- Life expectancy: 7-9 years
- AKC group: Working group

Descendants of bulldogs and mastiffs, the daunting bullmastiff was bred to guard 19th-century English estates and game preserves from poachers. While they rarely bark, bullmastiffs are known to snore.

- 2024 AKC popularity rank: #62 out of 201
- Temperament: Playful, charming, inquisitive
- Height: 28-30 inches (males), 26-28 inches (female)
- Weight: 140-180 pounds (male), 120-140 pounds (female)
- Life expectancy: 8-10 years
- AKC group: Working group

The St. Bernard comes originally from the Alps, where medieval monks used the dogs, and their superior sense of smell, to rescue stranded travelers. Historians say the dogs did not carry tiny flasks of brandy on their collars, but a well-known English painting showed a St. Bernard bearing a little barrel at its neck and the image stuck. They do not bark without reason, but they drool and shed.

- 2024 AKC popularity rank: #59 out of 201
- Temperament: Courageous, dignified, profoundly loyal
- Height: 26-28 inches (male), 24-26 inches (female)
- Weight: 100-130 pounds (male), 70-100 pounds (female)
- Life expectancy: 10-13 years
- AKC group: Working group

The Akitas, with their large heads, dense coats, and curled tails, were bred to be quiet as they hunted big game such as boar and bear in Japan. Helen Keller brought the first Akita to the United States after visiting Japan in 1937.

- 2024 AKC popularity rank: #50 out of 201
- Temperament: Affectionate, playful, calm
- Height: 19-22 inches (male), 18-21 inches (female)
- Weight: 25-40 pounds
- Life expectancy: 12-15 years
- AKC group: Hound group

The lithe, arch-necked whippets were bred in Victorian England by coal miners for racing and rabbit hunting who were unable to afford the larger, more expensive greyhounds. Whippets, which can run as fast as 35 miles per hour, were called the "poor man's race dog," and whippet racing continues today. They rarely bark unless taught to do so.

- 2024 AKC popularity rank: #49 out of 201
- Temperament: Alert, curious, pleasant
- Height: 18-20 inches (male), 17-19 inches (female)
- Weight: 35-50 pounds
- Life expectancy: 12-16 years
- AKC group: Herding group

Also called blue heelers, Australian cattle dogs were bred as quick, smart herders that could tolerate heat, distance, and rocky ground. To find the needed characteristics, ranchers bred dingoes, the continent's feral dogs, with collies, dalmatians, and sheepdogs. Rather than bark, they will herd or nip lightly to get what they want.

- 2024 AKC popularity rank: #47 out of 201
- Temperament: Sweet, patient, devoted
- Height: 28 inches (male), 26 inches (female)
- Weight: 130-150 pounds (male), 100-120 pounds (female)
- Life expectancy: 9-10 years
- AKC group: Working group

Giant Newfoundlands, known for having sweet dispositions, long worked onboard ships in the North Atlantic, adept at water rescues and hauling heavy fishing nets. Lewis and Clark took a Newfoundland on their 8,000-mile journey across America, and Robert Kennedy often was accompanied to his office as U.S. attorney general by his Newfoundland Brumus. Newfoundlands rarely bark unless provoked.

- 2024 AKC popularity rank: #43 out of 201
- Temperament: Affectionate, dignified, even-tempered
- Height: 25-27 inches (male), 24-26 inches (female)
- Weight: 85 pounds (male), 70 pounds (female)
- Life expectancy: ~10 years
- AKC group: Hound group

The Rhodesian ridgeback was bred in southern Africa from the native Khoikhoi, the source of the hair ridge on its back, and greyhounds and terriers brought by Dutch colonists for speed, stamina, and stealth to hunt lions. The first person to breed the dogs in the United States was Hollywood's Errol Flynn in the 1930s.

- 2024 AKC popularity rank: #40 out of 201
- Temperament: Courageous, dignified, good-natured
- Height: 30 inches & up (male), 27.5 inches & up (female)
- Weight: 160-230 pounds (male), 120-170 pounds (female)
- Life expectancy: 6-10 years
- AKC group: Working group

Mastiffs date back thousands of years in Britain, where Julius Caesar encountered them in 55 B.C. In England the dogs were used for hunting and guarding, and they were taken to Rome to fight gladiators. Only a handful of mastiffs survived World War II in England, and a concerted effort ensued to save the breed. Mastiffs have a deep bark they only use when needed, although they are known to howl.

- 2024 AKC popularity rank: #38 out of 201
- Temperament: Charming, mischievous, loving
- Height: 10-13 inches
- Weight: 14-18 pounds
- Life expectancy: 13-15 years
- AKC group: Toy group

Pugs started out in the imperial palaces of China and spread to Europe with sea traders in the 1500s. Pugs may bark, as they are territorial, but are more likely to make noises such as snoring, panting, and gulping.

- 2024 AKC popularity rank: #23 out of 201
- Temperament: Friendly, bright, amusing
- Height: 15-17 inches
- Weight: 12-25 pounds
- Life expectancy: 11-13 years
- AKC group: Non-sporting group

The alert, cheerful Boston terrier descends from a dog bred in Britain from a bulldog and an English terrier, now extinct. The original dog was sold to an American in the late 1800s who brought him to Boston, where he became the breed's patriarch. The state dog of Massachusetts and the mascot of Boston University is typically quiet and not aggressive.

- 2024 AKC popularity rank: #9 out of 201
- Temperament: Friendly, courageous, calm
- Height: 14-15 inches
- Weight: 50 pounds (male), 40 pounds (female)
- Life expectancy: 8-10 years
- AKC group: Non-sporting group

Bulldogs started out in ancient England where they were used for a vicious sport called bullbaiting, in which a bull would fight a pack of dogs. When the blood sport was outlawed in 1835, bulldogs faced extinction until advocates rebuilt the breed with less fierce and more affectionate traits. While they tend not to bark, bulldogs make plenty of noise snorting and wheezing due to their short air passages.

- 2024 AKC popularity rank: #8 out of 201
- Temperament: Loyal, loving, confident guardian
- Height: 24-27 inches (male), 22-25 inches (female)
- Weight: 95-135 pounds (male), 80-100 pounds (female)
- Life expectancy: 9-10 years
- AKC group: Working group

Powerful guard dogs with a playful streak, Rottweilers arrived with the ancient Roman army to Germany where they were used as cattle herders and later as police dogs. They can be intimidating in appearance but are quiet, not easily excited, and not aggressive.

- 2024 AKC popularity rank: #3 out of 201
- Temperament: Friendly, intelligent, devoted
- Height: 23-24 inches (male), 21.5-22.5 inches (female)
- Weight: 65-75 pounds (male), 55-65 pounds (female)
- Life expectancy: 10-12 years
- AKC group: Sporting group

Golden retrievers hail from the Scottish Highlands of the Victorian era and were bred for hunting game and fowl. They have since excelled as guide dogs and with search-and-rescue teams. They rarely bark, and when they do, it is a sign of friendliness and not aggression.

- 2024 AKC popularity rank: #1 out of 201
- Temperament: Adaptable, playful, smart
- Height: 11-13 inches
- Weight: under 28 pounds
- Life expectancy: 10-12 years
- AKC group: Non-sporting group

The companionable French bulldogs descend from bulldogs in England's lace-making regions who moved with their owners to France during the Industrial Revolution. The French bulldogs became popular in Parisian cafe society and can be spotted in paintings by Edgar Degas and Toulouse-Lautrec. They don't bark much but do like to snuffle and make other noises when excited.