Whether you are a professional dog groomer, a breeder or simply a dog owner, knowing basic terminology is always a good thing.

We’ve come across miles of terminology with regards to our canine friends and have been sharing it in smaller, more targeted batches.

If you haven’t already, go check out basic, head & face & dog hair terminology.

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You’ve met the big dogs, now it’s time to meet the tiny ones, here are ten of the smallest dog breeds in the world

Interestingly enough most of these little guys used to be bigger and over the years selective breeding has made them smaller & smaller.

Also called Monkey Dog because of their monkey-like face & inherent curiosity, this breed was throught to have originated in Germany. Originally larger animals used to catch rats, during the 18th & 19th centuries they were bred smaller as companion animals.
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Whether you are a full time breeder or a casual dog owner, knowing terminology associated with the canine breed can make you better at what you do.

Here are simple definitions for basic dog head & nose terminology.

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A few weeks back we brought you the first installment of the biggest dog breeds and today it’s part two – the remaining members of the big dog daddies of the world.

These massive animals are generally called the giant breeds and many of them were used as war dogs or for hunting large game…like bears.

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There is a long list of dog breeds out there and we did a little research to bring you the most extreme sizes we could.

Here are images of the big daddies of the dog world, or the giant dog breeds. These animals are the biggest canines on the planet.

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Dogs have plenty of interesting hair styles to go along with all of those coat types, colors and patterns.

Here is some common terminology used to describe different dog hair styles with real examples.

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Most people know that dogs come in all shapes and sizes and to add even more to the mix they come in all different textures too.

Here are the basic dog coat types with a brief description & a real example of each one.

Coat is long and matted giving the appearance of a mop or dreadlocks.
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Here is a list of general dog terminology with a brief description to help you learn more about the world of canines.

Knowing the basic dog terminology doesn’t make you a better owner, but it does make you a smarter one.

Angulation
The angle formed by the joints of the shoulder, upper arm, elbow, stifle & hock.

Bad Mouth
Any type of unsatisfactory bite with regards to the specific breed standards.

Balance
Symmetry of conformation & proportion overall.

Barrel Chest
A rounded ribcage.
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There are a variety of tail shapes and sizes in the canine world. Here is a brief description of the basics and examples of breeds with each tail shape.

*There are more tail shapes, (lots of them) and we think we have cataloged the main basics here. If that’s not the case, we’d love feedback from anyone who knows their tail.

A naturally occurring short stump of a tail.
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Although there are a wide variety of dog colors, the patterns give us an even broader range of colors & combinations. Some patterns are breed-specific, while others can be found across many breeds.

The genetics of color is beyond us, but here are some of the basic patterns those genes produce with real examples.

A white base coat with tiny spots over most of the body giving the impression of blue, yellow or orange colors.
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