Dog Breed Selection
Matching a Dog to Your Personality and Needs
Small Animal Science / Vet Technology
Research Paper
Many people select a dog or other species of animal based on its looks
and their emotion toward an animal when they first see it. Certain
species inherently possess certain characteristics about it that make it
unique and each breed should be selected based upon meeting the
needs and wants of the potential owner. For example, if you are a
couch potato living in a small apartment in the city you shouldn’t select
a hyper dog that requires a lot of space and attention such as a Great
Dane.
For this activity you will first select a breed of dog you believe you
would enjoy. Perhaps it’s a breed that you have always dreamed of
owning or else you can search through AKC’s database of over 120 dog
breeds and select one based upon looks alone and your emotion
toward the animal. After you select a dog breed based upon intuition,
take the dog breed selector quiz at www.animal.discovery.com/breedselector/dog-breeds.html. Many of the answers to the quiz will depend
upon what you will be doing within the next few years. Will you move
away for college and leave the dog with your parents? Will you live in a
small apartment or in the country? Do you plan on exercising once you
are done with high school? Answer questions based upon your life
situation within the next three years. Animal Planet will give you three
or four potential results. Read about each one and select the one that
best suits you.
After you receive your results from the Animal Planet quiz you will
research both breeds. First research the dog you expected you wanted
based upon intuition. Second research the dog you chose from the
Animal Planet Quiz. Create a research and opinion essay answering the
following criteria…
Research Criteria
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Why did you choose the first breed of dog based upon intuition?
What characteristics do you like about this dog?
What characteristics do you not like about this dog?
What characteristics do you like about the breed you were paired
with based upon the quiz?
 What characteristics do you dislike about the breed you were
paired with based upon the quiz?
 What two factors are most important to you when selecting a
dog? For example…
o Ability of the dog- hunting/sporting/house dog/etc.
o Length of hair
o Activity level
o Size
o Etc.
 Which dog would you choose, if either? Do you think there’s a
breed that would better suit you? Why would you select the
particular breed?
Your research paper should be about a page and a half if you answer all
the questions. Make sure you write in proper essay style and use
proper grammar. 25% of your grade will be based upon grammar and
spelling. The other 75% will be based upon the extent to which you
answer the above questions.