How this breed selector works
Choosing a dog starts with the life you can share: your daily routine, the people at home, and the care you can provide. This quiz turns ten answers into a shortlist of breeds to explore. Here's how to read your matches and use Dogster's guides to take the next step.
- 1
Answer
Choose one answer per question about your home, routine, and preferences.
- 2
Score
We compare your answers with breed traits and Dogster's editorial ratings.
- 3
Compare
Review each breed's strengths, trade-offs, and guide to build your shortlist.
What the overall match percentage means
Overall match combines how closely a breed's traits fit your answers. Each trait has a weight, so needs such as activity level, family fit, and experience can count more than appearance preferences. Your final answer gives extra emphasis to the priority you choose. Partial fits earn partial credit, and we round the combined score to a whole percentage before ranking the breeds.
The criteria breakdown can contain a different number of items from the ten quiz questions. For example, being a first-time dog parent considers both beginner suitability and trainability, while choosing "No preference" removes a size or coat restriction. Missing data is listed separately and left out of the score.
Read the strengths, trade-offs, and missing information together. A high percentage is a useful starting point for research; it cannot predict how an individual dog will settle into your home.
Start with your everyday routine
Answer the activity question for a typical week, including busy workdays. Think about the walks, play, and training you can consistently offer. A yard gives a dog outdoor space, but they still need time and activities with you. Our guide to choosing the right dog breed looks at these commitments alongside size, temperament, and living arrangements.
Exercise needs also vary with age, health, and the individual dog. The quiz's activity categories describe your lifestyle; use our guide to daily dog exercise to explore what an appropriate routine could involve.
Consider everyone in your household
Think about children, visiting friends, other pets, and who will handle everyday care. Family and sociability ratings help you identify breeds to research, but a dog's history and behavior around your household matter too. Plan supervised introductions and ask about their experience with children and other animals.
If this will be your first dog, leave room in your routine for training and support. Check any housing restrictions before deciding on a breed, and agree on who will manage walks, feeding, and time when you're away. Dogster's questions to ask before adopting a dog can help you work through those practical decisions.
Check grooming and shedding separately
The quiz asks about both because they describe different parts of coat care. Shedding is the loose fur you'll manage; grooming includes the brushing and maintenance a coat needs. Consider how much care you can do at home and whether professional grooming fits your budget.
Coat length, texture, lifestyle, and the haircut you choose can all affect the routine. Read our guide to regular dog grooming and check the care section of each breed guide before deciding that a coat will be easy to maintain.
Choosing a dog: what to do with your results
Start with a few promising matches and compare the care each would need. Give the trade-offs as much attention as the strengths: a breed you love still needs a routine you can sustain. These steps can help you move from quiz results to a thoughtful choice.
- Read the full breed guides. Compare adult size, exercise, grooming, training, and health considerations. Write down anything you need to learn more about.
- Ask about the individual dog. A rescue or foster carer may be able to describe their behavior with visitors, other dogs, and children, as well as their walking routine and known medical history.
- Meet them before deciding. Ask about spending time together and taking a walk. A shelter can be stressful, so use staff observations and any foster history alongside what you see during a visit.
- Plan for ongoing care. Include food, veterinary visits, grooming, training, and help when you're away in your time and budget. Discuss the plan with everyone who will share the responsibility.
Take our questions to ask a shelter with you when you meet a potential companion. If you're getting a puppy from a breeder, our guide to finding an ethical breeder explains what to ask about the parents' health screening, early socialization, living conditions, and documentation.
If you chose "Robust health & long life," the score uses Dogster's breed health and lifespan ratings. Those ratings cannot establish an individual dog's health or future costs. Review their available health records and discuss any care needs with your veterinarian.
You can explore more profiles in our breed directory. If you're considering a puppy, the Puppy Weight Calculator can help you estimate their adult size. Already have a dog and are curious about their possible breed? Our Dog Breed Identifier offers suggestions from a photo.
Frequently Asked Questions
More about your matches, breed ratings, and using the quiz.
What dog should I get? How does this quiz decide?
Choose one answer to each of ten questions about your home, household, routine, experience, and preferences. We compare your answers with breed traits and Dogster's editorial ratings, giving different weights to your needs and extra emphasis to your chosen priority. Partial fits earn partial credit, and missing data is left out of the score. Use the ranked results to build a shortlist, then read the guides and learn about the individual dogs you're considering.
Why doesn't my favorite breed rank higher?
If you live in an apartment with a relaxed routine, a high-energy working breed will score lower on energy and space. Preferences carry different weights, so matching more traits doesn't always mean a higher overall score. Open any result to explore its strengths, trade-offs, and missing data. To try different preferences, choose Retake quiz and start again.
Where do the breed ratings come from?
The selector uses Dogster's editorial breed information for energy, shedding, grooming, trainability, family fit, first-time-owner fit, and apartment living. It also uses relevant star ratings from our breed guides. These describe breed tendencies, so read the full profile and consider an individual dog's history, behavior, and care needs alongside the ratings.
Does the breed selector include mixed breeds?
Not yet. The quiz scores the 275+ recognized breeds in Dogster's directory. Mixed-breed dogs often combine traits from several of your matches, so use your top results as a shortlist of temperaments and sizes to look for at shelters and rescues.
Can I share or save my results?
Yes. Use Copy link to results to save or share your shortlist. The link includes your answers, so reopening it restores your results. To try again with different preferences, choose Retake quiz; this clears your previous answers and starts at question one.
Why are there fewer or more criteria than quiz questions?
The ten answers build a set of care and lifestyle criteria. One answer can affect more than one criterion: being a first-time dog parent considers both beginner suitability and trainability. An answer such as No preference removes a size or coat restriction. Your priority may increase the weight of an existing criterion. The breakdown shows those criteria, not a count of questions you completed.
Is a high match percentage a guarantee?
No. A percentage describes how breed information compares with your answers. It does not measure the chance that a particular dog will suit your home. Missing information can also leave important questions unanswered. Read the strengths and trade-offs, meet the dog, and discuss their needs with the rescue, breeder, or your veterinarian before deciding.
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