Some of the Rarest Dog Breeds

Almost everyone knows what the most popular dog breeds are.

From German Shepherds to Dobermans, the world is well acquainted with them through various mediums, from comics to TV, books to feature film presentations.

But what about the rarest of dog breeds?

If you’ve ever wondered what they are, here are some of the rarest dog breeds in the world. Though the chances of them being as popular as German Shepherds are not all that big, the fact that you, by reading this, would know about them is a start in heralding their existence.

The Chinook – the breed known as Chinook follows after an actual sled dog named Chinook, and is rare in the sense that it was once nearly at risk of going extinct.

In 1963, the Chinook breed’s population went on a rapid decline, but its population was revitalized by dog lovers in 1981, who took the initiative in restoring the breed from 11 remaining breedable subjects.

Though no longer kept as sled/working dogs, Chinook’s are popular as house dogs, occasionally lugging sleds from time to time.

The Stabyhoun – described as a combination pointer and retriever, the dog is famed as a gundog, with an estimated 100 dogs present in the United States today.

The Netherlands considers this breed as a National Treasure, with the Dutch Dog Registry regularly monitoring population figures and breeding statistics related to the breed.

The Otterhound – the Otterhound was quite popular as a hunting dog, a part of the hound breed with a history which dates back to 1100.

As the breed’s name would imply, they were the usual companions of otter hunters, but when the hunting of otters was banned in England in the 1970’s, there numbers changed significantly.

In the United States, reports estimate an Otterhound population of 350.

The Azawakh – primarily an African breed, the Azawakh’s physical attributes liken it to a greyhound, only leaner, even stretched out.

A companion when gazelle hunting in Africa, there are Azawakh’s present in the United States, with estimates somewhere between 100 to 200 of them being around.

Far be it for this list to be complete, these are simply some of the rarest dog breeds around, with numbers well below the healthy population figures of their more famous cousins.