Dog Breed Tier List: The Best Breeds, Head-to-Head
All 32 breeds here, ranked by 128 players. Golden Retriever leads: it wins 66.4% of its matchups (n = 235) and was champion in 10 of 128 brackets. Disagree? Your first pick is right here. No sign-up.
Size
Golden RetrieverFriendly & devoted
GoldendoodleGolden + Poodle mix
Tap a poster to make your pick. Crowd numbers appear after you choose.
Dog Breeds: the community’s best
Win rate across 2,936 head-to-head picks from 128 finished brackets. n is the number of matchups behind each win rate; only entrants with 30 or more are listed.
| # | Dog breed | W–L | Win rate | vs .500 | Titles | n |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 156–79 | 66.4% | 10 | 235 | ||
| 2 | 153–83 | 64.8% | 14 | 236 | ||
| 3 | 156–96 | 61.9% | 7 | 252 | ||
| 4 | German ShepherdLoyal & courageous | 125–78 | 61.6% | 9 | 203 | |
| 5 | Border CollieEnergetic & smart | 139–89 | 61% | 9 | 228 | |
| 6 | 129–87 | 59.7% | 6 | 216 | ||
| 7 | 134–91 | 59.6% | 7 | 225 | ||
| 8 | 106–81 | 56.7% | 4 | 187 |
Dog Breeds: the community tier list
From 2,936 head-to-head picks in 128 finished brackets. Placed by win rate, steadied toward 50% for entrants with few matchups: S is 75% or more, A 60%, B 50%, C 40%, D 25%.
Stier, win rate 75% or more
- Nobody yet
Atier, win rate 60% or more
- Golden Retriever
- Bernese Mountain Dog
- Siberian Husky
- German Shepherd
- Border Collie
Btier, win rate 50% or more
- Labrador Retriever
- Dachshund
- Shiba Inu
- Australian Shepherd
- Rottweiler
- Goldendoodle
- French Bulldog
- Pembroke Welsh Corgi
- + 3 more
Ctier, win rate 40% or more
- Dalmatian
- Doberman Pinscher
- Saint Bernard
- American Pit Bull Terrier
- Great Dane
- Akita
- Cocker Spaniel
- Bulldog
- + 2 more
Dtier, win rate 25% or more
- Poodle
- Chihuahua
- Boxer
- Maltese
- Shih Tzu
- Yorkshire Terrier
Ftier, win rate 0% or more
- Nobody yet
How the Dog Breeds bracket works
This dog breed tier list is played, not dragged into rows. You get one matchup at a time — Golden Retriever or Labrador Retriever? German Shepherd or French Bulldog? — and after 15 picks the bracket has a champion, with everything else placed by how far it got. By the end you have ranked the 16 in today's draw without ever looking at more than two at a time; play All 32 for the whole field.
This bracket runs 4 rounds at the default 16-slot size (Round of 16, Quarterfinals, Semifinals, Final), drawn from a pool of 32 options. Everyone gets the same draw on a given day, so you can compare runs with friends; New draw gives you a genuinely different bracket rather than the same path twice. You can also play it at 8 or 32 slots for a shorter or longer run.
15 picks, 4 rounds
- Round of 168 matchups
- Quarterfinals4 matchups
- Semifinals2 matchups
- Final1 matchup
Roughly 1-2 minutes start to finish at the default size.
All 32 entrants
All 32 entrants are listed below, including Golden Retriever, Labrador Retriever, German Shepherd and French Bulldog. Updated
- Golden RetrieverFriendly & devoted
- Labrador RetrieverOutgoing & activePhoto: IDS.photos / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0
- German ShepherdLoyal & courageousPhoto: gomagoti / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.5
- French BulldogAdaptable & playfulPhoto: Ildar Sagdejev ( Specious ) / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
- PoodleProud & intelligentPhoto: Tim Wilson / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0
- BulldogCalm & courageousPhoto: Av3553 at English Wikipedia / Wikimedia Commons · GFDL
- BeagleMerry & friendlyPhoto via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0
- RottweilerLoyal & confidentPhoto: Dr. Manfred Herrmann Allgemeiner Deutscher Rottweiler-Klub (ADRK) e.V / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0
- Siberian HuskyOutgoing & mischievousPhoto: xJaM ( talk · contribs ) / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0
- DachshundCurious & cleverPhoto: Katemil94 / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Pembroke Welsh CorgiAffectionate & smartPhoto: Dog breed facts / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
- BoxerFun-loving & brightPhoto: Mood210 / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0
- Great DaneFriendly & patientPhoto: Lilly M / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.5
- Doberman PinscherLoyal & fearless
- Australian ShepherdSmart & work-orientedPhoto: Trickdog-Fina / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0
- Shih TzuAffectionate & playful
- Yorkshire TerrierSprightly & tomboyishPhoto: Svenska Mässan / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Cavalier King Charles SpanielGentle & gracefulPhoto: Andreweatock / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0
- Bernese Mountain DogGood-natured & calmPhoto: FriendlyToaster / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 4.0
- PomeranianLively & bold
- Border CollieEnergetic & smartPhoto via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0
- American Pit Bull TerrierConfident & smartPhoto via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0
- DalmatianDignified & smartPhoto: Bradlien / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
- ChihuahuaCharming & gracefulPhoto: Bonnie van den Born / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0
- Saint BernardPlayful & charmingPhoto: Blanky / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0
- GoldendoodleGolden + Poodle mixPhoto: Gullpavon / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
- MalteseGentle & playfulPhoto: Sannse / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0
- Cocker SpanielGentle & happyPhoto: Fcocker / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0
- Jack Russell TerrierLively & cleverPhoto: Plank / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 3.0
- AkitaCourageous & dignifiedPhoto: Biser Yanev / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
- SamoyedAdaptable & friendlyPhoto: Pleple2000 / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0
- Shiba InuAlert & attentive
Tier list instead?
Load all 32 into the tier list maker and sort them into S through F yourself: same entrants, no matchups.
Open the tier list makerMissing something?
Build your own dog breed bracket with exactly the entrants you want, then share the link.
Open the bracket makerGetting a ranking you actually agree with
- Trust the first instinct. Overthinking a matchup usually produces a ranking you do not agree with later.
- Start at 16 slots. If the result feels too obvious, replay at 32 so more of the 32 options make the field.
- If a matchup genuinely splits you, undo and replay it — a coin-flip pick in round one distorts everything below it.
Questions people ask
What is the best dog breed?
According to 128 BracketRanker players, Golden Retriever (Friendly & devoted). It wins 66.4% of its head-to-head matchups (n = 235) and was champion in 10 of 128 brackets (7.8%).
How many options are in the Dog Breeds bracket?
The pool holds 32 options. A default run uses 16 of them and takes 15 picks across 4 rounds: Round of 16, Quarterfinals, Semifinals, Final. Other field sizes are available too — 8, 16, 32 slots.
Which options are included?
Golden Retriever, Labrador Retriever, German Shepherd, French Bulldog, Poodle, Bulldog, Beagle, Rottweiler, Siberian Husky, Dachshund, Pembroke Welsh Corgi and Boxer, plus 20 more. Every entrant is listed further down this page with its artwork.
How long does the Dog Breeds bracket take?
About 1-2 minutes — 15 choices at the default size, or 7 if you drop to an 8-slot bracket. No account is needed, and a run saves after every pick, so you can stop and jump back in later.
Can I turn the result into S/A/B tiers?
Both are here, and the bracket is closer to a tier list than it looks. It ends with a champion, a runner-up and then every other option grouped by the round it went out in — which is exactly a set of tiers, decided by 15 direct comparisons rather than by your first guess at a layout. What it deliberately does not do is claim a precise gap between two options that never met. If you would rather place the options into S through F rows yourself, the tier list maker loads all 32 of them at bracketranker.com/tier-list-maker.
Can I compare my order with other people's?
Every completed bracket feeds the Dog Breeds community results page, which aggregates win rates across all plays and tracks how often each of the 32 entrants takes the title. It updates continuously, so it moves as more people play.
What if a option I wanted is missing?
Use the bracket maker: add your own options, name it, and share the link so other people play the same field. That is the route to take when this pool of 32 is missing something you would have picked, or when you want a version scoped to one era, label or franchise.