Dog Breeds for Hangman ๐ถ
A curated list of example dog breeds sorted by difficulty, each with a checked clue - ideal for teachers setting up a classroom game or quiz hosts picking a themed round. These breeds are separate from the ones in the online game, so you can use them in your own games without giving its answers away. The lists move from familiar breed names, through herding and hunting breeds from around the world, to breed names that catch out even seasoned owners. To play hangman online with a different set of words, try the Dogs category on Hangmango.
Play Dogs Hangman ๐ฅญEasy dog breeds for hangman
Familiar breed names (5-11 letters): the Akita and Shiba Inu from Japan, the Shar Pei and Chow Chow from China, the Shih Tzu, whose name comes from the Chinese for lion, the Cairn and the Westie from Scotland, the Russian Borzoi, the German Great Dane and the British Jack Russell.
Medium dog breeds for hangman
Breeds that are less familiar or trickier to spell (4-9 letters): five herding breeds, the Hungarian Puli, the Australian Kelpie, the Belgian Malinois, the French Beauceron and the white Samoyed; four hunting breeds, the Basenji from Central Africa, the Saluki from the Fertile Crescent, the Elkhound from Norway and the Brittany from France; and the Havanese, the national dog of Cuba.
Hard dog breed spellings for hangman
Ten long or specialist breed names with tricky spellings, many borrowed from other languages: German (Affenpinscher, and the Dobermann, named after the man who first bred it), Dutch (Keeshond, Schipperke), Hungarian (Vizsla), Italian (Lagotto Romagnolo) and the Aztec language Nahuatl (Xoloitzcuintle), plus three named after places: the Pekingese, the Afghan Hound and the large Bernese Mountain Dog.
Clues for every word
A one-line clue for every word, easy to hard, each one checked against a source - read them out when you run your own game. These words and clues are separate from the ones in the online game, so they won't give its answers away.
- Akita
- Large breed from the mountains of northern Japan; Hachikล, a symbol of loyalty, was one.
- Cairn
- Shaggy breed, one of Scotland's earliest working dogs, named after piles of stones where it often chased out vermin.
- Westie
- Short name for a Scottish breed with a white double coat, bred to hunt small rodents on farms.
- Borzoi
- Large Russian sighthound with a silky, often wavy coat; its name comes from an old Russian word for fast.
- Shih Tzu
- Toy breed with a long coat that tangles easily and an underbite; its name comes from Chinese for lion.
- Shar Pei
- Medium-sized breed from southern China, known in the West for its deep wrinkles; its name means "sand skin".
- Shiba Inu
- Hunting breed whose name means "brushwood dog": the smallest of the six original breeds native to Japan.
- Chow Chow
- Spitz-type breed from northern China with a thick ruff around its neck and a purple or blue-black tongue.
- Great Dane
- German breed often dubbed the "Apollo of dogs"; over the years, the tallest living dog has typically been one.
- Jack Russell
- Small, energetic British breed that needs lots of exercise, mainly white, with a smooth, rough or broken coat.
- Puli
- Small-medium Hungarian herding breed, usually black, whose long corded coat looks like dreadlocks.
- Kelpie
- Medium-sized Australian herding breed whose name goes back to a shape-shifting water spirit of Celtic folklore.
- Saluki
- Sight-hunting breed from the Fertile Crescent, once used by nomadic tribes to run down game.
- Samoyed
- Spitz-type herding breed with a thick white double coat that is naturally dirt-repellent.
- Basenji
- Hunting breed from Central Africa that, rather than the usual noise, makes a yodel-like "talking" sound.
- Havanese
- Toy breed with a silky coat; it is the national dog of Cuba.
- Elkhound
- Spitz-type breed that is the national dog of Norway, known for its courage in tracking and hunting large game.
- Malinois
- The short-haired fawn type of Belgian Shepherd, a herding breed that is also used as a police dog.
- Brittany
- French gun dog bred mainly for bird hunting, named after the region of north-west France where it began.
- Beauceron
- Herding breed from the plains of central France, unusual for its double dewclaws; also called Bas Rouge, French for "red-stockings".
- Dobermann
- Medium-large German working breed, first bred by a tax collector who ran a dog pound; kept as a guard dog or companion.
- Pekingese
- Flat-faced Chinese toy breed with a rolling walk, whose name refers to the city of Beijing.
- Schipperke
- Small, usually black breed thought to come from Flanders, in Belgium, with a long ruff around its neck.
- Keeshond
- Spitz-type breed with silver and black fur, once called the Dutch Barge Dog from life on canal boats.
- Affenpinscher
- Small German toy breed, once a farm ratter, whose name comes from the German word for monkey.
- Vizsla
- Lean Hungarian hunting breed with a short, russet-gold coat and a nose that is usually reddish.
- Bernese Mountain Dog
- Large Swiss farm breed with a tri-coloured coat, once used to pull carts of milk and cheese.
- Xoloitzcuintle
- Mexican breed with hairless and coated types, in three sizes from standard down to miniature.
- Afghan Hound
- Fast hunting breed from cold mountains, with a thick, silky coat and a ring curl at the end of its tail.
- Lagotto Romagnolo
- Italian breed from old marshlands near the mouth of the Po that is now more often used to hunt for truffles.
What makes dog breed names hard to guess in hangman?
Borrowed from other languages. Many of the Hard names arrive almost unchanged from another language: Keeshond and Schipperke from Dutch, Affenpinscher from German, Vizsla from Hungarian, Lagotto Romagnolo from Italian and Xoloitzcuintle from Nahuatl, so English spelling habits won't help. Easy has a few too: Shih Tzu from Chinese and Borzoi, from an old Russian word for fast.
Unusual letter runs. Xoloitzcuintle hides TZC in the middle and Vizsla has ZSL, while on Easy Shih Tzu ends its first half with a second H and starts its second half with TZ.
Place names inside breed names. Pekingese comes from Peking, the old name for Beijing, Bernese from the Swiss canton of Bern and Afghan from Afghanistan, while on Medium the Brittany is named after a region of France and the Beauceron comes from the Beauce area of France - if you know the place, the spelling follows.
Two-word names. Nine of the 30 breeds are two words or more - six on Easy (Shih Tzu, Shar Pei, Shiba Inu, Chow Chow, Great Dane and Jack Russell) and three on Hard (Afghan Hound, Lagotto Romagnolo and Bernese Mountain Dog) - so watch the gaps in the blanks.
Tips for guessing dog breeds
Start with A and I, then E and N. Across the 30 example breeds above, A and I each appear in 19, E and N in 17 each and S in 16.
Try S and H early on Easy, K and H on Hard. Three of the Easy breeds open with SH (Shih Tzu, Shar Pei, Shiba Inu). On Hard, H is in 4 of the 10 words (Schipperke, Keeshond, Affenpinscher, Afghan Hound) and K in 3 (Pekingese, Schipperke, Keeshond).
Look out for double letters. 7 of the 30 breeds have at least one: Jack Russell on Easy (it has two, SS and LL), Brittany on Medium, and Dobermann, Schipperke, Keeshond, Affenpinscher and Lagotto Romagnolo on Hard.
Don't rule out a word because it "looks wrong." Breed names borrowed from other languages often look unfamiliar at first glance - trust the letters you've already confirmed.
Questions
What is the hardest dog breed to guess in hangman?
Xoloitzcuintle is a strong candidate - 14 letters from the Aztec language Nahuatl, with an X at the start and TZC in the middle, for a Mexican breed most players won't have met.
Are these real dog breeds?
Yes - all 30 are real dog breeds. A few go by a shorter everyday name: the Westie, the Cairn, the Jack Russell, the Kelpie and the Elkhound all have longer official names, and the Malinois is the short-haired fawn type of Belgian Shepherd, which some breed registries count as a breed of its own.
Can I use these words in my own hangman game?
Absolutely - that's what this list is for, and none of these words are answers in the online game. If you'd prefer to play online with dogs as the category right now, click here to start a game.
Play more: Dogs Hangman ยท Dogs strategy guide ยท Daily Challenge ยท Cats word list ยท Animals word list ยท For Teachers