What Is Considered a "Large Dog Breed?"

Dogs are man's best friend, and from the day that partnership first came to be, we've been breeding dogs for tasks of every kind. Selective breeding has made dog breeds of just about every size, and breeders often will categorize dogs by the size they become by the time they reach adulthood.

Nowadays, the sizes that people consider as toy, small, medium, and large dog breeds have been codified. Have you ever wondered what is considered a large dog breed, on official terms? We did, too — and here's what we found out.

In order to understand what is considered a large dog breed by breeders, you'll need to understand dog sizing.

Yes, dog sizing exists.

In order for dog breeders to effectively differentiate between breed sizes, they have to categorize dogs into more sizes than just small, medium, and large. After all, there are small dogs and really small dogs — just as there are large dogs and really large dogs.

So, dogs are generally first divided into three main sizes: small dogs, medium sized dogs, and large dogs. Then, those categories branch out a bit, all depending on how tall the dog is, and how much the dog weighs.

The five main dog sizes are as follows:

• Toy
• Small
• Standard (also known as Medium)
• Large
• Giant

It's also worth noting that some dog breeders also differentiate between toy, small, and miniature dog breeds. However, this varies from breeder to breeder.

As a result of the way that dogs are sized, there's a minimum and maximum weight for every category and subcategory.

This is what is considered a large dog breed, according to breeders...

In order for a dog breed to be considered a large dog breed, a typical dog of dog in question has to weigh at least 50 pounds and have a height of around 24 inches.

Dog breeders then differentiate large dogs from one another by splitting the dogs up into height and weight maximums. Among larger breeds, they generally have two categories: large dog breeds and giant dog breeds.

So, you might as well know what is considered a large breed and what is considered a giant breed. Most breeders will consider any dog that's over 90 to 100 pounds to be a giant dog breed.

So, what is considered to be a large dog?

Officially, any dog breed over 50 pounds but under 100 pounds will be considered a large dog breed. More loosely, any dog over 50 pounds is a large dog.