Utility Group

The Utility Group is the most diverse of the Groups; all members of the other Groups are linked by a common function, be it sporting - Hounds, Gundogs, Terriers; companionship - Toys; herding - Pastoral, droving and protection  - Working. No such commonality of purpose links members of the Utility Group.  For example, the Leonberger, every inch a member of the Working Group was until fairly recently classified in this Group.

There isn't international agreement about the allocation of some of the dogs that  appear in this Group.  For example, in some countries the Shih Tzu belongs to the Toy Group and the Tibetan Terrier to the Terrier Group. For many of the breeds an argument could be made for placing them in another Group, though the Tibetan Terrier has never been a terrier in the way that we in the UK understand the word, being a herder rather than a vermin catcher.  Equally, the Shih Tzu is rather too substantial and independent to fit the role of a lapdog.

Some of the dogs in this Group were bred with a purpose that has now become redundant.  The Bulldog, bred for bull-baiting is an obvious example, similarly the Dalmatian as a Coach Dog and the Poodle as a Duck Dog; the Chow Chow as a herder and source of food and pelts and the Lhasa Apso as a Temple Dog in Tibet.  The only element that draws them together is that they really do not sit comfortably anywhere else.

If you were to look at the Utility Group in the show ring together you would see the tall and powerful Akita, stunning  with his brilliant coat colouration, the small foxy Schipperke, the massively built Bulldog and the incredibly extrovert Miniature Poodle.  The smart clean lines of the Dalmatian powering around the ring and the total glamour of the Lhasa Apso floating with effortless drive.  All dogs who have great appeal in their own way for different people.  There is so much to choose from in terms of looks, temperament and size that it is probably true to say that this Group, more than any other, has something for everyone.