Updated · Published by Radif Partners

Methodology

Where the figures come from, how they are built, and what they cannot tell you.

Where the figures come from

Weight, height and coat descriptions come from published breed standards, chiefly those of the American Kennel Club, The Kennel Club and the Fédération Cynologique Internationale. Where a standard gives no range, we use the figures reported in longevity and veterinary studies rather than inventing one.

Lifespan ranges come from published cohort studies where they exist for the breed, and from the standard's own guidance otherwise. Costs are indicative ranges for a typical household, not quotations.

How the ranges are built

A breed page shows a range, not an average, because a single figure hides the spread that matters when you are deciding. Where males and females differ materially, both are given. Where a standard differs between kennel clubs, we say so rather than silently picking one.

What the numbers cannot tell you

Breed averages describe a population. Line, upbringing, early socialisation and simple chance move an individual dog well away from the typical profile, and two dogs of the same breed can differ more than two dogs of different breeds.

Nothing on this site is a diagnosis, and no figure here replaces an examination by a veterinary surgeon.

Updates and corrections

Pages are reviewed whenever a kennel club revises a standard, and at least once a year otherwise. Each page carries the date of its last real change rather than today's date, so that an unchanged page does not pass for a fresh one.

If a figure looks wrong, write to contact@breeds101.com naming the page. We check it against the source, correct it if the error is confirmed, and carry the correction across to every page using the same figure.

Official sources