Dog Breeds That Start With S

11 dog breeds Animals and nature Checked 9 Oct 2026

Here are 11 dog breeds that start with S, each with a one-line description so you can tell what it is. The best-known ones come first, then the full list in A to Z order.

S ties with B as the deepest letter, with eleven breeds. Several are snow dogs: the samoyed is a fluffy white sled dog from Siberia, and the siberian husky often has blue eyes. The spitz group covers heavy-coated dogs from the north.

Others are hunting and herding types, such as the setter, the springer spaniel and the sheepdog. The schnauzer is a sturdy wire-haired German terrier, and the shih tzu is a small long-haired toy dog from China. The silky terrier and standard poodle round out the list.

Dog breeds starting with S: 11
Best known: setter, spaniel
Longest name: springer spaniel

Best-known dog breeds that start with S

The ones most people will recognise, good for school lists, quizzes and games.

setter
spaniel
sheepdog
schnauzer
samoyed
shih tzu
siberian husky

All dog breeds that start with S

#	Name	What it is
1	samoyed	fluffy white sled dog from Siberia
2	schnauzer	old German breed of sturdy black or greyish wire-haired terriers having a blunt muzzle ranging in size from fairly...
3	setter	a long-haired dog formerly trained to crouch on finding game but now to point
4	sheepdog	any of various usually long-haired breeds of dog reared to herd and guard sheep
5	shih tzu	small long-haired toy dog from China
6	siberian husky	medium sled dog with thick coat, often blue eyes
7	silky terrier	Australian breed of toy dogs having a silky blue coat
8	spaniel	any of several breeds of small to medium-sized gun dogs with a long silky coat and long frilled ears
9	spitz	any of various stocky heavy-coated breeds of dogs native to northern regions having pointed muzzles and erect ears with...
10	springer spaniel	a large spaniel with wavy silky coat usually black or liver and white
11	standard poodle	a breed or medium-sized poodles

Short dog breeds with S

spitz

Questions people ask

How many dog breeds start with S?

This list has 11 dog breeds starting with S, from well-known ones like setter, spaniel, sheepdog to rarer kinds.

What dog breeds start with S?

Well-known examples are setter, spaniel, sheepdog, schnauzer, samoyed, shih tzu, siberian husky.

Source: Princeton WordNet, a public dictionary database, reviewed by our editors to keep only clear, real members of the list. Meanings are short dictionary glosses.

See every letter on one page: dog breeds A to Z