13 States Have Official State Dogs, Is Yours One of Them? (2024)

FAQs

How many states have official state dogs? ›

There are 16 states with official state dogs, each with its own breed or mix of breeds that represent the region or are beloved by its people. From the Alaskan Malamute in Alaska to the Chesapeake Bay Retriever in Maryland, these furry friends bring a sense of pride and identity wherever they go!

16. Washington: Siberian Husky. In 2004, the Siberian Husky was proposed as the state dog of Washington.

Hold up the emblem picture of the American Foxhound. Explain that the state dog of Virginia is the American Foxhound.

Pennsylvania: Great Dane

Following closely behind Maryland, The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania named the Great Dane its official state dog in 1965.

Thirteen states of the United States have designated an official state dog breed. Maryland was the first state to name a dog breed as a state symbol, naming the Chesapeake Bay Retriever in 1964.

States Leading the Pack in Dog Ownership

According to World Population Review, Idaho has the highest dog ownership rate at 58.3%. See below for the list of states leading the pack in dog ownership (percentage of US households owning at least one dog).

History. The original Hawaiian poi dog were descended from the Polynesian dogs brought to the Hawaiian Islands by the Polynesian people. Genetic studies on the New Zealand Kurī dog indicate that the origin of this dog (and therefore probably the Hawaiian dog) is Indonesia.

President Barack Obama and his family were given the male Portuguese Water Dog as a gift after months of speculation about the breed and identity of their future pet. The final choice was made in part because elder daughter Malia's allergies dictated a need for a hypoallergenic breed.

The Blue Lacy was adopted officially as the Texas state dog on June 18, 2005. The Blue Lacy is the only dog breed that originated in Texas and is named after brothers George, Ewin, Frank and Harry Lacy who settled in Texas in 1858. It is said that the family used greyhound, scenthound and coyote in creating the animal.

The Alaskan malamute became the Alaska state dog in 2010 after a group of school kids championed the effort through the Alaska Legislature as part of a class project.

What is the state dog of Louisiana? ›

The Catahoula Leopard Dog is an American dog breed named after Catahoula Parish, Louisiana. It became the state dog of Louisiana in 1979.

Alaska has the Alaskan Malamute, Massachusetts the Boston terrier, North Carolina the Plott Hound, but Arizona has nothing to call its “official” state dog. Unofficially, however, the state dog of Arizona is the Chihuahua.

In 1964, the Chesapeake Bay Retriever, named after the famous Bay region of the breed's origin, was declared the official dog of Maryland (Chapter 156, Acts of 1964; Code General Provisions Article, sec. 7-304).

The American water spaniel was named Wisconsin's official state dog in 1985. Enactment of the law was the culmination of years of effort by eighth grade students of Lyle Brumm at Washington Junior High School in New London.

They say Labrador retrievers represent the state, because they're friendly and love hunting and water. The so-called "Raven's Bill" is tied to Labrador Raven and Ron Schara of the outdoors show "Minnesota Bound."

Florida is such a diverse state. We use dogs of all kinds as worker and service dogs, like hunting and farming, so there's no real preference there. We don't have a certain individual dog or breed which is special or native here, like the Alaskan Malamute is to Alaska.

The Blue Lacy was adopted officially as the Texas state dog on June 18, 2005. The Blue Lacy is the only dog breed that originated in Texas and is named after brothers George, Ewin, Frank and Harry Lacy who settled in Texas in 1858.

How many dogs are there in the US? According to a pet owners survey, there were approximately 89.7 million dogs owned in the United States in 2017. This is an increase of over 20 million since the beginning of the survey period in 2000, when around 68 million dogs were owned in the United States.