There are some dogs that are unattractive, and some are downright intimidating. Some breeds look harmless, but unattractive in appearance, others are frightening without exaggeration. However, sometimes the devotion and tenderness of a reliable pet are hidden behind an impartial appearance. So, in this article let’s know about the 15 best ugly dogs breed.
Here’s a detailed description of the “ugly” dog breeds based on the provided text, along with some key takeaways:
15 “Ugly” Dog Breeds
The article emphasizes that these dogs might be considered “ugly”, but beauty is subjective. Each of these breeds has unique qualities that can be endearing to the right owner.
- Pug: Small, wrinkly dogs with flattened muzzles and bulging eyes. Known for being loving companions.
- Borzoi: Tall, regal sighthounds with long, silky coats. Were historically used for wolf hunting.
- Bloodhound: Large scent hounds with wrinkled faces, long ears, and a powerful build. Excellent trackers.
- Bergamasco Sheepdog: Medium-sized breed with unusual matted fur that resembles dreadlocks. Loyal and intelligent.
- Chinese Shar-Pei: Another wrinkled breed, this time known for its bristly coat. Protective and calm.
- Affenpinscher: Small, wiry-coated dogs with a monkey-like appearance. Playful and mischievous.
- Irish Wolfhound: One of the tallest dog breeds, with a rough coat. Historically used for hunting large prey and later as noble companions.
- Bulldog: Medium-sized breed with a stocky build, squished face, and wrinkled skin. Surprisingly sweet and gentle despite a historically fierce reputation.
- Bedlington Terrier: Lamb-like appearance due to their fluffy, pear-shaped heads and arched backs. Intelligent but can be stubborn.
- Peruvian Inca Orchid: Hairless breed except for a tuft on top of the head. Elegant and gentle.
- Pekingese: A small, fluffy breed with a lion-like mane. Proud, confident, and surprisingly independent.
- Bull Terrier: Known for their egg-shaped heads. Can be strong-willed, but also affectionate.
- Chinese Crested: Mostly hairless with tufts on the head, feet, and tail. Sweet and playful.
- Neapolitan Mastiff: Giant breed with loose, wrinkly skin. Intimidating in appearance, but protective and loyal with their families.
- Basset Hound: Short-legged hunting dogs with long ears and lots of loose skin. Friendly and known for their excellent sense of smell.
Key Takeaways
- Beauty is subjective: “Ugliness” is a matter of opinion. Each breed has unique traits that some may find endearing.
- Beyond Appearances: Don’t dismiss a dog based on its looks. Temperament and personality are vital when choosing a pet.
- Responsible Breeding: The unusual features of some breeds can result from problematic breeding practices. Choose a responsible breeder if interested in any of these dogs.
- All Dogs Deserve Love: Every dog, regardless of looks, deserves a loving home. Consider adopting a mixed breed or a less conventional looking purebred dog.
15 Ugly Dog Breeds:
Our list of the ugliest dog breeds is just opinion and statistics. Not everyone considers such dogs beautiful, but not one dog is to blame for this. The ugliest dogs can be the result of an unforeseen mutation or breed trait. Despite the unusual appearance, many dogs quickly find their owners, catching them with their original appearance.
Pug:
Pugs are a decorative breed from the Molossoid group, which was brought to Europe from China in the 16th century. These are wonderful and loving companions, whom Queen Victoria adored. They live for 13-15 years.
Pugs are an ancient breed from China, which is mentioned in ancient manuscripts. Presumably, their ancestors were relatives of the Pekingese, who were loved by the local rich. Then it was believed that this dog was marked with an imperial sign because the folds on the forehead were collected in the likeness of a hieroglyph.
Pugs are quite compact, up to 6-8 kg, with a proportional square body. The height of the dog at the withers is up to 32 cm, although this is not so strictly stated in the rules. The first thing immediately stands out is a large head with a flattened muzzle, a slightly pronounced bridge of the nose, and large, wide-set dark eyes.
Borzoi:
Borzoi, also known as “Russian wolfhound” or “canine greyhound” belongs to the Sighthound group and is considered to be a native of Russia. These dogs have long been used by the Russian nobility for hunting, the main prey of which has always been the wolf.
Created for running, the name of the dogs comes from the Russian word “greyhound”, that is: fast, agile, quick, quick, lively, and zealous. These beautiful dogs later became famous as circus performers and showed off in show rings all over the world. They are quite large, and graceful with a beautiful silky slightly curly coat of almost any color.
Bloodhound:
This is a crude and massive dog with short hair and a characteristic head. Males are usually larger than females and weigh 46–54 kg with a height of 68 cm at the withers. Females, as a rule, do not exceed 62 cm, the optimal weight is 40–48 kg. Height and weight must be in balance.
The Bloodhound has a long and moderately broad head with a high arched skull, where the occiput is pronounced. The profile is square. The brow ridges are raised and stand out.
The skin on the forehead/cheekbones forms specific wrinkles and thickened folds that distinguish the Bloodhound from other breeds. The ears, in light folds, are low and extremely long: they usually hang forward, and when pulled, they are able to go beyond the nose.
Bergamasco Sheepdog:
The breed is very ancient, but since these shepherd dogs were bred by farmers, exclusively for their own needs, it is not possible to trace the family tree of modern champions. The purposeful selection of Bergamasco began only at the end of the 19th century, but its results are amazing. These are very kind, smart, and courageous dogs.
The Bergamasco Sheepdog is an intelligent and loyal breed. Easily trained and takes on the role of protector of the family. Aggression does not show either to people or to animals living nearby. He is wary of strangers, but will not show aggression unnecessarily.
Always trying to be close to the owner. If there are no people around for a long time, he can become depressed, up to refusing to eat. Very good with children. He loves active games with them. Small children can be allowed to ride on themselves.
The main task of shepherd dogs is to graze and protect livestock. They are happy to look after the animals, not letting them scatter. They are not afraid of bad weather, they are quite efficient. Dogs are also used to guard sites and as rescuers in various natural disasters.
The Chinese Shar-Pei
The Chinese Shar Pei is a medium-sized dog with a strong build, covered with folds of varying depths. Breeders from the Celestial Empire, unlike their American counterparts, recognize only individuals with the shortest type of coat – horses. The length of the hairs on the animal’s body cannot exceed 1 centimeter.
Representatives of the breed will adapt to the mood, activities, and lifestyle of the owner. They are ready for anything, as long as the owner is nearby: no matter where – on a noisy street, in a quiet park, at home in front of the TV.
Friendliness, calm disposition, strong nervous system, and commitment to cleanliness make Chinese Shar-Peis excellent companions.
Such dogs are always ready to protect both the owner and his property.
Affenpinscher
Affenpinscher is surprisingly funny in appearance, a black dog, reminiscent of both a funny monkey and a disheveled, sleepy imp. And I must say the extraordinary, and sometimes even caricature appearance of this creature is in perfect harmony with its restless, active, and slightly harmful character.
The Affenpinscher breed is considered one of the oldest breeds of European dogs with a preserved history of their creation. And although the first mention of these animals dates back to the beginning of the 16th century, they or dogs very similar to them can be seen with their own eyes in the paintings and engravings of the 15th century by artists Van Eyck (Jan van Eyck) and Durer (Albrecht Durer).
In the urban manuscripts of the coastal Baltic cities in 1510-1516, small black dogs of a disheveled appearance are first mentioned as great masters of exterminating rats and mice in stables, barns, granaries, and household outbuildings.
Irish Wolfhound:
The Irish Wolfhound is one of the oldest dog breeds, with an approximate age of about 2000 years. It was bred in Ireland to hunt wolves, wild boars, and other large predators. Later, wolfhounds began to be used to guard fortresses and settlements.
During numerous military campaigns, powerful and courageous dogs were set against the enemy. They could easily throw riders off their horses. In those days, these bearded giants were known under the name “Irish Hound”.
A few hundred years ago, the wolfhound was a rarity in Europe. This graceful dog was a welcome gift for many noble people, but later its export was banned from England on pain of death. It was this ban that caused the degeneration of the breed. In a fairly short period of time, the wolves in the country were exterminated, and the Irishman was left without his main job – hunting.
The Irish giant was twice on the verge of extinction and only thanks to the efforts of admirers of the ancient breed have reached our days. In the 18th century, in order to revive the breed, breeders were forced to cross it with Great Danes and Greyhounds.
The updated breed has become popular again. At this time, the very first standard of the Irish wolfhound and the first club of breed lovers appeared. Today, this giant is recognized as the mascot of the Irish army.
Bulldog:
Since ancient times, bulldogs have been considered the personification of strength, courage, and fighting character. These dogs have a long history – their distant ancestors took part in performances in the arena and fights with wild animals.
Over time, dogs spread around the world, changed, and acquired their national breed traits, but most of bulldogs today are either on the verge of extinction or have disappeared altogether – today only three varieties of these dogs are popular: American, French, and English.
Bedlington Terrier:
Due to the pear-shaped head, spotted hair on the body, and hunched back, like a bloodhound, this rare breed can hardly be called beautiful. Bedlingtons were bred about 200 years ago in the United Kingdom to hunt rodents, and later they were attracted by hunting, which affected the breed: dogs began to show intemperance and aggressive behavior.
Pets are very intelligent, but their stubborn and difficult nature needs to be corrected regularly, so getting a Bedlington Terrier is best for those who have experience with dogs.
Peruvian Inca Orchid
the Peruvian Inca Orchid is a dog that is surprisingly proportional and very beautiful, however, the photographs do not convey even a small fraction of the whole charm of this ancient breed.
Animals belong to primitive breeds and lived on Earth already in the third century BC. This date was marked thanks to archaeologists working in Peru and Mexico at the end of the last century.
Speaking about the character of the Peruvians, one cannot fail to note the similarity of their temperament with the Great Danes. Animals have the same equanimity, the same self-esteem, love of comfort, and skepticism about everything around them.
Pekingese:
A small play companion with a regal demeanor and a recognizable, swift pace. It is one of a number of breeds developed for ancient Chinese aristocracy. Charming, self-assured Pekingese form strong bonds with their family members. They can be as calm as the emperors they belonged to if they were raised to live in palaces.
The Pekingese is a recognized individual from the canine lover monde with an extraordinary appearance and a solid feeling of freedom. This little glad man is pleased and to some degree eccentric, and he won’t ever acknowledge a supporting position, about which he will in a split second ready his own proprietor.
Simultaneously, he has an inborn feeling of nobility. Scratched backdrops and furniture, vast protests about depression through irritating yelping, wreck in the condo – these is candid awful habits for the Pekingese, which he won’t ever permit himself.
Bull Terrier:
The breeding of this dog breed began in England in the 19th century as a fighting dog. The British nicknamed the bull terrier “white knight” because of its characteristic color. It is difficult to call him an attractive pet: small eyes, an ovoid skull, an elongated muzzle, and a long tail – all this looks very intimidating. However, the owners of bull terriers note the devotion and affection of their wards.
However, only experienced dog breeders are recommended to start with bull terriers, since a four-legged friend requires training from a young age and a licensed mentor, otherwise, their behavior threatens to become uncontrollable, already that bloodthirstiness is in their genes.
Chinese Crested:
The wool of the Chinese Crested Dog grows only on the paws and neck. Where this breed comes from is unknown, but cynologists suggest that it is from Africa. Hairless breeds of dogs are descended from ordinary woolly ones, but such a mutation occurred in a hot climate.
It is noteworthy that in the second half of the 20th century, this breed practically died out, only a few representatives survived, which were brought to the UK and multiplied many times. The purpose of the Chinese Crested is to give love and affection to its owner.
Neapolitan Mastiff:
Mastiff is a descendant of an ancient breed of dogs that participated in the battles in the arenas of ancient Rome. Many will not like the appearance of the masting. It seems that it is difficult to make friends with a huge dog, which has curly fur hanging down, visually making the muzzle even larger.
The mastiff is really huge, in adulthood the dog reaches a weight of 60 kg, and the height at the withers is about 70 cm, but the intimidating appearance does not determine the character of the animal. Mastiffs are very affectionate with their owners, they are considered good hounds and have proven to be excellent watchdogs.
Basset Hound:
The Basset Hound is a sad, chubby dachshund with unusual coloration. The phlegmatic appearance is combined with huge folds of skin, which can sometimes interfere with walking. The image is complemented by long ears, almost touching the ground. It’s hard to believe, but the Basset Hound is a hunting breed, and these ears help to track prey faster. They trap air along with odors, making it easier to find.
Conclusion:
So, these are the top 15 ugly dog breeds. Each dog is unique. Some are small and others are large. Some are very hairy and others, on the other hand, have no hair. Some are restless and others are calmer. There are even dogs that are more intelligent than others. If you are thinking of getting one of these so, go for it.
