Size and weight
We take dogs' height at the withers and weight primarily from FCI standards (the Fédération Cynologique Internationale, the world federation of kennel clubs). Many standards give no weight; in that case we use figures from breed clubs, The Kennel Club or the AKC and say so in the sources. Cat weights come from breed profiles published by the cat federations (FIFe, WCF, TICA, CFA), breed clubs and International Cat Care.
We give ranges for healthy adult animals. When sources disagree, we show the wider range rather than an averaged number.
Life expectancy
Life expectancy is the typical range given by the AKC, The Kennel Club, VCA and population studies (for example the UK study by O'Neill et al., 2024). It is a statistic for the breed, not a forecast for an individual animal.
Trait ratings from 1 to 5
Temperament ratings (energy, affection, how a breed gets along with children and other animals, shedding, grooming and more) are comparisons with other breeds of the same species: 1 means very low, 3 average and 5 very high.
- For dogs, the starting point is the AKC's breed trait ratings (where the AKC publishes them), supplemented by breed club and Kennel Club descriptions.
- There is no single standard scale for cats, so cat ratings come from comparing breed descriptions across several sources and are calibrated between breeds.
- The "good for first-time owners", "apartment-friendly" and "tolerates being alone" ratings are our own synthesis of the descriptions, not data from a single source.
Remember that individual animals vary a lot within a breed. Upbringing, socialization and breeding lines often matter more than the breed itself.
Health
We list conditions described as typical for the breed in the veterinary literature and breed club materials, along with the health tests worth asking a breeder about. We do not give drug doses or treatment advice. For breeds with serious welfare problems (such as brachycephalic breeds or Scottish Fold cats) we say so openly.
Calculators
- Food: resting energy requirement RER = 70 × body weight (kg)0.75, multiplied by a factor for age, neuter status and activity (Merck Veterinary Manual, Pet Nutrition Alliance). Individual needs can differ by 30 to 50%.
- Dog age: the Wang et al. formula (2020, Cell Systems) 16 × ln(age) + 31 and the AKC size-based chart.
- Cat age: the International Cat Care chart and the AAFP/AAHA life stages.
- Pregnancy: typical gestation lengths for dogs and cats from veterinary publications (VCA, Merck).
- BARF: the percentage of body weight and the ingredient ratios are conventions of the raw feeding community (for example Perfectly Rawsome), not a veterinary standard; bone content of raw meaty bones comes from the USDA database. The calculator page also sets out where veterinary organizations stand on raw diets.
- Pet food label: energy by the NRC 2006 method (as in the FEDIAF guidelines) and the modified Atwater formula; protein and fat minimums from the FEDIAF 2025 tables.
Regulations
Legal information about Poland (the list of breeds considered aggressive, rabies vaccination, the dog tax, microchipping) is checked against the Polish Internet System of Legal Acts (isap.sejm.gov.pl) and official government websites. It is information, not legal advice, and it applies to Poland only.
Photos
Breed photos come from Wikimedia Commons and are used under free licenses (CC BY, CC BY-SA, public domain). The author and license are shown under each photo and on the photo credits page. The site's illustrations are our own.
Corrections
If you spot a mistake, write to us and include your source. We fix confirmed errors and show the review date on the breed page. Contact: kontakt@ogonio.pl.