the Newfoundland dog, the newfoundland dog

[Ocham]

Hi everyone, I need your help. In the dialog below, how should I put a dog breed? Wikipedia has it as "the Newfoundland dog" or "a Newfoundland." I don't know why it begins with a capital letter. Is it because it's derived from "Newfoundland"? Then I don't need to begin with "G" when I write "golden retriever" in a sentence.

And also I'd like to know if I neet to put "the" before "Newfoundland dog" and "a" before just "Newfoundland."

Barbara: I need a dog to guard my house. Is the Newfoundland dog a good choice?
Andy: You don’t know dogs. Not every dog can be a guard dog.
Barbara: You mean a Newfoundland is not suited to guard dog work?
Andy: They are very gentle with people, even with strangers.

 

[The Newt]

It's not necessary to say "dog": "Is a Newfoundland a good choice?" Dog breeds don't need to be capitalized but in this case Newfoundland is a proper noun.

 

[entangledbank]

Many dog breeds come from proper names but are more commonly written with lower case: alsatian, dalmatian, dobermann, labrador, and probably many others. But sometimes the place is very well known, and we are more likely to still use a capital for a German shepherd or a Newfoundland. There is no rule, just common choices.

 

[pob14]

Dog breeders and people who show dogs tend to capitalize the breed, following the style of the American Kennel Club. Since I learned about many dog breeds from going to AKC shows, I tend to follow that style; for example, we own a Bichon Frise.

There are one or two breeds that actually contain "dog" as part of the official breed name; the one that comes to mind is the German Shepherd Dog, occasionally abbreviated as GSD. Absolutely no one other than breeders and show handlers call them that, though. (No one will think you own an actual German person who tends sheep!)

 

[Packard]

It's not necessary to say "dog": "Is a Newfoundland a good choice?" Dog breeds don't need to be capitalized but in this case Newfoundland is a proper noun.

I always capitalized dog breeds. They are proper names. And the "dog" is required in certain cases at least.

This is a German Shepherd Dog at work (but not a particularly good looking one):

And this is Werner, a German Shepherd, also not particularly good looking:

 

[pob14]

Werner is a German shepherd, not a German Shepherd, though, right?

 

[The Newt]

I always capitalized dog breeds. They are proper names. [...]

That's not how dictionaries generally treat them. And the Chicago Manual, for example, has "golden retriever, English setter, King Charles spaniel," etc. The AKC, of course, has a vested interest.

 

[Packard]

Werner is a German shepherd, not a German Shepherd, though, right?

Yes, my error. But whenever someone says, I have a German Shepherd, I envision them owning a little old man in lederhosen.

As for a Newfoundland Dog, I would ordinarily refer to them as a Newfie, or a Newfoundland Dog.

There are other breeds that I add "dog" or "hound" to regularly.

An Afghan Hound
An American Eskimo Dog
A Bernese Mountain Dog

I would have to go to the American Kennel Association list to come up with more, but I am certain at least 30% would require a specifier to be a dog breed.

Addendum:

Here is a link to the AKC and their breeds. Of the first page of listing only four of the 18 beginning with the letter 'A' could stand alone without the "hound" or "dog" added.

Dog Breeds - Types Of Dogs

 

[Packard]

That's not how dictionaries generally treat them. And the Chicago Manual, for example, has "golden retriever, English setter, King Charles spaniel," etc. The AKC, of course, has a vested interest.

3 More Answers to Questions About Capitalization

3. Should names of dog breeds be capitalized — for example, pomeranian, labrador, “bull terrier,” “American pit bull terrier”?
Dog breeds are not capitalized unless the name is that of a geographic region: Pomeranian, “Labrador retriever,” “bull terrier”, “American pit bull terrier.” (Dalmatian is an exception; it’s usually lowercase, but I would probably uppercase it when it appears with similar names normally capitalized.)

Note: The Dalmatian was named for "Dalmatia" a part of Croatia. So why it is normally not capitalized is a mystery to me.

I am OK with people who follow the above directions, however more breeds than not would be capitalized using the above rules.

 

[se16teddy]

The Dalmatian was named for "Dalmatia" a part of Croatia.

Which reminds me of our Prime Minister Theresa May, who got a reputation at the Home Office for being tough on immigration.

 

[Packard]

Which reminds me of this picture of our Prime Minister Theresa May, who got a reputation at the Home Office for being tough on immigration.

Like the vitriolic preacher spouting judgements of fire and brimstone, and hell and dalmatians!

 

[GreenWhiteBlue]

and hell and dalmatians!

Not to be confused with Hello Dalmatian, which I hereby offer as a possible canine rival to Hello Kitty...

 

[Ocham]

Very confusing but interesting. I'm fully understood.Thanks a lot, everywon.