A Little Whelp from My Friends Quiz

Answer: Alsatian

You might hear Brits of a certain age referring to GSDs as 'Alsatians'. Although the official registry name of the breed in Britain was a direct English translation of 'deutscher Schäferhund', its official German name, it was renamed to 'Alsatian wolf dog' by the UK Kennel Club, after the region of Alsace on the French/German border.

The 'wolf dog' bit was later dropped as breeders worried that a reputation as a wolf/dog hybrid might have negative consequences for the breed, so it simply became known as the Alsatian. Dog enthusiasts campaigned for the breed's name to be changed back to 'German shepherd dog', and this was done in 1977.

Answer: Keeshond

The keeshond is a small grey and black spitz dog (note its pointy ears and curled tail), which originates from Holland. Like its fellow spitz, the Belgian schipperke, its traditional job was to guard barges. Because of its friendly demeanour and smiley face, it is also known as the 'smiling Dutchman'.

It is named for Cornelis 'Kees' de Gyselaer, a Dutch politician who rebelled against the ruling House of Orange.

Answer: They are not actually French.

French bulldogs do actually originate from France - they are the result of cross-breeding terriers with bulldogs in order to make them smaller, creating miniature bulldogs, and the 'French' bit comes from their miniature bulldog ancestors being brought over from England by lace workers settling in Normandy. The miniature bulldogs caught on in France, and English bulldog breeders sent over bulldogs that were either too small or had pointy ears, which are now a trademark of the breed. Thus the French bulldog was born.

The unfortunate French bulldog on the Titanic was called Gamin de Pycombe and belonged to Robert Williams Daniel, a banker. And yes, they really do make a purring sound like a cat!

Answer: No

Kelpies and blue heelers, aka Australian cattle dogs, are genuine Aussie dogs, but Australian shepherd dogs are actually American, and were bred on ranches in the West during the 19th century. It is unclear exactly why they are called 'Australian' shepherd dogs. One theory suggests that they got that nickname because of the blue merle coats which many Australian shepherd dogs have, the same colour coat as a blue heeler.

Another suggests that the dog was originally used by Basque shepherds who emigrated to the US via Australia.

Answer: Curly-haired dachshund

The puppies you can see here are long-haired dachshunds. The dachshund has a reputation for being a stubborn and tough little dog, despite its cute appearance. It was bred to hunt badgers ('dachs' in German) and was bred to be low to the ground so that it could get into badger setts more easily. Packs of dachshunds were also used to hunt larger animals, such as wild boar.

On a more depressing note, anti-German sentiment in Britain during World War I resulted in British dachshunds being kicked to death in the streets, or killed by having stones thrown at them, and their owners viewed as German sympathisers. The popularity of the breed also declined in the US around the same time because of its association with Germany.

Answer: Pull butcher's carts

Rottweil is a town in Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, and it was there that the Rottweiler was bred, to pull butchers' carts loaded with meat to market. They were, and still are, also used as herding dogs for both sheep and cattle. Although they are often portrayed as vicious in fiction and are even banned as pets in Ecuador, like any other breed of dog, their behaviour is more down to nurture than nature.

Some Rottweilers are used as service dogs and in the UK, a young Rottweiler named Jake made headlines when he chased away a man who was sexually assaulting a woman, led his owner to the scene and guarded the woman until the police arrived.

Answer: Boston terrier

The Boston terrier generally comes in black or brindle and white, and has the same 'bat ears' of the French bulldog, one of its relatives. Its ancestor, Judge, is thought to have been a cross between terrier and 'bull' breeds (hence 'Boston bull' being another of the breed's nicknames). Judge's offspring were cross-bred with French bulldogs, and the Boston terrier was the eventual result. The Boston part comes from the fact that Robert C. Hooper, Judge's owner, was from Boston. Boston University's mascot is a Boston terrier, traditionally called Rhett.

('More Than a Feeling' is a song by the band Boston.)

Answer: Herding dogs

Older fans of the British children's TV show 'Blue Peter' may remember that presenter John Noakes had a border collie called Shep, who was the show's resident dog for a time. The border collie has a reputation for being one of the most intelligent breeds of dog and, as a pastoral dog, it is still a popular choice for herding sheep and a regular participant in sheepdog trials.

It was bred on the English/Scottish border, and although the most common variety is black and white, there are other coat variants such as blue tricolour and red merle.

Answer: Smell

The basset hound is a scenthound, which means it has an excellent ability to sniff out prey or other scents. It was originally bred to capture small game such as hare. Those floppy lips, known as dewlaps, are there for a reason - they help catch the scent of the prey that the hound is tracking. 'Basset', incidentally, comes from the French word 'bas' ('low'); there are six recognised types of basset type dog breeds in France, the basset hound among them. Like its bigger cousin, the bloodhound, it is descended from the French hunting hounds that were bred at the abbey of St Hubert.

Answer: Japan

'Inu' is Japanese for 'dog', while 'shiba' can mean 'brushwood' or 'small'. The Shiba is one of the Japanese spitz-type dogs, along with the Shikoku, the Akita, the Kishu and the Kai Ken ('ken' being another Japanese word for 'dog'). Most Shibas have a white undercoat pattern known as 'urajiro', and white Shibas are not accepted by the American Kennel Club as this pattern does not show in their fur. It is a basal breed, making it one of the world's older breeds of dog, and was bred to hunt smaller game such as rabbits and birds. They have a reputation for being 'more like cats than dogs', due to their independent natures and grooming habits. They will also scream loudly when upset or excited.

Kabosu, the dog behind the 'shibe doge' meme, was a female Shiba Inu puppy adopted by Japanese teacher Atsuko Sato. Sato named her 'Kabosu' after the citrus fruit of the same name, because of the dog's round head.