Vintage photos of America's most popular dog breeds

A young boy admires his pet whippet in 1965. Though this whippet might look calm and curious, the breed is famous for their running prowess, capable of reaching speeds of up to 35 miles per hour. Naturally, whippets are popular racing dogs, sometimes called "The Poor Man's Racehorse" or the "Lightning Rag Dog."

The U.K.'s Prince William poses for a photo with Mrs. Phillip Parbury and the Parburys' Australian cattle dog, Dushka, in 1964. Hardy and loyal, ACDs are distantly related to the Australian dingo, the Scottish Highland Collie, and the Dalmatian. As their name implies, ACDs have helped shape the beef industry of Australia, working alongside livestock for decades.

A Dalmatian and its owner show off stylish fur coats in this photo from 1957. This Dalmatian's outfit covers much of its iconic, black-spotted white pelt. Though striking, Dalmatians' looks have little to do with the breed's original purpose—accompanying and guarding horse-drawn coaches.

A family sits outdoors in a New York park and plays with their Newfoundland in 1948. The Newfoundland breed is cherished by its owners, which have included former U.S. presidents Ulysses S. Grant and Lyndon B. Johnson, author Emily Dickinson, and explorers Lewis and Clark.

The bichon frisé pictured in this 1978 photo was noted as a rare breed. Today the powder puff is a popular companion due to its merry disposition and playful nature. A bichon named Flynn captured the hearts of Americans in 2018 when he was named best in show at the Westminster Kennel Club's Dog Show held in New York City.

This young Portuguese water dog is looking for adventure. This breed's love of water originates from its roots as a crew member aboard fishing boats off the coast of Portugal. Members of the breed—Bo, who arrived in 2009, and Sunny, in 2013—resided in the White House with the Obama family.

This Papillon, Kirby, won Best in Show at the Westminster Kennel Club in 1999. Besides earning favor from show judges, Papillons' good looks have won over artists like Rubens, Rembrandt, and Goya, who included the pups in their paintings. A cherished lapdog, Papillons have also been owned by nobles like Marie Antoinette, Louis XIV, and Madame de Pompadour.

A woman named Helen Phillips has a firm grip on her Rhodesian Ridgeback in this 1970 photo from the Denver Post. The athletic dog from South Africa was bred to hunt lions, and today still loves to hunt and is a devoted companion.

The Shiba Inu is an ancient Japanese breed that has evolved into the most beloved dog in Japan. It arrived in America about 60 years ago. This accommodative pup can be found in the county or city.

A judge inspects the entrants in the West Highland white terrier class during the Crufts Dog Show held in the United Kingdom in 1965. Ch. Elfinbrook Simon took home the best in show title at New York City's Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show three years earlier in 1962.

Three large mastiffs peered out of a car window at the Tiddicar Kennel in 1934. These jumbo dogs can grow up to three feet tall at the shoulders. Male mastiffs can weigh between 160-230 pounds.

Siblings pat a collie as the little girl holds a large bouquet of hydrangea in this1933 photo. A standard collie is available in four different coat colors—pure white; white with brown; tri-color with white, brown, and black; and sable.

Little Hilda Horton stands outside the Holy Trinity Hall in 1931 with Ch. Dancing Dickeren. The pug was entered in the Pug Dog Club's Championship Show in London. The ancient lap dogs enjoyed royal treatment by Chinese emperors and were kept as pets by Buddhist monks.

This diminutive dog atop a camera in Germany in 1910 showcases the charm of the Maltese breed. It provides joy and comfort for its owner, making it a great therapy dog. Leona Helmesy left $12 million to her Maltese named Take Trouble.

Trixie, the mother of eight adorable English cocker spaniel pups, keeps an eye on her offspring who snuggled in office trays in this black-and-white photo from 1960. Trixie was owned by a couple from St. Anne's on the Sea in Lancashire, England. English cocker spaniels were originally bred as hunting dogs, but gained popularity as companion dogs thanks to their jolly and fun personalities.

Hugarian artist Endre Szász's wife plays with their Hungarian vizsla Maxie after their pet ocelot Sisa was kidnapped in 1972. Sisa was taken from his fur-lined sleeping box along with thousands of dollars worth of Hungarian jewelry.

This young boy sits in a toy metal military vehicle on top of a wooden table outdoors with his pet basset hound puppy perched on the hood in 1955. The long-eared breed inspired a shoe named Hush Puppies and was a favorite of Marilyn Monroe.

Belgian Malinois first appeared in America in 1911. These intelligent and hardworking dogs disappeared from the American landscape during World War II because European dogs were not being imported. In the 1960s, fans of the Belgian Malinois started to import the confident canines back to America.

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Herman Mellenthin squats next to his prize-winning black cocker spaniel. The dog won best in show at Somerset, New Jersey's Morris and Essex Kennel Club Show in 1939.

Winners of the first four places in the all-age stake of the East Coast's Old Dominion Brittany Club Annual Field Trials are shown here with handlers or owners in 1955. This active breed is named for the French province where it was developed.

John Gilchrist crouches beside his two Border collies Ben and Spot at international sheepdog trials being held at Perdiswell Park in Worcester, England, in 1948. The breed hails from Scotland and flourished on the border of England and Scotland. The term "collie" is used to describe sheepdogs in Scotland, thus the name border collie.

Farmers attend sheepdog trials at Blackpool in Lancashire, England, in 1936. Shelties are an intelligent breed that were bred for herding and demand ongoing stimulation.

English springer spaniel Flick of Glauen retreives a rabbit in the open stakes at the Eastern Counties Spaniel Society 25th Trials in Suffolk, England, in 1947. These hunting dogs were originally bred to chase, or flush, birds into the air so that hunters could shoot them.

This elegant couple holds their Chihuahuas in their laps in 1928. The tiny dogs are the smallest breed on the planet and come in nine different colors.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt pets a Siberian husky while reading beside the fireplace in circa 1940. The blue-eyed beauties hail from Siberia and came to America in 1909 by way of Alaska.

Cuba's national dog, the Havanese, arrived in America in the 1950s. Famous people who have owned a Havanese include Ernest Hemingway, Queen Ann, Charles Dickens, and Barbara Walters.

Shepherd Felix Madrieta watches over a herd of sheep in Idaho with the help of two herding dogs in 1940. The popular miniature American shepherd is an intelligent and energetic dog that evolved in America in the 1960s from smaller Australian shepherds.

A boy sits on a sofa reading a book next to a Boston terrier in 1945. The state dog of Massachusetts, the Boston terrier was America's first breed developed in the country.

Mrs. Langton Dennis with her prize dog at the Pomeranian Dog Show at the Botanical Gardens in 1913. The Pomeranian is the tiniest member of the spitz family whose originais circle back to a cadre of sledding dogs.

Gloria Lloyd, daughter of comedy legend of the silent screen Harold Lloyd, poses on a swing bench outside and under the protection of two Great Danes in 1900. These gentle giants and descendents of mastiffs evolved 400 years ago in Germany, but may have been on the scene as early as 3000 B.C.

Spectators watch a Shih-Tzu dog show at the Tenth Milan International Trade Fair in Milan, in 1929. Shih Tzu is one of the most ancient dog breeds with its history dating back to the time of the Byzantine Empire.

Fables tell stories that the ancestors of the Bernese mountain dog were brought to the mountains in Switzerland more than 2,000 years ago by the Romans. In the mid-1920s, a Kansas farmer imported a pair of Bernese mountain dogs to America to work on his farm.

Charles Ruggles, left, star of the Paramount film "Early To Bed," sits with his champion miniature schnauzer and director Norman Z. McLeod during location shooting in Europe's San Marino in 1936. Descendants of affenpinschers and standard schnauzers, the breed came from Germany in the late 19th century.

The intimate glance being exchanged by film stars Richard Basehart and Joan Collins brought a green-eyed look to Droll von Stralsund, a very possessive boxer, in 1953. Droll seemed very jealous of the companionship between Collins and her co-star Basehart, who were filming "The Good Die Young" in London. Boxers have an interesting history that dates back to 2000 B.C. The breed was named for an ancient city called Molossis, in what is currently Albania.

American actress Jane Russell with her two Doberman pinschers, Blitz and Katherine, by her side in 1949. The breed was developed in Germany around 1890 by a night watchman and tax collector Karl Friedrich Louis Dobermann, who was also a dogcatcher and oversaw a dog pound.

Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, the Queen Mother, sits on a deck chair with a Pembroke Welsh corgi, possibly Carol or Crackers, on the grounds of the Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park, England, in 1940. A beloved breed of the royals, Queen Elizabeth II has owned more than 30 Pembroke Welsh corgis throughout her life.

Also known as the king corso or the Italian mastiff, this working breed is extroverted and is said to have origins in the Tibetan highlands. The guard dog is known for its very high intelligence. It was recognized by the American Kennel Club in 2010.

Two rare Cavalier King Charles spaniels in the back of a limousine in New York City on their way to the Metropolitan Opera House where they played their parts in "Der Rosenkavalier" in 1968. These toy spaniels never reach more than 13-inches high at the shoulders and were a part of European nobility.

Norman Rockwell finds respite in Vermont in 1950. He bred fine Labrador retrievers and spent hours away from his Vermont studio, working and playing with his animals around the countryside. On this day, an Australian shepherd, front left, accompanied him on his ramble.

Singer Eddie Fisher and actress Elizabeth Taylor return to California in 1960 for the Academy Awards with friend of the family, a Yorkshire terrier, who insisted on sharing the limelight with the couple. Did you know that weavers from England brought the tiny terriers to America in the mid-1800s?

This 1940 photo from the Denver Post features Chief, a German shorthaired pointer, holding point while a couple prods up a bird. The breed was developed in Germany in the late 1800s by hunters looking for a versatile hunting dog and companion.

This 1910 photo features two bulldogs and their master. Bulldogs were recognized by the American Kennel Club more than 130 years ago. Celebrities such as Lady Gaga, Leonardo DiCaprio, and John Legend are bulldog owners.

Bubba, a female blue and gold macaw, sits on Mara, a Rottweiler, in a 1995 photo from The Washington Post. The dogs were named after the town of Rottweil in Germany, and the Romans used Rottweilers to guard and move cattle.

The Meet of the Aldershot command beagles at Eton College in the United Kingdom where they are being watched by a large crowd of Eton scholars in 1932. Did you know that Beagles were originally pocket-sized pups?

A dachshund sits on the bonnet of Charles Mortimer's Bentley in the 1930s. The diminutive dog originated in Germany hundreds of years ago to hunt badgers. Its name translates to "dach," meaning badger, and "hund," meaning dog.

A long-haired poodle struts her stuff in 1900. There are three sizes of this award-winning breed—toy, miniature and standard. A standard poodle won best of show at New York City's Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in 2020. It was the fifth time the breed won the title at this show.

A German shepherd perches on the steps of a car in Paris in 1900. The breed is known for its intelligence and trainability, as evidenced in its most celebrated star representative, Rin Tin Tin.

Two Golden retrievers pose with their owner at a Crufts Dog Show in Birmingham, England, in 1932. Scottish waterfowlers combined water spaniels with retrievers in the 19th century to create this popular breed, which is now bred with other breeds to create mixed varieties such as goldendoodles and golden collies.

A Labrador named Sandy takes the wheel of the Animal Welfare Trust's newest animal ambulance in March 1947. America's most beloved breed was originally developed to fish, and can be found with a black-, yellow–, or chocolate-colored coat.

Mrs. Goldschmidt is joined by her French bulldog in her cabriolet in 1924. Today Frenchies are enjoyed by their famous owners including Madonna, Hugh Jackman, and Reese Witherspoon.