What breeds of dogs are now popular in Poland?

Poles as a nation are great animal lovers. In particular, when you visit large cities you have the impression that they are only inhabited by dogs and their owners. During the weekend one of the largest parks in Warsaw, i.e. Pola Mokotowskie is packed with people and all possible and obtainable dog breeds in Poland. It is a great show and entertainment for dog-lovers. Moreover, it is a perfect place to find out which breeds are most popular at a given moment. Craze for particular breeds of dogs in Poland is focused on various factors such as popular movies, dogs owned by the celebrities, popular novels, and personalities and their dogs from the first pages of popular women magazines.

Nowadays the most popular breeds seem to be retrievers, labradors, and yorkies. However, there is also craziness about other less well known breeds. I can name myself a proud owner of the Bavarian mountain bloodhound. When I bought her two years ago, this breed was practically unknown in Poland. Only hunters were familiar with it and used it for duck hunting due to these dogs’ ability to follow the scent of the blood of the shot animal. Some people were calling these dogs dachshunds on long legs. Now, at least five in ten people in my neighborhood in Warsaw has this kind of a dog and many strangers I met during my walks with Fama are fascinated with this breed and asked me where I bought it.

Another type of breeds which are the objects of extreme fascination in Poland right now are all kind of Asian dogs, like shar pei, shiba inu, chow-chow. One of the most striking attractions of these dogs is their exotic fairy tale-like look. However, future owners do not usually bother to check their origins, temper and specific needs and are sadly surprised later. Due to the fact they were usually bred for the purpose of protection of people or animals of for fight they are not perfect friendly and warm family dogs. Their characters require strong skills, concentration on tough training, discipline and strong leadership, which is so difficult to follow especially for women who think that these are nice and soft pets.

Furthermore, in particular among the celebrities there is a fascination with small dogs which rather remind of plush little toys than real dogs. Previously these were yorkshire terriers now they are Chihuahua. In my personal opinion, the owners of these small-sized dogs have them for sheer entertainment to carry them everywhere squeezed in a bag. I always have that impressions that these creatures where just invented for the sake of human vanity.

The last types of popular dogs in Poland are dangerous breeds as pit bulls, bullterriers and Argentinean dogs popular among criminals and all social rebels. It is sad that these dogs were not given a chance to be friendly just because their owners want to emphasize their worse features of character. They are usually kept by them for dog fights, and frightening the strangers. These dogs are simply predestined to become beasts because this is often their owners’ intention.

The media devote a lot of coverage to dog accessories, fashion and beauty salons, so we can easily say that we are dog-obsessed nation but not as much as the French who even invented a perfume for dogs called “Oh, my dog”. We do not spoil our pets that much but we devote a lot of energy and our free time to them. What is positive is the fact that in Poland many people decide to adopt dogs from kennels and according to many studies those dogs generally learn things extremely easy and love us unconditionally.

Anjas

I have a kundel dog - I think the most popular dog breed in Poland

Hi Bolo. I'm back!!!!!!
I love your Kundel Dog. What's his name?
Do you feed him chicken heads?

WELCOME BACK, KRYSIA! It's not my dog, actually. I was just adding in general what kind of dogs one should meet on the Polish streets.

I saw a lot of sausage dogs.

Hi Guys I am new here. During my last few visits to Poland I noticed quite a lot of pit bull terriers. It worries me. This breed falls under dangerous dog act in the UK. I am not sure where things stand in Polish law. I know it all depends on how the dog is brough up but I guess I just do not trust the owners. I have noticed it tends to be owned by young guys. I hope they dont use them for fights

I agree sausage dogs have been very popular in Poland. Also, Yorkshire terriers are becoming popular too.

Asia, it worries me too. I don't know what people see in pitbulls - they are not friendly, ugly, and everybody except for their owners hates them. Poles, of course, try to mock everything that is "American" - including pets.

Daschund's and Schnauzer's were the most common dog that I saw on my last visit. This was north Pl. More mutts in the Poznan area.

But what I can really say is - there are no better and more intelligent multi-breed (kundel) dogs than in Poland. They are smart-arses indeed and some American dogs after a year of training won't be as smart as some Polish kundel dogs... Lol

A dog being in America isn't any different than a dog being in Poland. I'm sure it's a smart dog but it all depends on the breed and training. Soooo many wild dogs in Pl too. We have dog catchers here.

I think you are wrong. The most important thing (besides training) is what they feed the dog with. In America they feed them with genetically-modified foods so that the dog:

1. Is friendly to people.
2. Don't bark

In Poland or less-developed countries dogs eat what they should - more raw meat, natural foods and less junk foods/granules that are making the dog fat and dumb.

You can't just assume that in America everyone feeds their dog genetically modified foods though. It all depends on the owner. A lot of people also assume that humans eat this food too and there's no truth in that.

We'll see what Krysia feeds her dogs.

Krysia!!

I meant - those owners who buy food in granules do (I think 90% of dog owners feed their dogs with such food). I think most of them don't even read how this food was made and they may think it is a "natural dog food" while in fact it is a modified food.

How come in America most dogs seem to forget how to bark? In Poland you will hear at least a few barking dogs in the morning while in the US it doesn't happen (at least in the city).

Krysia must be an exception :].

Because a lot of dogs go to obedient school where they are trained not to bark at everything.

And yes some people can't afford to buy dogs good natural food so they buy the cheap stuff in bulk.

Personally I would prefer to feed a dog with leftovres than granuled food. But maybe Krysia will provide a more professional opinion.

I would as well. Dogs should eat steaks

little expensive.

My cousin in USA has dog and she givs him ready granulated food. But his body is so used to it that when she gives him some "normal food" he is sick.

omg, now were resorting to dog bashing lol.

mine eats granule food, but his food is balanced. soon as I gave him meat he became
sick. raw chicken carries the bird flu- not saying that would happen, but why chance it
ehh?

raw cow has "mad cow disease" again, why chance it?? my dog is utmost important
friend in my world, he dont talk back, and he snuggles with me daily.

yes they can gain weight , but if you excercise them, that is all water under the
bridge.

I have a mutt . he is Part Cocker Spaniel, and Beagle.
he sings with us, he howls at the trains, and he tells me when squirrels are on the
porch (I didnt listen) he ate our pumpkin!

bad momma I was. anway, dogs- Any Breed, I love emm all!!

now that sounds cute, both really sweet looking dogs...



saw lots of these in Krakow...horrid little rats with hair....one particular rat was out with a couple who were speaking to it and treating it like a child...give me a proper dog any day, unfortunatley you have to have time for a pet and I dont....

shelly, he is adorable, plus, on his ears (this attracted me to him) was he has the
cocker spaniel coat, so his ears have a slight bit of hair hanging off them, when I took
him to get him groomed , I told the lady to not cut these off, as they add to his
character.

we bought him from humane society, the really work so well with them. but all the
things he knows now, some we didnt teach, is pretty amazing, he has shown he is
a winner daily.

I have noticed them too. They have gained a lot of popularity in the last few years. I personally don't like them. I think they are very ugly, and in the USA they are considered a dangerous breed. They have to be brought up properly. It's in them, that once they attack and see blood, they can't stop. There are many instances where they kill babies. Not long ago, a 10 year old girl was mauled by a pit-bull here in Wisconsin. She went to a friends house and the dog had pups. She picked one up and the mother dog attacked and killed the girl.
I don't trust pit-bulls.
I have collies. Those things are very gentle with kids. They won't growl, and if they don't like something, the'll move away but won't harm a child. Kids look in their eyes, open their mouths, check out the teeth, the toungue and the dog will just sit there.

??? What ?? Hello, please understand that not all, and definitely not the majority of Americans have Pit Bulls or like Pit Bulls! Some states have outlawed them, and personally I don't like them & won't go near one... See Krysia's post.

And when I read your other post about genetically engineered dog food, I am ROFLMAO !!! Many of us feed our dogs raw or a mix of raw & kibble, which I do. Raw chicken & beef and kibble. Great for the dog.

Personally I have wire hair dachshund. My friends in Poland have dachshunds - the larger ones, and terriers. I have seen some very very cute dogs in Poland, some medium size dogs which looked sort of like terriers. Very cute.

Hi! When I was in Krakow I saw a lovely dog. He was white and very small with a face like a koala bear. Any idea what breed it might be? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

:)Yorkie !!!!!!!!!!!!! very smart very very friendly

no, that was rafik.

hey krysia whats happening.i know i ask you if there are any fenced in dog park in warsaw you told me there working on it. i have two dogs i live in los angeles. my german sheaperd that is 1yr 1/2 is not good on a leach but loves to play with dog off leach in a fenced in park can any body tell me is there a place in warsaw or surrounding citys for my dogs thank you so much.

Here's an article from Polish newspaper about dogs in parks who run without leashes and muzzles and attack children, so they are thinking of making dog parks. From the looks of it, there aren't any yet. But I'll keep on checking for you.


"Jej zdaniem w Warszawie psów jest dużo i będą musiały powstać parki dla zwierząt, gdzie będą mogły się wybiegać. - Prędzej czy później stanie się to koniecznością -

thank so much krysia how resent was the artical.when was the last time you were in poland.

seems to be all about the whippet atm...

Wow way to go bashing...

no its not in them, i own 7 pitbulls, i operate a pitbull rescue, i had tough cases but never once have i had any of my dogs lash out to any human being. yes they may be naturally animal aggressive, that is why this breed of dog is not for just anyone. it takes hard work, lots of training and i dont mean "sit, stay, paw" the dog needs excessive exercise, direction, and needs to know who is running the pack.

some people i work with have many different breeds of dogs, who will not let anyone even in their own family come near if they are caring for a litter of pups. natural motherly defense.



I somewhat agree with you, i dont trust many people to be having "pitbulls", the owners mostly young males own this type of breed or similar to make them look tough, it not only causes a bad name and image for the breed but creates problems for responsible and experienced owners.

im not sure as if there are underground dog fights in poland, but if anyone is aware of something going on, please inform me and i will make sure to check it out and put a stop to it.


if you have any questions regarding this breed post a question, ect... and i will try and offer any help i can.

im not sure if i am allowed to post my email address on this forum, but i would gladly if anyone would prefer to speak privately.