The American Kennel Club currently recognizes 201 purebred dog breeds. This number fluctuates regularly because the club constantly reviews breeds for admission to the registry. Because many breeds come from other countries, pronouncing their names can sometimes be a bit challenging for those of us in the United States.
One breed that is a common visitor to grooming tables has a notoriously difficult-to-pronouncename: the popular Shih Tzu. Not only do pet owners often mangle the name, but groomers do, too. It behooves us to learn the correct pronunciation of breeds to the best of our ability to sound like the professionals we strive to be. We've probably all struggled with this little dog's name, and many a joke has been told or meme created using the vulgar word for poop that begins with an "S" and ends with a "T" when it comes to getting this breed's name right. For the record, it should be pronounced Sheed zoo.
The burly Rottweiler also has a name people stumble over. I've heard them called "Rock Wilders," "Rocks," and other erroneous names. The correct way to handle that word is rot-why-ler.
How about the adorable Dachshund? People say "dash hound" or avoid the whole thing by calling them "hot dogs" or "wiener dogs." It's simply daks-hund.
Elegant Keeshonds must be embarrassed when they hear how many people handle their breed's name. One of my customers has two and freely admits she can't pronounce the name, so she just calls them "Keesies." Kays-hund is not so tricky once you get the hang of it.
How about the gorgeous Weimaraner breed? The German origin of this breed has the first letter pronunciation with a "v" sound instead of the "w" we assume. To say it the way we should goeslike this, vahy-muh-rah-ner.
It's the rare groomer who hasn't had a Bichon Frise to fluff and trim. This breed has its roots in the Franco-Belgian region, and its name goes like this- bee-shon free-zay, though it is commonly shortened to bee-shon freeze.
There are some more serious tongue twisters, too. The striking-looking hairless Xoloitzcuintli often has its name shortened to the four-letter word "Xolo, " pronounced show-low. The whole name is boggling and goes like this: show-low-eats-queen-tlee. Try that one ten times fast!
The Nederlandse Kooikerhondje was accepted into the American Kennel Club in 2018. Nay-der-lands-say Koi-ker-hond-jay is the way to wrap your mouth around this name.
The Lagotto Romagnolo has become more common in the last few years. A curly-coated rustic Italian water dog, the breed is pronounced La-got-toe Rrrro-man-yolo. Rolling that "R" is kind of fun.
When in doubt about how to say a breed name that you are unsure of, hop on over to the American Kennel Club website and go to the breed page in question. They will break it down for you. Then, it's just a matter of practice to show that you give a Shih Tzu about saying tricky breed names correctly.
