The most likely answer for most dogs, and one that visual identification is genuinely bad at confirming. Studies comparing shelter staff breed guesses against DNA have found agreement well under half the time.

The most registered breed in North America for three decades. The otter tail is the character to look for — thick at the base, round in cross-section, covered in short dense hair, with no feathering.

Separated from a Labrador by coat length and feathering rather than colour — a yellow Labrador and a pale golden are the pair people actually confuse, and the tail settles it.

The sloped back seen in show lines is a conformation trend rather than a breed requirement, and working lines are noticeably straighter. It matters, because the exaggeration is associated with real problems.

Frequently mistaken for a German Shepherd and built quite differently — square rather than rectangular, finer-boned, and shorter-coated. It is also a substantially more demanding dog.

The most misapplied label in dog identification. 'Pit bull' is used for a group of unrelated breeds and for a great many mixed dogs, and DNA studies repeatedly find shelter dogs labelled pit bull have no bull-terrier ancestry at all.

Confused with the much larger Alaskan Malamute constantly. The tail settles it: a Husky's curves up in a sickle and never lies flat on the back, while a Malamute's waves over the back like a plume.

A freight dog rather than a racing dog, and built accordingly. Brown eyes always — blue eyes are a disqualification in the standard, which is the fastest check against a Husky.

Now among the most registered breeds in several countries, and the one where the appearance and the health problems are the same thing. The flat face is the breed's defining feature and the direct cause of its breathing disease.

The tightly curled tail and folded button ears separate it from a French Bulldog. Like the Frenchie, its defining features are also its clinical problems.

The white tail tip is a working feature — it was bred to stay visible above cover — and it is a reliable character. The ears are notably long, reaching the nose tip when drawn forward.

Bred entirely for working ability rather than appearance, so the breed is unusually variable — rough or smooth coat, many colours, ears in any configuration. The behaviour is more consistent than the look.

Developed in the western United States despite the name. The merle coat and blue eyes are what people notice, and merle carries a genuine breeding hazard worth understanding.

The proportions are the breed and also the problem: the short legs come from chondrodystrophy, and the same mutation causes the disc disease that affects a quarter of all dachshunds.

Separated from the Cardigan by the tail and the ears: a Pembroke has a bobbed or docked tail and pointed ears, while a Cardigan has a full brush tail and larger rounded ears.

A working water retriever behind the grooming. The single curly coat sheds very little, which is why the breed is behind almost every 'doodle' cross — and why the assumption that those crosses are hypoallergenic is unreliable.

The markings are the identification — black with sharply defined rust points in a consistent pattern. The build is heavy and square rather than long.

The smallest recognised breed. The apple-domed head is the standard type; a longer-muzzled 'deer head' form is common and not a separate breed.

The coat is the breed and it is a daily commitment — a Shih Tzu in full coat needs brushing every day or it mats to the skin. Most pet owners keep it clipped short, which is entirely reasonable.

Among the tallest breeds, and among the shortest-lived — a median around eight years, which is the honest thing to say to anyone considering one.