Dogs are one of the most iconic Pokémon species throughout the franchise. That’s right, today we will be looking at our picks for the top dogs of all time in Pokémon, trying our hardest to come up with the top 10 from a design perspective. But, first, we have some honorable mentions.
Below are a few that just didn’t make our list. But first, we also want to break down our criteria for this list, as some Pokémon may be dog-like, but not exactly dogs. For this, we want Pokémon that are specifically canines, which means we are excluding many of the popular fox Pokémon like Vulpix, Ninetails, Eevee and its evolutions, Zorua, and Zoroark. There is a community-made page that helps with this distinction, which we are referencing for this article. However, it does not have all of the dogs we are considering.
But, without further adieu, let’s get right into the list!
Who are the TOP DOGS of Pokémon?! | Ranking the Top 10 Dog Pokémon of All-Time!
Art by Pokémon designer Kenkichi Toyama (外山健吉)
To be honest, really only Entei truly looks like a dog, but these three being commonly referred to as the “Legendary Dogs” was enough merit to give them the #10 spot. These three Pokémon have always been iconic and will forever live in the hearts of OG Pokémon fans, especially those who have seen some of the movies.
Image via Bulbapedia
Poochyena is one of the coolest Pokémon you can get early on in a game, bar none. We aren’t as big of fans of its evolution, Mightyena, however.
Image via Bulbapedia
We wanted to show some love to a great middle evolution design in Herdier, even though Stoutland and Lillipup are great in their own right. But we think Herdier has the best design of the three and would be an incredible companion.
Image via Bulbapedia
Snubbull has such a unique, grumpy personality, that he had to make this list. We don’t love Granbull, but Snubbull is an all-time classic from Gen 2.
Image via Bulbapedia
One of the newer Pokémon on this list, Dachsbun has an absolutely lovable design.
Image via https://silvallyplushie.neocities.org/dogs
Our first combined evolution on this list, Mabosstiff & Maschiff is a duo that has incredible design elements and each feels unique enough from the other.
Image via Bulbapedia
Manectric is a personal all-time favorite from Gen 3 thanks to its color palette and overall design. If I could own any dog Pokémon as a pet, it would probably be Manectric or one coming up later on the list. Also, a wild Mega Evolution!
Image via Bulbapedia
Smeargle is a dog?! Yep, we had the same thought, but it is. Smeargle is one of the most unique Pokémon of all time and had to make this list (when I found out it was a dog).
Image via Bulbapedia
Along with having one of the coolest names of any Pokémon, Houndoom is also one of the absolute best dog Pokémon out there. Houndour is solid as well, but we think it really levels up when turning into Houndoom, and even more so with the Mega Evolution.
Image via https://silvallyplushie.neocities.org/dogs
The greatest dog Pokémon of them all are none other than the Gen 1 duo, Growlithe & Arcanine. These two could be debated to be lion beasts of some kind, according to their lore, but we are recognizing them for this list as pups. And, not to mention that this author has a Growlithe tattoo…
The following easily could have made this list, but ended up just being left off for either being not dog-like enough or simply lacking in unique design elements:
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