They call it puppy love...
Posted by Huw,
The eve of Valentine's Day seems like an appropriate time to publish this article written by Gary Scheppke aka Bricksaber:
Even the staunchest of cat lovers will acknowledge the importance and thousands of years of shared history between dog and humankind, so it was relatively surprising to discover that the LEGO minifigure did not share that same long history with its plastic best friend.
For all the dog lovers out there, let's take a look at the history of LEGO canines.
Even though the modern minifig has been around since 1978, the first dog did not show up for another 26 years, and it took a licensed theme to make it happen. 2004 saw the somewhat generic looking and unprinted dog/wolf introduced in the Harry Potter line as The Grim. This mould had two colour variations and was produced until 2010.
2010 saw the introduction of the first breed specific dog, the German Shepherd or Alsatian which is still being produced today. LEGO's image of the one on the right does not have a stud on its back, but that's an error. It looks better without it, though!
There are several different varieties including one that implies a different breed of dog. The Dalmatian looks great even though it's not entirely accurate to its real-life counterpart.
The first of several new breeds that appeared first in collectable minifigures was introduced during 2013 in series 10: the Chihuahua. Two versions of the miniature breed have been made, with slightly different eye prints.
Another new dog breed mould in the form of the Husky was introduced in 2014, and it currently has three colour variations, including a dark orange one that appeared in just one set, 75935 Baryonyx Face-Off: The Treasure Hunt.
2016 brought the Terrier in series 16 collectable minifigures, and it's been made in three colours. The black one was only available in Build-A-Minifigure stations in LEGO stores during 2019, which makes it fairly rare.
Collectable minifigures Series 17 released during 2017 delivered the French Bulldog, which has been made in two colours.
In 2019 a new dog breed boom began with the Dachshund. The brown one came in series 19 collectable minifigures while the black variant has only been available in Build-A-Minifigure stations in LEGO stores.
In 2020 two colours of English Bulldog were introduced: the white fierce-looking one in a Police set and the tamer brown one in 60258 Tuning Workshop.
Finally, last year LEGO introduced the world’s most popular dog breed, the Golden/Labrador Retriever which currently comes in two different coat colours.
No new breeds have been spotted in 2022 sets so far, but there is a new cat!
Fictional animals
Much like the very first dog which was made to depict a particular animal in Harry Potter sets, character specific dogs have continued to be produced.
Some, like Toto from the Wizard of Oz and Wonderdog from DC Comics, reuse existing breeds and apply unique paint jobs.
While others like Ace and Krypto from DC Comics, Disney’s Pluto, Fluffy from Harry Potter, The Simpsons’ Santa’s Little Helper, or The Hidden Side’s Spencer created unique moulds for their respective LEGO likenesses.
Finally, there’s Scooby-Doo who matches the popularity of his cartoon counterpart by having six different looks comprised of two unique bodies and a variety of different faces.
Whether it's a famous breed or character, it seems LEGO minifig dogs will sit and stay!
What dog would you like to see next? Let us know in the comments below, and we hope all you have a fantastic Valentine’s Day.
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74 comments on this article
I would love to see a corgi. Those stubby legs would be rather funny, although not unlike the Dachshund’s legs.
I love this article
I wanted a new "goat-dog" to be added in the new JP T-rex set. I think that set was reason enough for TLG to make a new mold. (of course i just mean a goat)
Crazy to think that the original 2001 Fluffy is actually the first (moulded) minifig-scale dog ever released by lego.
(So the grim was beaten by 3 years btw. It's not he first dog, just the first minifig-scale realistic one!)
Not counting the 2000 Pluto (fabuland-scale), the belville and Scala dogs, the Anthro dog people in Fabuland, possible Duplo dogs etc. Because I mean minifig-scale.
@Bricksaber , A most enjoyable article. Thank you!
I have many of the non-fiction dogs in my display collection but only one of the fictional ones which is strange because my collection is entirely speculative fiction themed. I hadn’t considered that until just now :~)
@Huw, Can we please have more of the same such as an article about cats or fictional beasts like dragons?
I want husky "Red" to come back.
Great article
@Huw - typo in Dalmatian :)
A bit of a wildcard is Jake the Dog DIM026. It's not a costume like the pug suit so does that count?
I know a few of the Friends dogs are less "realistic" but some like the puppy 74687, the poodle 77291, and the Scottish terrier 84085 wouldn't look out of place beside the other dogs really.
Where's Dr Dog?
Not only a dog....but a doctor.
Yes I would love a corgi.
@huw cats next please.
I would like to see a Saint Bernard in the next Winter Village set. ;)
Out of curiosity, why were the Friends dogs omitted?
I see literally 0% chance to see it happen, but I'd love to see some Hungarian breeds such as pumi or komondor :)
@Xaran_Alamas said:
"Out of curiosity, why were the Friends dogs omitted?"
Friends animals don't get on with minifigs :-)
Always interesting to read articles about animals in the Lego realm :D
I got my favourite dog breed in 2019 with the dachshund, but Fang from HP would be nice to get..
@RJARR said:
"I would like to see a Saint Bernard in the next Winter Village set. ;)"
They could have a mould for a big fluffy dog and use it for a At Bernard, Newfoundland and probably Old English Sheepdog too.
I'd like to see a greyhound type, not too tall so it could be various breeds. Then we can get a minifig in a flat cap and do a Yorkshireman stereotype.
I know the bulldogs and dachshund are easily recognisable but they're also some of most affected breeds with health problems because of breeding for a particular physical appearance :(
What set can I find that sassy-looking chihuahua in?
What about all of the friends dogs and puppies? They have some really good ones too!
I hope there’s a cat article coming. I have all of the Lego cats.
I agree with others that want a St. Bernard, and would love to see a proper system pug. That said, since I mostly build medieval and historical mocs, I’d be thrilled to have something more fitting as an Irish wolfhound-type.
@LukeSkywalker said:
"What set can I find that sassy-looking chihuahua in?"
70435 Newbury Abandoned Prison from Hidden Side.
@Actionjem said:
"What about all of the friends dogs and puppies? They have some really good ones too! "
Huw already killed that idea (thank goodness!). Please see his post above.
wtf is that Pluto. The old Pluto is much much better. Dont know how old it is but it looks about 100 times better whatever this is
Edit: I just looked it up and realized the old Pluto isn't really a minifig scale dog, it's a bit bigger. Doesn't take away that it looks much better.
The chihuahuas also appear to have slightly different mouth prints. I use one of these to represent Max when I put the Grinch on our displays. I made a point of getting my hands on the golden retriever to use as Einstein in the DeLorean. About half of the chatter about the first reveal of Hidden Side was regarding how Spencer would work perfectly as Zero from Nightmare Before Christmas. I was thinking that Scooby had more than six variants, with no repeats, but after looking into it, I may be thinking back to when I was trying out head swaps. With two bodies and six heads spread across five retail sets, a Dimensions pack, and a polybag, it’s surprising that they actually repeated a pairing between 79500 and 79504.
@LukeSkywalker:
The chihuahua on the left (male?) first showed up with the Trendsetter in 71001, and has made six appearances, most recently two years ago in 60257. The one on the right (female?) has only appeared in 70435. Also released in 2020, it’s surprising that they made such a minor print variant at the same time that the original version was being produced.
And remember ... you could always build brick-built dogs prior to 2004! :)
@alfadas:
This Pluto is the minifig-scale version from the new Mickey & Friends theme, appearing in 10776. The old Pluto was about the size of an emaciated horse. Not only would it have looked crazy ridiculous next to minifig Mickey, but the molds for that theme were probably destroyed years ago.
A white and generic Alsatian / German Shepherd appears in 10292
Don't foget Akita from Ninjago - the dog with three tails - and also Bat Dog and Krypto from DC : )
@Huw said:
" @Xaran_Alamas said:
"Out of curiosity, why were the Friends dogs omitted?"
Friends animals don't get on with minifigs :-)
"
Not in your personal brickverse, perhaps, but they do in plenty of other people’s! :p
@Sparky_Ham:
Ace the Bat-Hound and Krypto are both mentioned with links below Toto and Wonderdog, but no pictures are included.
@yap said:
"A white and generic Alsatian / German Shepherd appears in 10292 "
True, though technically I think it represents a ceramic statue of a dog in the Friends sitcom (I’m not an aficionado of the telly series). Of course, you could use it as an actual in-universe dog. I use LEGO’s representation of a flamingo garden ornament as an in-universe bird, which is homologous.
@Huw said:
" @Xaran_Alamas said:
"Out of curiosity, why were the Friends dogs omitted?"
Friends animals don't get on with minifigs :-)
"
They coexist quite happily in my world. :) I understand why they were omitted, but it would have been interesting to see the Friends dogs too for comparison. For example, to see if they have different breeds, more variety, and which ones don't look too out of place in the regular minifig world.
I'm happy to add an appendix about Friends dogs if someone would like to write it!
I had no idea what Pluto and Santas Little Helper looked like so seeing them all of a sudden was mildly frightening.
To me, there are 4 important missing breeds. (1) poodle, (2) cocker spaniel, (3) Yorkshire and (4) Shih tzu. Somebody above mentioned (5) Saint-Bernard - would love to see that as well in winter(y) village settings.
Most importantly, what I really wish would happens with animals (any Lego animals - earth, air, sea) is for them to be available in all colours all the time. I do understand that this is not feasible for dinosaurs and large dragons and they are often time (1) the selling point of a set and (2) they cannot keep the mould of everything forever. But there should be a stronger effort made to keep most 'real' life animal available at all time. Apparently, people are getting 'greener', many designers spend lots of time creating elaborate trees and luscious forest and green spaces. It would be good to have the animals to populate these environments. Many animals have been made - they are just not available anymore or sometimes only with the cmf - if you built the mould, why not using it for a broader scope? Bring back the skunk, flamingoes, toucans, chimps, etc...
The Friends animals is another incongruity of Lego. They produce tons of new Friends animal moulds every so often. They mass produce animals in all sorts of (weird) colours. And they(Lego) have a hard time giving us a few regular animals once in a blue moon. The prices are also outrageous: on BNP a chicken is almost $3 (for the portion you get, significantly more expensive than the real thing) - same can be said for most animals - I do understand for large animal (more plastic) but not for birds, rabbits and chickens and small dogs and cats.
I bought a 2017 Lego Friends set recently that's one of the dog show ones. According to the box the dogs have names. I didn't know that. They are Scout, Tina, Apollo, Lara, Sky and Cookie.
Tina is a poodle, Cookie a dalmatian. Not sure on the other breeds.
As Tina is a poodle I expect her name is actually Madam Valentina.
@CCC said:
"All these dogs and no mention of parts 93160 or 53119?"
Whether 93160 should have been mentioned is a bone of contention and, frankly, 53119 is a little crap.
I'm trying to get all of these and some more canines, only missing 5 of them and I feat this article might make them more expensive lol
I hope Lego to makes a bull terrier some day!
I’d like to see some Beagles released - but only because I have two real ones
I read through all the comments to see if it had already been mentioned and I’m surprised not to see it. No love/demand for a Collie, bricksetters?
I hope we get Fang and Padfoot down the line! I'm sure Fang will be in the next Hagrid's Hut to incite us to buy it...
Dog owners: This is my floofy Alaskan-Irish-Hawaiian Whatchamacallit and my Golden Bedazzled British Korone doggerino.
Cat owners: This one is color and this one is other color. Both chonker.
Happy Palestine’s Day!
We really need an Aussie Terrier in red, butvI might be a little biased. My dog would love it nonetheless.
another voice for Friends parts, this is. not including them, at this point, on the path to the Dark Side one must be.
also, Fabuland? remember Fabuland, no one does?
Wishing for Saint Bernard, poodle and something interesting, like Afghan hound...
@legoyoda I mentioned Dr Dog. Plus there were all the bulldogs. Worked hard as police or firefighters... except Boris. He was the postman.
Oh and Paulette Poodle of course.
The best Lego dog really was Paulette.
I remember paying dog in Lego PotC Video Game
“2016 brought the Terrier in series 16 collectable minifigures, and it's been made in three colours. The black one was only available in Build-A-Minifigure stations in LEGO stores during 2019”
@Huw The white terrier is a West Highland White Terrier (also known as the Westie), The black terrier is a Scottish Terrier
Nice and thorough article. Loved it...
Wholesome as heck article, thank you @Bricksaber!
@Sparky_Ham Akita is technically a wolf.
If we are talking about more dog breeds, how about an Australian Blue Heeler? Very common as a working dog here in Oz in places like cattle stations and things...
At LEGO scale you could almost get away with recoloring the German Shepard to make a Blue Heeler...
I am taking this opportunity to spread awareness of the abomination that is part number 51163, dog with drawer.
@SearchlightRG said:
" @Sparky_Ham Akita is technically a wolf."
Indeed and inspired by the ‘kitsune’, a mythical Japanese fox.
I could have sworn the Belville puppy (6250) appeared in one of the games at minifig scale (Lego Island 2?) but can't remember for sure.
I hope they make a black lab with the new Labrador mold. They’re my favorite kind of dog
Pit bulls of course. The American variety is a plus.
@Sparky_Ham said:
"Don't foget Akita from Ninjago - the dog with three tails - and also Bat Dog and Krypto from DC : )"
Akita's more like a Kitsune crossed with a snow fox or wolf than a dog though.
Fabuland! Oh man I loved that as a kid, my parents got loads of sets from that range for me, even though this was pre internet and after it had ended I think so somewhat hard to find :D
Seems a bit petty (hah! PETty) not to include Friends dogs to be honest. I could get it if you hadn't included the more stylized ones like Scooby Doo or Pluto or Santa's Little Helper but right now it just seems very arbitary with no good reason.
@Huw said:
" @Xaran_Alamas said:
"Out of curiosity, why were the Friends dogs omitted?"
Friends animals don't get on with minifigs :-)
"
That 100% not true, and rather disappointing to see more minidoll hating....
A Minifigure motorcycle helmet (the style with no chin strap), with goggles, can be jammed on to the French Bulldog's head to make a very stylish Dieselpunk copilot. https://www.reddit.com/r/lego/comments/nko1gj/hovertruck_for_dieselpunk_scene/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share
Very disappointed with the look of the Dalmatian, with pointed ears. You can't just slap some spots on any old dog shape!
There was also an older Pluto. I had it but it broke it's leg :(
Would like to see Ralph or Sam wolf the sheep dogs from looney tunes that's all folks.
That dark orange "husky" doesn't line up with any of the breed's accepted coat colors/patterns, but it does look exactly like my old red chow chow (RIP buddy), so I choose to believe that breed is part of the LEGO dog roster.
@mr_skinny said:
"I’d like to see some Beagles released - but only because I have two real ones"
Snoopy, too! Well, I can dream, at least...
Wow I completely missed the golden retriever ones coming out! They look amazing and finally my dog can stop asking me why there is no minidog-him next mine!
I didnt see any mention of the Balloon dogs that were part of the series 18 Party Clown.
Those would be fictional dogs right? : )
I agree with RJARR about a Saint Bernard being a good choice for a new dog breed for TLC to make. However, I would be happy with just more sets that include existing dogs.
What set does the brown retriever come in? The link is for the tan and neither the design or element numbers get to the brown version. Just wondering how to get him.
Also, maybe this wasn't intended to be all-inclusive, but you left out Ace from 76110 and Krypto from 76096.
@Mattewes:
@graymattr:
The golden retriever only came in 60291, and the chocolate version is only in 60292 so far (with the first Seeing Eye Dog harness). Unless the mold has been used for Build-a-minifig, this is the extent of their availability. I picked up a tan version as soon as I could from B&P, to put in the BttF1 DeLorean.
@hwpstman:
Also missing is the hot dog, which is very popular with all breeds of dog.
I can't believe they forgot to include the goodest of good boys: 38212
There's a definite difference in style between most Friends animals and the animals in City or CMF sets, so I can see not combining them in one article. (Comparing the two flavors of dolphin is very instructive!) However, although most of the Friends dogs are both generic and a touch cartoonish, the exception is the Toy Poodle--well, depending on how you work out the scales, it might also be a Mini Poodle--which IMO is simply excellent. This may say more about Poodles (which do have plenty of rounded shapes in their customary show clips) than anything else, but I have no problems including that figure with the dogs shown above.
Also, the "Dalmatian" version of the Alsatian/German Shepherd dog looks much more, to me, like a harlequin Great Dane. (Europeans, who are used to seeing uncropped Great Danes, may not see the resemblance as clearly.)
When I was little (well middle school) I had a black and white Shi Tzu. I'd love to see one of those!