Who is the best dog Pokémon?

[Taodragon]

You're talking about what Muneo Saito said on Twitter right? When he talked about Entei he did say something like "I didn't want it to be simply an animal. So I settled on a silhouette that could look like a dog or a cat" but he also said about Entei that "you could say it was basically like a lion" so a lion was the main basis for the design based on what Saito said.

Saito also specifically said that Raikou is "tiger-like" and Suicune is "leopard-like" so it's clear that he had cats in mind more than dogs even if the Beast Trio has some minor dog qualities.

I'm not arguing that the cats were the primary basis, but the fact that Muneo Saito went out of his way to state that he didn't want Entei to exclusively look like a cat in response to the lion statement likely means that the canine influence is a notable secondary contribution to its (and likely Raikou and Suicune's) design. If it was something that was more minor, I think he would've glossed over it or just mentioned it offhand, but he felt the need to make note of it as it was something that influenced his designs of the beasts.

Now granted, I don't think they should be on the poll either as they're cats first, dogs second, and "Beasts" covers them so much better regardless. However, again we do have Mightyena on here despite being hyena first, dog second itself (and no, hyenas aren't canines before that's brought up), so I can understand why someone would bring up the Beast trio when talking about the poll since it's already stretched the options a bit.

 

[lolipiece]

Fools. All dogs are best dog.

 

[octoboy]

I can't objectively argue for any one being the best, but my favourite is one I'm surprised not to see on the poll itself: snubbull. This li'l pink cutie is literally the #1 dog pokémon (growlithe and arcanine are some sort of striped-hyena-looking shishi type thing, snubbull's the first to be a clear-cut domestic dog).

 

[DayQuil95]

Charizard.

 

[NovaBrunswick]

I thought that Zacian and Zamazenta are pretty doggish enough too, so I added them as options. (My favorite of the two is Zacian.)

 

[Random Man2]

Arcanine. It has helped me so much in Draft Leagues thanks to its awesome stats and versatility, and it can even be surprisingly useful in National Dex AG, in which it can check some notable threats such as Zacian, Marshadow, Black Kyurem, Zekrom, and Ice Rider Calyrex.

 

[cruel_youth]

Manectric's a wolf isn't it so it should count as a dog? I would pick Boltund from the options above.

 

[janejane6178]

Best dog in term of the time it was created : Arcanine cuz life was awesome back then
Best Pokemon in term of design: The fairy dog

 

[Ignition]

Stoutland. People equate basic designs with being lazy or bad but I think that works in this line’s favor. Herdier in particular reminds me of my irl dog.

Charizard.

Lizardog

 

[wolf jani]

Lucario. It looks so awesome its my fav pokemon

 

[Mirai]

Mega Lucario looks godly so that's my favorite canine Pokemon. In terms of cute canines then I guess I would pick Rockruff or Fidough.

 

[NovaBrunswick]

Today is International Dog Day, which makes this poll even more appropriate!

 

[Morax]

Magikarp.