Mini Goldendoodle
A teddy-bear-shaped, low-shedding crossbreed that fits HDB rules and most family lifestyles, provided you can keep up with the grooming bill.
Breeds
Dog breeds for Singapore life
Filter by HDB eligibility (HDB's approved breed list), size, energy, heat tolerance and the bills. Every guide is written for someone walking a dog in this heat, in this housing.
HDB approved ADORE route
Energy
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Lifestyle
Apartment-friendly Beginner friendly Project ADORE eligibleShedding
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Under S$3,000 S$3,000 to S$4,500 S$4,500 to S$6,000 Over S$6,000 
Bichon Frise
The Bichon Frise looks like a cumulus cloud was given legs and a charming social agenda. It is one of the most consistently cheerful breeds you can keep in a flat, low-shedding by…
Border Collie
The Border Collie is widely cited as the most intelligent dog breed in the world, which is the line every prospective owner hears first and almost no prospective owner fully…
Boston Terrier
The Boston Terrier was created in 1870s Boston by crossing an English Bulldog with a now-extinct White English Terrier, and the resulting "American Gentleman" became the first…
Brussels Griffon
The Brussels Griffon is the dog most people meet first on a screen and assume must be a CGI character. The face is genuinely striking: a flat muzzle, large dark forward-set eyes…
Cairn Terrier
The Cairn Terrier is one of the oldest working terrier breeds in Britain, developed on the Isle of Skye and the Western Highlands for the specific job of hunting vermin among the…
Cavalier King Charles Spaniel
The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel is the closest the dog world gets to a default-friendly setting. It is gentle with children, soft with strangers, polite with other dogs, and…
Cavapoo
The Cavapoo is the deliberate cross between a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and a Miniature or Toy Poodle, developed from the 1990s onwards (initially in the United States and…
Goldendoodle
The Goldendoodle is a Golden Retriever and Poodle cross bred for low shedding and family compatibility. Highly trainable and sociable, it is one of Singapore's most popular large designer crosses, though its size rules it out of HDB housing. A smaller Mini Goldendoodle variant is also available separately.
Labradoodle
The Labradoodle is a Labrador Retriever and Poodle cross with a documented origin in guide-dog work. Highly trainable, sociable, and low-shedding, it is one of the most capable large crosses in Singapore, though its size makes it unsuitable for HDB housing.
Bernedoodle
The Bernedoodle is a Bernese Mountain Dog and Poodle cross known for its calm temperament and distinctive tricolour coat. Well established in Singapore through AVS-licensed importers, it requires experienced owner management for its grooming demands and special attention to heat in our climate.
Sheepadoodle
The Sheepadoodle is an Old English Sheepdog and Poodle cross, known for its striking black-and-white coat and playful, loyal nature. Confirmed available in Singapore through AVS-licensed importers, it requires experienced ownership, intensive grooming, and rigorous heat management.
Cocker Spaniel
The Cocker Spaniel is a soft-eyed, feathery-eared gundog originally bred to flush woodcock in the English countryside, which is a long way from a tenth-storey HDB flat in Toa…
Pembroke Welsh Corgi
The Pembroke Welsh Corgi is a small dog that is clearly something larger in temperament and history, and it is not on HDB's list of approved breeds for flats. At 10 to 14…
French Bulldog
The French Bulldog is the small, bat-eared, low-energy companion that has spent the last decade quietly becoming one of the most popular breeds in the world, and Singapore is no…
Golden Retriever
The first thing to settle, before anything else about the breed, is the housing. A Golden Retriever is a 25 to 34 kg dog that grows to roughly 60 cm at the shoulder, which puts it…
Japanese Spitz
The Japanese Spitz is one of the most photographed dogs in Singapore, and once you have lived next to one you understand why. It is a brilliant small white cloud with black eyes…
Labrador Retriever
A Labrador's enthusiasm can brighten an ordinary day. Plan for the individual dog's activity, training and care, and check housing permission before committing.
Lhasa Apso
The Lhasa Apso is older than most things in this guide. It was bred in Tibetan monasteries as an indoor sentinel, a small dog that announced the approach of strangers while the…
Maltipoo
The Maltipoo is a Maltese crossed with a Toy or Miniature Poodle, sold under one name but delivered in roughly seven different coat patterns. It is not recognised by the AKC, the…
Pomeranian
The Pomeranian is what happens when a sled-pulling spitz from northern Europe gets bred down for several centuries until it can fit in a handbag. Underneath the fluff is still a…
Pug
The Pug is one of the oldest companion breeds in the world, kept by Tibetan Buddhist monks more than two thousand years ago and brought to Europe by Dutch East India Company…
Shih-Poo
The Shih-Poo is a Shih Tzu crossed with a Toy or Miniature Poodle, and the result is the small, soft, low-shedding apartment dog that a growing number of first-time HDB owners…
Shih Tzu
The Shih Tzu spent the better part of a thousand years on the cushions of Chinese imperial palaces, which is a job description that maps remarkably well onto modern HDB life. It…
Siberian Husky
The version of this guide that does the most good for the most dogs starts by saying the thing nobody enjoys saying: the Siberian Husky is the breed in this catalogue that the…
West Highland White Terrier
The West Highland White Terrier was bred in 1800s Argyll for vermin work on cold, wet Scottish hillsides, which is approximately the opposite of the climate a Westie now faces on…
Affenpinscher
A serious-faced, monkey-eyebrowed small terrier with opinions about everything. Apartment-sized, but built for an experienced owner who finds a dog with a chip on its shoulder funny.
Border Terrier
A scruffy, otter-headed working terrier from the Scottish-English borders. Calm by terrier standards, sociable, surprisingly biddable, and a sleeper-hit HDB companion.
Pekingese
A small, lion-maned ancient Chinese court dog with the dignity of an emperor and the airway of a stuffed-up emperor. Loving but stubborn, and the breed most vulnerable to Singapore heat on this list.
Schipperke
A small, sharp-eared Belgian barge dog with the energy of a Border Collie and the silhouette of a tiny tuxedoed fox. Brilliant, watchful, and absolutely not low-maintenance.
Shetland Sheepdog
A small, intelligent herding dog that looks like a 10 kg Rough Collie. Brilliant, sensitive, deeply trainable, and one of the heaviest-shedding dogs on the HDB list.
Tibetan Spaniel
An ancient small companion dog from Tibetan monasteries with the silhouette of a small lion and the bearing of something much older than its 7 kg suggests.
Norwich Terrier
A small, prick-eared English working terrier with the temperament of a slightly more sociable Border Terrier. Rare in Singapore, well-suited to HDB life if you can find one.
Norfolk Terrier
A small, drop-eared English working terrier and the close cousin of the Norwich. Same temperament, softer face, slightly more ear-cleaning required in tropical humidity.
A breed we don't cover yet?
We add new breed guides every week or two. If you're looking for one we haven't written up, tell us. It bumps the queue and helps us prioritise what Singapore owners are actually asking about.
Suggest a breed →How we rate these breeds
Every breed guide on this site is written for the version of dog ownership that actually happens in Singapore. That means HDB approval is the first question, not a footnote. The approved breed list comes from HDB, the ownership limits from AVS guidance, and Project ADORE eligibility for local mixed-breeds is treated the same way the regulator treats it. Check the official rules and any additional conditions for Specified Dogs before committing.
Cost bands are editorial planning estimates, not a verified market survey or provider quotes. Check current food, grooming and veterinary prices for the individual dog, then adjust the cost calculator. Allow for acquisition, home preparation, routine care and unexpected costs separately. Insurance has exclusions, limits and co-payments, so it does not replace accessible emergency savings.
Trait ratings are editorial comparisons of typical breed tendencies. They are not a validated behavioural assessment, a documented community survey, or a prediction for an individual dog. Read each profile's source and uncertainty notes. Discuss the dog's behaviour, health and care needs with its rescue, breeder and veterinarian.
Directory filters and labels use the information recorded in each breed profile. Missing or unresolved evidence should not be read as approval. A housing label concerns eligibility; it does not promise quiet behaviour, safety around children, or suitability for every first-time owner. Project ADORE partners assess the individual rescue dog.
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