The dog rose is a deciduous shrub, up to 3 m or more in height with strong arching branches. It spreads by suckers into woodland margins, scrub and hedgerows. It thrives on a wide range of soils, except very dry or waterlogged ones.
The long arching stems are green to purple and have strong, curved prickles, on a base 15 mm long. They are used to catch onto surrounding shrubs.
The white or pink, 5-petalled flowers are 4-6 cm across and in clusters of 1-5. They open in June and July and develop into red hips ripe in autumn.