Labrador Retriever is Most Popular Dog, Says AKC

Every January, the America Kennel Club (AKC) publicly announces its breed registrations statistics for the previous year. The AKC recently revealed its list of most popular dog breeds for 2010. Although there were several changes in the Top Ten lineup from previous years, the loveable Labrador Retriever remains the most popular AKC-registered dog breed in America, for the 20^th year in a row.

The American Kennel Club also added three new dogs -- the Xoloitzcuintli, Norwegian Lundehund and Entlebucher Mountain Dog -- to its list of AKC-registered breeds, which means that next year's list of most popular dogs will have a total of 170 breeds.

The AKC's Most Popular Dogs for 2010

For 20 years running, the Labrador Retriever has been Top Dog in terms of AKC registrations. The AKC describes the Lab as a gentle, loyal, intelligent and eager-to-please breed. Labrador Retrievers come in three colors (yellow, black and chocolate), and their desire to please makes them excellent for use as guide dogs, search-and-rescue and narcotic detection.

The German Shepherd is ranked the second most popular dog according to the AKC. The Yorkshire Terrier came in at number three, the Beagle is number four and the Golden Retriever takes the fifth spot. Rounding out the top ten most popular AKC-registered dog breeds for 2010 are the Bulldog, Boxer, Dachshund, Poodle and Shih Tzu, respectively.

Shakeups in the top ten lineup included the Beagle nosing its way past the Golden Retreiver for the fourth spot (the Beagle was number five in 2009) and the steadily rising Bulldog taking sixth place away from the Boxer. "Not since the early 20th Century has the Bulldog enjoyed such sustained popularity," said AKC Spokesperson Lisa Peterson.

Most Popular Dog Breed Trends

The French Bulldog has rapidly gained in popularity in the past decade, jumping 50 spots from 71 all the way up to 21. Two other breeds have also enjoyed a surge in ranking over the last ten years: the Havanese went from 86 to 31 and the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel from 54 to 23. "Bully" breeds such as the Bull Terrier and the Staffordshire Bull Terrier have also been steadily increasing in popularity over the past decade.

This year, the AKC-registered dog breeds with the biggest increase in ranking from last year are the Wirehaired Pointing Griffon (moving up from 108 to 93), the Greater Swiss Mountain Dog (from 101 to 88) and the Smooth Fox Terrier (from 123 to 110).

The American Kennel Club also reported another trend regarding its most popular dog lists. Large breed dogs like the Great Dane, Mastiff, Newfoundland, Bernese Mountain Dog and Greater Swiss Mountain Dog all saw significant jumps in registration numbers.

Most Popular New Breeds

The newest members of the AKC pack -- the three breeds entered into the AKC registry in 2010 -- all managed to rank in the top 100 on the most popular dog list. They are: the Leonberger (number 33), Cane Corso (51) and Icelandic Sheepdog (82).

On January 1, 2011, the American Kennel Club added three more dog breeds to its registry. The Xoloitzcuintli (shoh-loh-eets-KWEEN'-tlee) is an ancient Mexican breed that comes in three sizes and includes a hairless variety. The Norwegian Lundehund is a small and agile Spitz breed that originated on Norway's remote arctic islands, where it was used to help farmers retrieve live Puffin birds from steep cliffs. The Entlebucher Mountain Dog, a member of the herding group, has long been used by farmers in the Swiss Alps to move cows from one pasture to another.

The American Kennel Club's most popular dog list is highly anticipated each year, as dog lovers nationwide can't wait to see where their favorite breed ends up. Whether the Labrador Retriever can keep its title of most popular dog remains to be seen. Nevertheless, 20 years as Top Dog is certainly impressive.

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http://www.akc.org/reg/dogreg_stats.cfm