But make room for poodles. They’re em-barking on a comeback, according to figures released last week.
The 2021 American Kennel Club rankings, drawn from more than 800,000 purebred puppies and older dogs, contained a predictable top finisher but also revealed new trends.
America’s top dog from 1960 to 1982 was the poodle, but these cute animals dropped out of the top 5 in 1997. This year, they made it back at No. 5, following Labrador retrievers, French bulldogs, golden retrievers and German shepherds.
The standard, miniature and toy sizes of the poodle all count as one breed. Kennel Club rankings do not recognize several hybrid dogs that represent mixes of popular breeds, such as the poodle and the Labrador retriever.
The Labrador retriever’s 31-year dominance at No. 1 is a record for the 138-year-old American Kennel Club, which serves as a registry for purebred dog pedigrees in the United States. The organization is perhaps more well-known for sanctioning canine shows and events such as the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show.
As poodles have rallied, the AKC rankings show the bulldog came in at No. 6 to lose its top-5 place for the first time since 2011. On the other hand, the French bulldog has risen from No. 71 in 2000 to second place.
After the bulldog at No. 6, the top 10 was rounded out with the beagle, rottweiler, German shorthaired pointer and dachshund.
Is your own favorite absent from the top 10? Doesn’t matter if you love your canine companion. For the curious, the Pembroke Welsh corgi, Australian shepherd, Yorkshire terrier and boxer just missed the top 10.
The great Dane (17), Siberian husky (19), shih tzu (22), Boston terrier (23), pomeranian (24) and Chihuahua (37) also show up in the rankings. The full rankings can be found on the AKC website here. It lists 197 breeds.
Coming in at No. 197 was the Norwegian lundehund, but it’s safe to say Norwegian lundehund owners and Labrador retriever owners share a common bond: they each consider their dog No. 1 in their hearts and a “person’s best friend.” !
