What is the 1st most popular dog?

20 Most Popular Dog Breeds of 2023 (with Pictures)

If you’re curious to know what the most popular breed of dog is, you’re in the right place! The statistics for registrations of purebred puppies with the American Kennel Club for last year have just been released. These give us a good indication of what the most popular breeds will be this year. Let’s find out which breeds take the top spots and which have started to fall out of favor.

The 20 Most Popular Dog Breeds:

1. Labrador Retriever

The ever-popular Labrador Retriever holds onto the top spot for the 30 th year! That’s an amazing achievement, though not a surprising one for a lovable and enthusiastic breed like the Labrador. This breed has plenty of energy, loves to spend time with their families, and has an incredibly kind nature. Labrador Retrievers are extremely intelligent and love the challenge of training sessions. They need an active home where they have plenty of opportunities to play and run off steam.

2. French Bulldog

The French Bulldog has gained popularity in recent years and jumped two places higher than last year. It’s unlikely that they’ll overtake the Labrador, but they’re the most popular small breed by quite a margin. French Bulldogs have an adorable personality combined with low to moderate exercise requirements. They’re a great choice for urban living. French Bulldogs are expensive, though, and have a few health issues that owners should read up on before taking the plunge.

3. German Shepherd Dog

The German Shepherd Dog has slipped down the rankings two places since 2019, but they have a strong following of loyal fans nevertheless. This breed has an exceptional work ethic and is prized as a working breed. They also make exceptional family pets, although they can be quite disinterested in strangers and visitors whom they don’t know well. This active breed needs plenty of exercise and opportunities for mental stimulation.

4. Golden Retriever

The Golden Retriever consistently ranks as one of the most popular dog breeds and for good reason! These adorable dogs are affectionate and loyal but can also be focused and serious when working. They have a cheerful disposition and are always happy and eager to please their owners. That happy-go-lucky exterior masks a fierce intelligence and a strong work ethic, which makes them the go-to choice as guide dogs and the perfect family companion.

5. Bulldog

The chunky Bulldog has a look all of their own, with their muscular, low-slung bodies and cheerful, broad smile. Despite their tough-looking exterior, this breed loves nothing more than to try to snuggle into their owner’s lap! They can easily put on weight, so they need a moderate amount of exercise. Care needs to be taken during the warmer months because their short muzzle means they can easily overheat. Bulldogs are not strong swimmers and should never be left unsupervised around water.

6. Poodle

The Poodle can be found in three different sizes: Standard, Miniature, and Toy. The listed size and weights are for the Standard variety. All Poodles are incredibly smart, athletic, and trainable. They once had a reputation as a delicate city dog, but nothing could be further from the truth. If you’re looking for an active companion for outdoor adventures, they’re a great choice. Also, the breed has resulted in many popular mixed breeds, like the Labradoodle, Cockapoo, and Goldendoodle.

7. Beagle

The Beagle is incredibly loyal, but they also have an independent streak that you’ll see whenever they catch the scent of something interesting. This is a cheerful and happy breed that never fails to make their owners smile. They adore company, which given their history as a pack dog, is not surprising. Beagles are an active breed, but they shouldn’t be let off-leash or they may run off. Their love of following scents is so strong, they will frequently try to jump fences or burrow underneath them to follow that trail.

8. Rottweiler

The muscular and strong Rottweilers are incredibly gentle and loyal around their families, but they don’t share this same part of their character with strangers. They can be a little aloof around people they don’t know, but they won’t hold back from letting their loved ones know how much they adore them. Rottweilers have plenty of energy, which combined with their intelligence, means they need a home where they get plenty of mental and physical exercise on a regular basis.

9. German Shorthaired Pointer

The noble and enthusiastic German Shorthaired Pointer (GSP) loves any activity that allows them to spend time in the great outdoors. They’re an enthusiastic and noble breed and are equally at home at gundog trials as they are on an all-day hike. The intelligence of the GSP makes them a rewarding training partner, and whatever you want to teach them, they’ll be enthusiastic and committed to giving it their all.

10. Dachshund

The instantly recognizable Dachshund comes in two sizes and three coat types. Whatever size or coat they have, you’ll never mistake them for another breed! This breed might be small, but they love to keep an active eye on whatever is happening in their neighborhood. Sometimes they can be a bit too enthusiastic. Given their history as a breed designed to take on fierce prey like badgers, this isn’t too surprising. These little dogs are independent, intelligent, and incredibly endearing.

That’s a brief rundown of the breeds in the top 10. If you’re wondering about what breeds come next, here they are!

Labrador Tops Most Popular Dog Breed List for 29th Year in a Row

Popularity contests might seem catty, but we humans will do just about anything to promote our pooches. For the 29th year in a row, the Labrador retriever has emerged victorious as America’s number one breed, according to a list released by the American Kennel Club (AKC) on May 1.

Other sought-after canines include German shepherds, golden retrievers, French bulldogs and bulldogs, which nabbed spots two through five, respectively—a ranking identical to last year’s. But as the AKC notes in a statement, some preferences have shifted: 2019 marks the first year in which the Pembroke Welsh corgi broke the top ten, scooting just ahead of the dachshund. (The move also unseated the former tenth place honoree, the Yorkshire terrier, which now finds itself lurking at number 12.) In last place was the English foxhound, a stout, medium-sized dog bred for hunting.

The results were tallied based on the 1.4 million puppies registered by the AKC in 2019. Since the organization only recognizes 193 “official” purebred dogs, mixed-breed pets—including labradoodles (a Labrador crossed with a poodle), Yorkipoos (a Yorkshire terrier-poodle mix), puggles (the product of a beagle-pug union) and other cutesy portmanteaued pups—failed to make the cut. Crucially, these canines represent at least half of all pet dogs in the United States, reports Alicia Lee for CNN.

The Labrador retriever’s commanding, unwavering lead at the front of the purebred pack isn’t that surprising, Brandi Hunter, the AKC’s vice president of public relations and communications, tells CNN.

“Labs are an all-around dog,” she says. “They’re great for families that have kids, but also if you have a really active lifestyle and like to hike.”

Smart, athletic and friendly, these popular pups first appeared in the country’s top ten list in the 1970s. They’ve stayed there ever since, according to the AKC. If the breed’s popularity holds through the rest of 2020, Labs will be able to claim a three-decade streak in the number one slot.

“This is a do-everything breed that needs to be with its humans,” Erin Henlon-Hall, a Labrador retriever breeder from Villa Ridge, Missouri, says in the AKC statement. “It personifies the definition of versatility—hunting, showing, family, dock diving, tracking, obedience. It’s as American as baseball, hot dogs and apple pie.”

Still, the human-Labrador retriever bond certainly isn’t United-States specific: One of Vladimir Putin’s most famous companions was Konni, a black Lab who spent 15 years at the Russian leader’s side, attending staff meetings and greeting visiting diplomats.

The corgi’s newfound edge, on the other paw, is perhaps less intuitive. A relatively obscure breed throughout the 20th century, the waddly, tailless, fox-eared breed ’s new fame as a social media star has likely driven its success, Hunter tells CNN.

Molly, aka the Thing of Evil, tries to convince me she is a Thing of Good. I am not persuaded. pic.twitter.com/7JQcbhtjrS

— Stephen King (@StephenKing) June 26, 2015

Among the internet’s most recognizable corgis are the beloved pets of England’s Elizabeth II, who fell in love with the canines at a young age, around the time her father, George VI, brought home a dog named Dookie in 1933, according to Mental Floss’ Suzanne Raga. The monarch’s passion for the pups was highlighted in the television series “The Crown,” winning the breed even more prime time exposure.

Non-royals, too, have championed their corgis with the help of the world wide web. Some of the squat canines, like Ralph the Corgi, have their own Instagrams, updating followers regularly with shots of their slobbery smiles. Others simply make regular appearances on their humans’ social media accounts: Stephen King’s dog, Molly, for instance, features prominently on the author’s Twitter feed. Corgis even have close ties with Amazon, which once claimed a dog named Rufus as its original mascot, honoring the beloved pooch of its former editor-in-chief and principal engineer. (The breed is also a surprisingly good dancer.)

Of course, the hype around corgis isn’t just online, Hunter tells CNN.

“They are a lot of dog in a little package,” she says. “They’re very adaptable, very smart and people tend to really fall in love with them.”

After all, with that face, how could you not?

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Katherine J. Wu is a Boston-based science journalist and Story Collider senior producer whose work has appeared in National Geographic, Undark magazine, Popular Science and more. She holds a Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunobiology from Harvard University, and was Smithsonian magazine’s 2018 AAAS Mass Media Fellow.