For the 17th year in a row, the Labrador retriever is once again America's favorite purebred dog, according to registration numbers tallied by the American Kennel Club. The AKC released the figures and, as in past years, the Labrador far outstrips the other dogs in the top 10.
PopularityAll breeds in the top 10 are the same as in 2005 but the order has changed. Two breeds climbed the chart. First is the Yorkshire Terrier. It is now the # 2 registered AKC dog climbing form # 3 last year. The year before (2004), the beloved Yorkie was #5. The
German Shepherd dog is now # 3, moving up from the #4 spot.
In 2006, the very popular
golden retriever got bumped from 2nd place down to 4th place being replaced by the Yorkshire Terrier!
Last year, in 2005, one new breed joined the top 10 list and one got bumped off. The Miniature Schnauzer came in at #10 displacing the Chihuahua into the #11 position. This year stats show the Miniature schnauzer still holding strong in the # 10 spot.
Large Vs. Small BreedsFour out of the top ten AKC registered breeds are large breed dogs! These include the Labrador retriever, German shepherd, golden retriever and Boxer. The rest are smaller breed dogs which includes the Yorkie, Beagle,
Dachshund,
Poodle,
Shih Tzu and Miniature Schnauzer.
The Top 10 Breeds of 2006 are:1.
Labrador retrievers 2.
Yorkshire terriers3.
German shepherds4.
Golden retrievers5.
Beagles 6.
Dachshunds 7.
Boxers 8.
Poodles 9.
Shih Tzus10.
Miniature Schnauzer 2006 Rank Comparison to 2005| 2006 Rank | Breed | 2005 Rank |
| 1 | Retrievers Labrador
| 1 |
| 2 | Yorkshire Terriers
| 3 |
| 3 | German Sheperd Dogs
| 4 |
| 4 | Retrievers Golden
| 2 |
| 5 | Beagles
| 5 |
| 6 | Dachshunds
| 6 |
| 7 | Boxers
| 7 |
| 8 | Poodles
| 8 |
| 9 | Shih Tzus
| 9 |
| 10 | Miniature Schnauzers
| 10 |
At the other end of the spectrum, the English foxhound is again the least-registered purebred dog followed by the Harrier, Glen of Imaal Terriers, Otterhounds and the American Foxhound.
AKC CategoriesThe AKC recognizes dogs in seven categories: sporting, hound, working, terrier, toy, non-sporting and herding. The largest breed registration in each group is as follows:
Sporting – e.g. Labrador retriever
Hound – e.g. beagle
Working – e.g. boxers
Terrier – e.g. miniature schnauzer
Toy – e.g. Yorkshire terrier
Non-sporting – e.g. poodles
Herding – e.g. German shepherd
How Did YOUR Breed Score? Go to Top Dog Breeds of 2006
