Top Dog Breeds of 2004

For the 15th year in a row, the Labrador retriever is America’s favorite purebred, 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 second-most favorite – the golden retriever. For 2004, all the same breeds made the top 10, but four breeds switched positions. The German shepherd moved into third place, switching positions with the Beagle, and the Yorkshire terriers moved into fifth place, taking the Dachshund‘s spot.

The Top 10 Breeds of 2004 are:

1. Labrador retrievers 149,692
2. Golden retrievers 52,550
3. German shepherds 46,046
4. Beagles 44,555
5. Yorkshire terriers 43,522
6. Dachshunds 40,770
7. Boxers 37,741
8. Poodles 32,671
9. Shih Tzus 28,958
10. Chihuahuas 24,850

At the other end of the spectrum, the English foxhound is again the least-registered purebred dog with 17 registrations followed by the otterhound 23, American Foxhound 42, Sussex Spaniel 45 and Harrier with 53 registrations.

Top Dogs in England

The Kennel Club (KC) also released their national statistics recently, which show that the Labrador Retriever also reigns in England. The lab is followed by the Cocker Spaniel and the English Springer Spaniel.

The top 10 dogs in England are:

1. Labrador Retriever
2. Cocker Spaniel (English)
3. English Springer Spaniel
4. German Shepherd Dog
5. Staffordshire Bull Terrier
6. Cavalier King Charles Spaniel
7. Golden Retriever
8. West Highland White Terrier
9. Boxer
10. Border Terrier

AKC Categories

The 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
• In 2004, the AKC registered 153 different breeds, including the newly recognized Black Russian Terrier, Glen of Imaal Terrier and Neapolitan Mastiff, for a total of nearly one million dogs (958,272) and 437,437 litters.
• How Did YOUR Breed Score? Click here for the entire 2004 AKC ranking.

The Entire Ranking of 2004 AKC Dog Registrations

Rank Breeds 2004 Registration Numbers **

1. Retriever (Labrador) – 146,692
2. Retriever (Golden) – 52,550
3. German Shepherd Dog – 46,046
4. Beagle – 44,555
5. Yorkshire Terrier – 43,522
6. Dachshund – 40,770
7. Boxer – 37,741
8. Poodle – 32,671
9. Shih Tzu – 28,958
10. Chihuahua – 24,850
11. Miniature Schnauzer – 24,080
12. Pug – 23,152
13. Pomeranian – 21.269
14. Bulldog – 19,396
15. Spaniel (Cocker) – 18,553
16. Rottweiler – 17,498
17. Boston Terrier – 16,464
18. Shetland Sheepdog – 15,605
19. Maltese -13,683
20. Pointer (German Shorthaired) – 12,799
21. Miniature Pinscher – 12,697
22. Doberman Pinscher – 11,724
23. Welsh Corgi (Pembroke) – 11,230
24. Siberian Husky – 10,566
25. Basset Hound – 9,814
26. Bichon Frise – 9,796
27. Great Dane – 9,507
28. Spaniel (English Springer) – 9,376
29. Weimaraner – 9,010
30. Brittany – 8,152
31. West Highland White Terrier – 7,744
32. Cavalier King Charles Spaniel – 7,097
33. Mastiff – 6,440
34. Australian Shepherd – 6,116
35. Papillon – 6,019
36. Collie – 5,485
37. Saint Bernard – 4,490
38. Pekingese – 4,335
39. Lhasa Apso – 4,316
40. Neapolitan Mastiffs* – 4,164
41. Chinese Shar-Pei – 3,924
42. Scottish Terrier – 3,853
43. Cairn Terrier – 3,750
44. Vizsla – 3,616
45. Newfoundland – 3,505
46. Retriever (Chesapeake Bay) – 3,454
47. Bullmastiff – 3,433
48. Bernese Mountain Dog – 3,430
49. French Bulldog – 3,377
50. Bloodhound – 3,113
51. Akita – 3,112
52. Havanese – 2,950
53. Airedale Terrier – 2,820
54. Italian Greyhound – 2,535
55. Rhodesian Ridgeback – 2,427
56. Great Pyrenees – 2,340
57. Chinese Crested – 2,314
58. Alaskan Malamute – 2,187
59. Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier – 2,148
60. Border Collie – 1,983
61. Chow Chow – 1,865
62. Whippet – 1,849
63. Brussels Griffon – 1,802
64. Setter (Irish) – 1,743
65. American Staffordshire Terrier – 1,723
66. Shiba Inu – 1,714
67. Japanese Chin – 1,580
68. Bull Terrier -1,548
69. Portuguese Water Dog – 1,535
70. Pointer (German Wirehaired) – 1,514
71. Silky Terrier – 1,503
72. Parson Russell Terrier – 1,502
73. Old English Sheepdog – 1,494
74. Australian Cattle Dog – 1,478
75. Spaniel (English Cocker) – 1,326
76. Samoyed – 1,309
77. Fox Terrier (Wire) – 1,205
78. Basenji – 1,181
79. Schipperke – 1,092
80. Dalmatian – 1,012
81. Giant Schnauzer – 1,012
82. Border Terrier – 983
83. Bouvier Des Flandres – 981
84. Irish Wolfhound – 980
85. Welsh Corgi (Cardigan) – 913
86. Afghan Hound – 854
87. Setter (Gordon) – 842
88. Welsh Terrier – 805
89. Borzoi – 794
90. Staffordshire Bull Terrier – 791
91. Keeshond – 764
92. Norwegian Elkhound – 738
93. Greater Swiss Mountain Dog – 704
94. Toy Fox Terrier – 702
95. Setter (English) – 700
96. Tibetan Terrier – 685
97. Belgian Malinois – 681
98. Black Russian Terriers* – 656
99. Norwich Terrier – 652
100. Retriever (Flat-Coated) – 611
101. Standard Schnauzer – 590
102. Bearded Collie – 559
103. Fox Terrier (Smooth) – 553
104. Glen of Imaal Terriers* – 534
105. Tibetan Spaniel – 534
106. Belgian Tervuren – 518
107. Pointer – 512
108. Kerry Blue Terrier – 488
109. Manchester Terrier – 473
110. American Eskimo Dog – 470
111. Australian Terrier – 435
112. Wirehaired Pointing Griffon – 370
113. Saluki – 364
114. Anatolian Shepherd – 357
115. Belgian Sheepdog – 346
116. Spinone Italiano – 336
117. Norfolk Terrier – 323
118. Retriever (Nova Scotia Duck Tolling) – 318
119. Spaniel (Welsh Springer) – 310
120. Affenpinscher – 289
121. Irish Terrier – 287
122. Petit Basset Griffon Vendeen – 286
123. Briard – 271
124. English Toy Spaniel – 264
125. Spaniel (Clumber) – 235
126. Lakeland Terrier – 221
127. Bedlington Terrier – 208
128. Kuvaszok – 177
129. Miniature Bull Terrier – 175
130. Retriever (Curly-Coated) – 171
131. Greyhound – 169
132. Spaniel (American Water) – 156
133. Polish Lowland Sheepdog – 153
134. Scottish Deerhound – 149
135. Lowchen – 144
136. Pulik – 130
137. Spaniel (Irish Water) – 127
138. Spaniel (Field) – 125
139. Pharaoh Hound – 120
140. Black And Tan Coonhound – 114
141. Ibizan Hound – 99
142. Canaan Dog – 85
143. German Pinscher – 84
144. Komondorok – 84
145. Plott Coonhound – 79
146. Sealyham Terrier – 76
147. Dandie Dinmont Terrier – 69
148. Finnish Spitz – 66
149. Skye Terrier – 63
150. Harrier – 53
151. Spaniel (Sussex) – 45
152. Foxhound (American) – 42
153. Otterhound – 23
154. Foxhound (English) – 17

* The registration numbers for the new breeds – Glen of Imaal Terrier, Black Russian Terrier and Neapolitan Mastiff – are higher than normal for one year because all eligible dogs from FSS (that were registered over a period of years) are transferred at one time when they become fully registrable by the AKC.

** Data from AKC website: http://www.akc.org/reg/dogreg\\_stats.cfm