post image

Top Dog Breeds of 2006

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.

Popularity

All 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 Breeds

Four 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 terriers
3. German shepherds
4. Golden retrievers
5. Beagles
6. Dachshunds
7. Boxers
8. Poodles
9. Shih Tzus
10. 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 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:

The Entire Ranking of 2006 AKC Dog Registrations

Rank Breed

1. Retrievers (Labrador)
2. Yorkshire Terriers
3. German Shepherd Dogs
4. Retrievers (Golden)
5. Beagles
6. Dachshunds
7. Boxers
8. Poodles
9. Shih Tzu
10. Miniature Schnauzers
11. Chihuahuas
12. Bulldogs
13. Pugs
14. Pomeranians
15. Boston Terriers
16. Spaniels (Cocker)
17. Rottweilers
18. Maltese
19. Pointers (German Shorthaired)
20. Shetland Sheepdogs
21. Doberman Pinschers
22. Welsh Corgis (Pembroke)
23. Miniature Pinschers
24. Great Danes
25. Siberian Huskies
26. Spaniels (English Springer)
27. Cavalier King Charles Spaniels
28. Basset Hounds
29. Bichons Frises
30. Weimaraners
31. Brittanys
32. Mastiffs
33. West Highland White Terriers
34. Australian Shepherds
35. Papillons
36. French Bulldogs
37. Collies
38. Havanese
39. St. Bernards
40. Bullmastiffs
41. Bernese Mountain Dogs
42. Scottish Terriers

43. Vizslas
44. Newfoundlands
45. Bloodhounds
46. Lhasa Apsos
47. Chinese Shar-Pei
48. Cairn Terriers
49. Pekingese
50. Retrievers (Chesapeake Bay)
51. Tibetan Mastiff
52. Chinese Crested
53. Akitas
54. Rhodesian Ridgebacks
55. Airedale Terriers
56. Border Collies
57. Alaskan Malamutes
58. Great Pyrenees
59. Italian Greyhounds
60. Whippets
61. Bull Terriers
62. Soft Coated Wheaten Terriers
63. Brussels Griffons
64. Chow Chows
65. Shiba Inu
66. American Staffordshire Terriers
67. Australian Cattle Dogs
68. Setters (Irish)
69. Portuguese Water Dogs
70. Silky Terriers
71. Old English Sheepdogs
72. Japanese Chin
73. Pointers (German Wirehaired)
74. Spaniels (English Cocker)
75. Parson Russell Terriers

76. Samoyeds
77. Irish Wolfhounds
78. Fox Terriers (Wire)
79. Welsh Corgis (Cardigan)
80. Staffordshire Bull Terriers
81. Border Terriers
82. Schipperkes
83. Giant Schnauzers
84. Basenjis
85. Dalmatians
86. Bouviers des Flandres
87. Afghan Hounds
88. Setters (Gordon)
89. Toy Fox Terriers
90. Belgian Malinois
91. Welsh Terriers
92. Norwegian Elkhounds
93. Keeshonden
94. Norwich Terriers
95. Tibetan Terriers
96. Borzois
97. Greater Swiss Mountain Dogs
98. Setters (English)
99. Standard Schnauzers
100. Retrievers (Flat-Coated)
101. Tibetan Spaniels
102. Fox Terriers (Smooth)
103. Pointers
104. Bearded Collies
105. Wirehaired Pointing Griffons
106. Manchester Terriers
107. Belgian Tervuren
108. Plotts
109. American Eskimo Dogs
110. Retrievers (Nova Scotia Duck Tolling)
111. Anatolian Shepherds
112. Neapolitan Mastiffs
113. Australian Terriers
114. Kerry Blue Terriers
115. Norfolk Terriers

116. Salukis
117. Spinoni Italiani
118. Briards
119. Petit Basset Griffon Vendeen
120. English Toy Spaniels
121. Spaniels (Clumber)
122. Belgian Sheepdogs
123. Irish Terriers
124. Spaniels (Welsh Springer)
125. Affenpinschers
126. Spaniels (Field)
127. Lakeland Terriers
128. Bedlington Terriers
129. Miniature Bull Terriers
130. Kuvaszok
131. Black and Tan Coonhounds
132. Lowchen
133. Spaniels (American Water)
134. Black Russian Terriers
135. Scottish Deerhounds
136. Greyhounds
137. Retrievers (Curly-Coated)
138. Ibizan Hounds
139. Spaniels (Irish Water)
140. Pulik
141. Pharaoh Hounds
142. Polish Lowland Sheepdogs
143. German Pinschers
144. Dandie Dinmont Terriers
145. Spaniels (Sussex)
146. Skye Terriers
147. Finnish Spitz
148. Komondorok
149. Sealyham Terriers
150. Canaan Dogs
151. Foxhounds (American)
152. Otterhounds
153. Glen of Imaal Terriers
154. Harriers
155. Foxhounds (English)

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