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Top Dog Breeds of 2005

For the 16th 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 second-most favorite – the golden retriever.

For 2005, one new breed joined the top 10 list and one got bumped off. The Miniature Schnauzer came in at #10 (#11 last year) displacing the Chihuahua into the #11 position (#10 last year). Additionally, 3 breeds changed position. The Yorkshire terrier jumped from #5 to #3 beating out the German Shepherd and Beagle. The German Shepherd fell from #3 to #4 and Beagle fell from #4 to #5.

In the top 10, only two breeds increased in overall numbers, that being the Yorkshire terrier and the miniature schnauzer. All other breeds on the top 10 list had a decline in overall numbers.

There are 157 AKC breeds totaling 920,804 registrations in 2005. This is down 4% from 2004 when registrations totaled 958,641.

The Top 10 Breeds of 2005 are:

1. Labrador retrievers 137,967
2. Golden retrievers 48,509
3. Yorkshire terriers 47,238
4. German shepherds 45,014
5. Beagles 42,592
6. Dachshunds 38,566
7. Boxers 37,268
8. Poodles 31,638
9. Shih Tzus 28,087
10. Miniature Schnauzer 24,144

At the other end of the spectrum, the English foxhound is again the least-registered purebred dog with 22 registrations followed by the Harrier with 42, The Otterhound with 44, the American Foxhound with 48, and Glen of Imaal Terrier with 51 registrations.

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 2005 AKC Dog Registrations

Rank Breed

1 Retrievers (Labrador)
2 Retrievers (Golden)
3 Yorkshire Terriers
4 German Shepherd Dogs
5 Beagles
6 Dachshunds
7 Boxers
8 Poodles
9 Shih Tzu
10 Miniature Schnauzers
11 Chihuahuas
12 Pugs
13 Bulldogs
14 Pomeranians
15 Spaniels (Cocker)
16 Rottweilers
17 Boston Terriers
18 Shetland Sheepdogs
19 Maltese
20 Pointers (German Shorthaired)
21 Doberman Pinschers
22 Miniature Pinschers
23 Welsh Corgis (Pembroke)
24 Great Danes
25 Siberian Huskies
26 Bichons Frises
27 Basset Hounds
28 Spaniels (English Springer)
29 Weimaraners
30 Brittanys
31 Cavalier King Charles Spaniels
32 West Highland White Terriers
33 Mastiffs
34 Australian Shepherds
35 Papillons
36 Collies
37 St. Bernards
38 French Bulldogs
39 Lhasa Apsos
40 Scottish Terriers
41 Cairn Terriers
42 Bullmastiffs
43 Havanese
44 Vizslas
45 Chinese Shar-Pei
46 Newfoundlands
47 Bernese Mountain Dogs
48 Pekingese
49 Retrievers (Chesapeake Bay)
50 Bloodhounds
51 Akitas
52 Airedale Terriers
53 Chinese Crested
54 Rhodesian Ridgebacks
55 Border Collies
56 Italian Greyhounds
57 Great Pyrenees
58 Alaskan Malamutes
59 Soft Coated Wheaten Terriers
60 Brussels Griffons
61 Whippets
62 Bull Terriers
63 American Staffordshire Terriers
64 Chow Chows
65 Silky Terriers
66 Shiba Inu
67 Setters (Irish)
68 Japanese Chin
69 Old English Sheepdogs
70 Australian Cattle Dogs
71 Portuguese Water Dogs
72 Parson Russell Terriers
73 Pointers (German Wirehaired)
74 Spaniels (English Cocker)
75 Samoyeds
76 Fox Terriers (Wire)
77 Dalmatians
78 Giant Schnauzers
79 Welsh Corgis (Cardigan)
80 Schipperkes
81 Basenjis
82 Border Terriers
83 Irish Wolfhounds
84 Staffordshire Bull Terriers
85 Bouviers des Flandres
86 Setters (Gordon)
87 Belgian Malinois
88 Toy Fox Terriers
89 Norwich Terriers
90 Welsh Terriers
91 Keeshonden
92 Greater Swiss Mountain Dogs
93 Tibetan Terriers
94 Borzois
95 Afghan Hounds
96 Norwegian Elkhounds
97 Setters (English)
98 Retrievers (Flat-Coated)
99 Standard Schnauzers
100 Belgian Tervuren
101 Bearded Collies
102 Tibetan Spaniels
103 Fox Terriers (Smooth)
104 Manchester Terriers
105 Kerry Blue Terriers
106 Plotts
107 Australian Terriers
108 American Eskimo Dogs
109 Wirehaired Pointing Griffons
110 Pointers
111 Belgian Sheepdogs
112 Norfolk Terriers
113 Retrievers (Nova Scotia Duck Tolling)
114 Anatolian Shepherds
115 Spinoni Italiani
116 Neapolitan Mastiffs
117 Irish Terriers
118 Petits Bassets Griffons Vendeens
119 Salukis
120 Bedlington Terriers
121 Briards
122 Spaniels (Clumber)
123 English Toy Spaniels
124 Spaniels (Welsh Springer)
125 Affenpinschers
126 Miniature Bull Terriers
127 Scottish Deerhounds
128 Spaniels (American Water)
129 Lakeland Terriers
130 Retrievers (Curly-Coated)
131 Black and Tan Coonhounds
132 Pulik
133 Ibizan Hounds
134 Greyhounds
135 Spaniels (Field)
136 Spaniels (Irish Water)
137 Kuvaszok
138 Polish Lowland Sheepdogs
139 Lowchen
140 Pharaoh Hounds
141 Black Russian Terriers
142 German Pinschers
143 Spaniels (Sussex)
144 Skye Terriers
145 Komondorok
146 Sealyham Terriers
147 Canaan Dogs
148 Finnish Spitz
149 Dandie Dinmont Terriers
150 Glen of Imaal Terriers
151 Foxhounds (American)
152 Otterhounds
153 Harriers
154 Foxhounds (English)

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