The Secret Of Breed Popularity

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158 – August, 2025

By Amy Fernandez

Even though this game is way too addicted to numbers and stats, we have never been able to crack the code of breed popularity. Experts have attempted to solve this mystery from the moment kennel clubs and dog shows turned it into a numbers game. Since 1870 (at least), everything has been viewed through the judgmental lens of annual stats. We can track the numbers easily enough, but no amount of statistical analysis has produced a rational explanation for the why. A breed will soar in popularity and ride that wave of public support for years, then—bang—dive into obscurity. For instance, there was a time when Skye Terriers were as common as Starbucks. Same story for Dandie Dinmonts and Sealyhams. Those days are long gone: in 2024 both Dandies and Sealys ended the year ranked 179 and 180 in the AKC’s annual registration report. No longer chartbusters—­but they’re still here, and that’s a win.

Say what you will about purebred culture, but this sport has ensured the viability of countless breeds rendered obsolete by shifting demographic trends. The Bulldog is the prime example. This icon of British fortitude was literally legislated out of existence in the 1830s. From a logical standpoint, there was no valid motive to perpetuate the Bulldog. Fortunately, Bulldog lovers march to their own tune. The breed was reinvented as a show dog and, despite constant AR criticism, consistently ranks in the top ten. In the U.S. it ended last year in ninth place. That improbable trajectory perfectly illustrates the mysteries of breed popularity.

A Bulldog offshoot, the French Bulldog may stand as an even more powerful example. The AKC initially registered Frenchies as Bulldogs, and the breed existed in stud book limbo for years while its classification was thrashed out in the boardroom and the press. Once sorted, the breed enjoyed a brief boom, but it didn’t last; the French Bulldog struggled for decades, surviving thanks to a handful of devotees like Amanda West. It’s hard to believe given the breed’s steady, unrelenting climb to the summit over the past decade. Last year marked its third year as America’s favorite breed. Explain that one.

Click here to read the complete article
158 – August, 2025

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