Labrador is top dog again

LABRADORS reign supreme once more. New puppy-registration data from the Kennel Club (KC) shows that the faithful retriever is once again the country’s most beloved breed, regaining the crown it briefly lost to the French bulldog in 2018. Overall, however, native breeds are losing ground to more exotic ones.

Staffies, boxers and Border terriers —all of which ranked within the top 10 in 2009—have slid down the list, with Continental breeds such as dachshund and miniature Schnauzer climbing up the popularity ladder. Popular culture, celebrity ownership and current fashion trends all play a part, as does the increase in urban dog keeping, and the numbers of some native dogs, such as otterhounds, have fallen so low that they’re are at risk of disappearing. The KC’S Ciara Farrell comments: ‘We urge people to look beyond the popular and well-known ones and spend time researching the wide variety of breeds that we are lucky to have in this country.’ CP