A dog’s life
In praise of British breeds
News this week from the Kennel Club, that the labrador retriever is no longer Britain’s most popular dog breed, ought to set alarm bells ringing. Labs occupied the top spot for nearly three decades before this week’s demotion.
The new canine kings are French bulldogs. These perky little incomers, bred in Normandy 150 years ago from miniature British bulldogs with a dash of terrier and pug, have seen their popularity rise in the past 10 years by more than 3,000per cent.
Celebrity endorsement has played a key role. Hugh Jackman, Leonardo Dicaprio, Gigi Hadid, Reese Witherspoon and the Beckhams are all French bulldog fanciers. Thanks to Twitter and Instagram, they share their doggy-love with the world.
For labrador breeders, it could be worse. Puppy registrations for the first quarter of the year suggest that about 30,000 labrador puppies will be registered with the Kennel Club by the end of 2018, a figure that could represent as little as 30per cent of the total number of puppies born, since the majority in the UK are not Kc-registered.
For now, labradors are safely in the dogs’ premier league. Their numbers certainly compare healthily with a rising number of British breeds in crisis.
It’s 15 years since the Kennel Club began to compile its list of vulnerable native breeds. These are breeds of British and Irish origin that register fewer than 300 puppies a year – that’s less than one per cent of the total number of recorded labrador and, now, French bulldog puppies.
Some of these dogs are genuinely rare. Most of us will never encounter a Glen of Imaal terrier, chunky, long-bodied little dogs with a resemblance to wire-haired Dachshunds. Last year, only 48 puppies were registered nationwide.
The Skye terrier, which looks like the more popular Yorkshire terrier in need of a haircut, managed 40. Meanwhile, the otterhound, which is, admittedly, a big dog unsuited to the average modern new-build with its napkin-size garden, registered a worrying 24 puppies across Britain.
Its population worldwide is now smaller than that of the giant panda. Yet while pandas are still the poster boys of the World Wide Fund for Nature, we appear unconcerned by the demise of these handsome, historic dogs, which love to swim and bark like the Hound of the Baskervilles.
Breed popularity has always fluctuated. In 1989, the Yorkshire terrier was the nation’s favourite. Today, it doesn’t make it into the top 20. Corgis enjoyed a boom period between the wars, mostly thanks to the Royal family.
These short-legged, big-eared, sturdy Welsh natives, once bred by farmers for rounding up cattle, appeared in Britain’s darkest hour as a symbol of national doughtiness: stubborn, determined, impervious to kicks and remarkably brave for their size. Today, they are thought of as a breed for elderly people, and the Cardigan Welsh corgi registered only 141 puppies in 2017, with Pembrokes faring only marginally better.
Nearly all the breeds on the Kennel Club’s list are working dogs, bred for a purpose. Irish water spaniels and curly coated retrievers are both gun dogs. Despite the continuing popularity of recreational shooting, both breeds appear in terminal decline. The Irish water spaniel was once described as “the all-round shooting man’s complete companion”. Now this lovely teddy bear of a dog is struggling to find friends, despite its willingness to please and a coat of tight ringlets suitable for many pet allergy sufferers.
In 2009, a Sealyham terrier won Best in Show at Crufts but, despite the international attention, last year fewer than 200 puppies were born in the UK. The Sealyham was a Victorian creation, bred from four strains of terrier with a dash of corgi, to keep down the population of rats, rabbits, foxes and badgers in farmyards and barns.
Bette Davis, Alfred Hitchcock, Agatha Christie and Princess Margaret all owned Sealyhams. Modern farms are still plagued by pests, but the Sealyham is languishing in a canine obscurity that could prove fatal.
Perhaps what’s most surprising about the dog breeds we’ve chosen to neglect is that few are as big as labradors, while most – including Norwich terriers, Sealyhams and Dandie Dinmonts – are small dogs with big personalities, and all the glamour of the French bulldog.
Changing fashions are inevitable. In the case of our vulnerable native breeds, as breed pools shrink, it could have serious consequences. This year may be a good year for French bulldogs.
For the 27 breeds identified as vulnerable, the future looks distinctly less rosy.