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Top Dog Breeds of 2004Labrador Retriever Defends Title Again!
Petplace.netscape ^ | 2-26-2005

Posted on 02/26/2005 12:42:26 PM PST by Cagey

For the 15th year in a row, the Labrador retriever is America’s favorite purebred, 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 2004, all the same breeds made the top 10, but four breeds switched positions. The German shepherd moved into third place, switching positions with the Beagle, and the Yorkshire terriers moved into fifth place, taking the Dachshund’s spot.

The Top 10 Breeds of 2004 are:

1. Labrador retrievers 149,692
2. Golden retrievers 52,550
3. German shepherds 46,046
4. Beagles 44,555
5. Yorkshire terriers 43,522
6. Dachshunds 40,770 7. Boxers 37,741
8. Poodles 32,671
9. Shih Tzus 28,958
10. Chihuahuas 24,850

At the other end of the spectrum, the English foxhound is again the least-registered purebred dog with 17 registrations followed by the otterhound 23, American Foxhound 42, Sussex Spaniel 45 and Harrier with 53 registrations.

Top Dogs in England

The United Kennel Club (UKC) also released their national statistics recently, which show that the Labrador Retriever also reigns in England. The lab is followed by the Cocker Spaniel and the English Springer Spaniel.

The top 10 dogs in England are:

1. Labrador Retriever
2. Cocker Spaniel (English)
3. English Springer Spaniel
4. German Shepherd Dog
5. Staffordshire Bull Terrier
6. Cavalier King Charles Spaniel
7. Golden Retriever
8. West Highland White Terrier
9. Boxer
10. Border Terrier

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:

# Sporting – e.g. Labrador retriever
# Hound – e.g. beagle
# Working – e.g. boxers
# Terrier – e.g. miniature schnauzer
# Toy – e.g. Yorkshire terrier
# Non-sporting – e.g. poodles
# Herding – e.g. German shepherd

In 2004, the AKC registered 153 different breeds, including the newly recognized Black Russian Terrier, Glen of Imaal Terrier and Neapolitan Mastiff, for a total of nearly one million dogs (958,272) and 437,437 litters.


TOPICS: Pets/Animals
KEYWORDS: doggieping; pageant; workingdogs
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To: AnAmericanMother

I have a diagram in my old Labrador book that gets into ratios of puppies of each color you can expect from each combination, but bad things happened when I tried to scan it, so I'm not going to try again... I think we've already given more than they wanted to know ;~D


61 posted on 02/26/2005 5:38:37 PM PST by HairOfTheDog (It is no bad thing to celebrate a simple life!)
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To: HairOfTheDog

You're probably right. :-D That article I linked to made my eyes roll back in my head.


62 posted on 02/26/2005 6:12:41 PM PST by AnAmericanMother (. . . Ministrix of ye Chace (recess appointment), TTGC Ladies' Auxiliary . . .)
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To: Cagey

Happiness is a Labrador Puppy This is Tide


Tide Poppa: Bart

Good Hunting... from Varmint Al

63 posted on 02/26/2005 7:19:34 PM PST by Varmint Al
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To: Varmint Al

That is way too precious!

I wish we could have known Bubba as a puppy, but we didn't feel we could cope with a puppy and got Bubba when he was two.

Little did we know!!! ha.


64 posted on 02/26/2005 8:19:45 PM PST by altura (tolerance is an overrated virtue.)
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To: AnAmericanMother; altura; Argh; xsmommy

Thanks, all of you; Sorry to run out like that! I think I'll go ahead and add Labrador to my list. As a previous poster mentioned, there are tons of them at the pound, so I'm sure we could find a smallish one that would suit our family. That might be easier than going through a rescue, anyway. :'P


65 posted on 02/26/2005 8:45:36 PM PST by LongElegantLegs (Please be nice; I'm a n00b)
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To: LongElegantLegs
Not sure where you are in Texas, but I would look at your local Labrador Rescue before I went to the pound.

A lot of "Labs" at the pound are mixes, and you don't know with what. The Rescue dogs are vetted and fostered with families, so at least you know what you're getting. They also are treated if they have heartworm, etc.

DFW Lab Rescue

Southeast Texas Lab Rescue

Labrador Retriever Rescue of North Texas

66 posted on 02/26/2005 9:34:17 PM PST by AnAmericanMother (. . . Ministrix of ye Chace (recess appointment), TTGC Ladies' Auxiliary . . .)
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To: AnAmericanMother

Thanks so much for the links; I''ll check those out now.


67 posted on 02/26/2005 10:04:37 PM PST by LongElegantLegs (Please be nice; I'm a n00b)
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To: Cagey

68 posted on 02/26/2005 10:08:55 PM PST by Dashing Dasher (We were used to doing whatever we could dream. - Fay Gillis Wells)
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To: AngrySpud
"If beagles are so popular at #4, where the heck are they? In my 50 years I don't think I've seen more than half a dozen."

Characteristically, Beagles the world over will run away if given a chance. Where to, no one knows...

There's your answer ;-)

69 posted on 02/26/2005 10:14:07 PM PST by F16Fighter
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To: Varmint Al
Bart is some dog. Checked out your page - he sure can do it all! What size is he?

Is little Tide a boy? Going to be a big one, judging from the size of those feet!

70 posted on 02/27/2005 6:04:58 AM PST by AnAmericanMother (. . . Ministrix of ye Chace (recess appointment), TTGC Ladies' Auxiliary . . .)
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To: LongElegantLegs

My Granddaughter and male Blue Heeler, and Black Lab. Both excellent dogs around kids. The Heeler is a pain in the butt around the horses, but otherwise a good dog. The Lab is a purebred was a rescue at one year of age. He was a good bargain. $85 and he was neutered, all shots and a year worth of heart worm pills.

71 posted on 02/27/2005 7:31:20 AM PST by MissTargets
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To: HairOfTheDog; AnAmericanMother

Thank you both for the excellent information. Another mystery of life has been explained.


72 posted on 02/27/2005 9:23:54 AM PST by Cagey
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To: AnAmericanMother; LongElegantLegs
Not sure where you are in Texas, but I would look at your local Labrador Rescue before I went to the pound. A lot of "Labs" at the pound are mixes, and you don't know with what. The Rescue dogs are vetted and fostered with families, so at least you know what you're getting. They also are treated if they have heartworm, etc.

In defense of the pound dog: yes, many are mixes, but many of those mixes are very kind, trainable, and lead longer lives than our purebred dogs.

If you have your heart set on a particular look, then breed rescue is the way to go. But the mutts at the pound face death if people don't save them, and there are many hearts there worthy of a good home. It may be the size and shape you are looking for, or you could find yourself looking into the eyes of a shaggy dog you never would have predicted you'd fall in love with. I love a big dog, but one of my rescued mutts, Zulu, a cocker mix, was my soul-mate and a dog in a class by herself. Good dogs have many shapes, and are good despite their less-than-accredited breeding.

I am a fan of the purebred dog, don't get me wrong. I used to compete and hunt with a purebred lab. But most people aren't interested in competing or hunting or promoting the improvement of the labrador breed, they just want a pet. Mutts make great pets.

Two mutts and a pedigree:


73 posted on 02/27/2005 10:19:19 AM PST by HairOfTheDog (It is no bad thing to celebrate a simple life!)
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To: Cagey

I was suprised to see the smaller cousin of the American Pit Bull Terrier/Amstaff as #5 in UK.


74 posted on 02/27/2005 10:23:34 AM PST by dervish (Europe should pay for NATO)
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To: HairOfTheDog; LongElegantLegs
My hat's off to you for adopting from the pound.

As a novice dog owner, I went with the sure thing. Now that I have a little more confidence, I think I could handle a pound "Lab mix", even if he or she had some quirks. But I am really holding out for another dog from the same or similar breeding as Shelley - a little quick Lab.

The thing that struck me about the Texas rescue sites is that they were doing the hip dysplasia surgery on quite a number of the Labs. Last time I checked, that was $3,000 per hip (and it's probably more now). I guess they have vets who donate their services, because a couple of those could break a small rescue organization . . .

75 posted on 02/27/2005 10:46:03 AM PST by AnAmericanMother (. . . Ministrix of ye Chace (recess appointment), TTGC Ladies' Auxiliary . . .)
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To: AnAmericanMother

I donate as much as I can the DFW lab rescue every year, but I could do it for ten years and still not repay how much they spent on Bubba.

On the surface, he looked like a perfect dog. He was purchased from a good breeder in Oklahoma and hadn't been a stray. His owner had died.

HOWEVER, the owner's son had taken Bubba and seriously neglected him. When we got him he had: heartworms, several other varieties of intestinal worms, canine acne, had not been neutered, serious ear infections...

and hardest of all to deal with was separation anxiety. We couldn't even leave him for a couple of months without one of us being with him.

All is fine now, though, and he is a great joy. DFW paid for most of the treatment. He is still on clomicalm, but I get the generic off the net...it's not too expensive.

they charge $200, but they easily spent over a thousand on Bubba.


76 posted on 02/27/2005 12:53:24 PM PST by altura (tolerance is an overrated virtue.)
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To: Cagey

GS are hugely popular at shows and always have been. Never mind all the working dogs there are (of course, most are not American types tho).

Add to this the non-registered dogs (yes, there are such things as purebred non-registered dogs!), and the totals are actually higher.

Also consider alot of German/Euro GS are here who are NEVER registered w/AKC - mostly undoubtedly the working dogs. Because that's abhorent to them. ;-)

GS are still very popular. I don't see them as much as Labs but I probably see them almost as much as Goldens overall (in real life, I mean). I see plenty ads in the classifieds when I bother to look. Besides mine, I've seen at least 2 different GS in my new neighborhood. Also, I've seen a real Collie (no, not a big Sheltie!)! Of course, we also have a big pot-bellied pig roaming around.....

It may depend on where you live.


77 posted on 02/28/2005 7:52:42 AM PST by the OlLine Rebel (Common sense is an uncommon virtue.)
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To: AngrySpud

You have to remember, these are AKC REGISTRATIONS. Most of those registered dogs are going to the shows. Show people can be quite a bit different from Joe Schmoe. Beagles are very popular on the show circuit.

And I haven't seen a whole lot of Beagles myself. But I have seen some - or at least obvious mixes.


78 posted on 02/28/2005 8:04:42 AM PST by the OlLine Rebel (Common sense is an uncommon virtue.)
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To: the OlLine Rebel; Cagey

I should also add, in my "old" neighborhood (my home all my life) just 5 min away and I only moved last year, there was also at least 1 other German Shepherd when I left.


79 posted on 02/28/2005 8:07:12 AM PST by the OlLine Rebel (Common sense is an uncommon virtue.)
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To: jocon307

Specifically, the Queen has Pembroke Welsh Corgis.

And I have seen Cardigans, but way in the past at shows.


80 posted on 02/28/2005 8:08:23 AM PST by the OlLine Rebel (Common sense is an uncommon virtue.)
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