Here are the most popular dog breeds of 2023, according to the AKC
AKC top dog: French Bulldog knocks off Labrador Retriever for most popular breed | LiveNOW from FOX
After three decades, the French Bulldog has beat out Labrador Retriever for the most popular dog breed, according to the AKC's rankings. Brandi Hunter Munden with the American Kennel Club joined LiveNOW's Lexie Petrovic to discuss the rise in interest in Frenchies.
French bulldogs, more affectionately known as "frenchies," have topped the list as the most popular dog breed in America for the second year in a row, according to the American Kennel Club.
The AKC released its 2023 dog breed rankings Wednesday, confirming that the frenchie has held its lead and toppled labrador retrievers’ 31-year-reign as the most popular dog in the U.S.
The AKC said 98,500 French bulldogs were registered last year, after a whopping 108,000 in 2022.
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"Part of the French Bulldog’s appeal is their playful, smart, and adaptable nature. They’re easy to bring anywhere, and great companions for a variety of lifestyles," AKC said on its website.
A 4 and a half-year-old French bulldog named Pier. French bulldogs were named the most popular dog breed in the US in 2023, according to the American Kennel Club (Photo by Omer Taha Cetin/Anadolu via Getty Images)
You’ll want to take these stats with a grain of salt: Registration is voluntary, the AKC releases few raw numbers, and the popularity rankings measure only the club's roughly 200 recognized breeds.
They don't include doodles, other deliberate hybrids or everyday mixed-breed dogs, though those can be registered as "all-American dogs" for such sports as agility and obedience.
Most popular dog breeds of 2023
Here are the top 20 most popular dog breeds in the U.S., according to the American Kennel Club.
- French Bulldog
- Labrador Retriever
- Golden Retriever
- German Shepherd Dog
- Poodle
- Dachshund
- Bulldog
- Beagle
- Rottweiler
- German Shorthaired Pointer
- Pembroke Welsh Corgi
- Australian Shepherd
- Yorkshire Terrier
- Cavalier King Charles Spaniel
- Doberman Pinscher
- Cane Corso
- Miniature Schnauzer
- Boxer
- Great Dane
- Shih Tzu
The AKC says there’s been some movement in the top 10 from 2022 to 2023. Dachshunds are up three spots, while rottweilers and bulldogs went down two spots and one spot, respectively.
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The beagle and German shorthaired pointer maintained their ranks year-over-year.
Less popular breeds that went up in the 2023 rankings include the papillion, the great pyrenees, the basenji and the Finnish lapphund.
Least popular dog breeds
A five year old Sloughi is introduced during the 2017 Westminster Kennel Club Meet The Breeds at Madison Square Garden on January 30, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Gary Gershoff/Getty Images)
The five least popular of the 200 AKC breeds were:
196. Azawakh
197. Grand Basset Griffon Vendéen
198. Norwegian Lundehund
199. English Foxhound
200. Sloughi
The Norwegian lundehund was the least popular breed in 2021, but it has since moved up in the ranks.