NEW YORK — The U.S. still has a major case of French bulldog fever, but a very different breed is staunchly chasing dog lovers’ hearts, according to American Kennel Club statistics released Wednesday.
For the third year in a row, the comical, controversial Frenchie tops the club’s annual rundown of the nation’s most prevalent purebred dogs.
Frenchies are followed by Labrador retrievers, golden retrievers, German shepherds, poodles and some other longtime faves. (Rounding out the top 10: dachshunds, beagles, Rottweilers, bulldogs and German shorthaired pointers.)
Yet keep an eye on the cane corso. The powerful, protective breed vaulted from nearly 50th to 14th in the rankings in just a decade.
Popularity is seen as a mixed blessing among dog breeders and as an outright scourge by their critics. Some animal welfare activists say the AKC rankings drive fads that fuel puppy mills. The AKC says the list documents, not promotes, dog-ownership trends, and the nonprofit club notes that it conducts thousands of breeder and pet store inspections per year.
Amid the arguments, there’s no disputing that there are plenty of lovable dogs in the nation’s animal shelters.
Here’s a look at the trends and what they mean.
The Frenchie phenomenon
The AKC ranking reflects purebreds, mostly puppies, that were added last year to the nation’s oldest dog registry. Nearly 74,500 were Frenchies.
That’s down from 98,500 in 2023 and 108,000 in 2022, but the AKC isn’t saying that the wave has crested. Registration is voluntary, and spokesperson Brandi Hunter Munden notes that the numbers can fluctuate year-to-year.
The small, pointy-eared bulldog breed with a big personality is still way ahead of the once-dominant Lab, which logged 58,500 new registrations last year.
French bulldogs have existed in the U.S. since at least the 19th century, but they’ve been on a tear in the 21st, fueled partly by celebrity owners and social media.
“They are fabulous companions,” the AKC’s Gina DiNardo said.
Frenchie folk praise the dogs’ modest grooming and exercise needs, generally confident and friendly demeanor and, of course, those smushy mugs that fans find irresistible — but critics call irresponsible. There can be health problems associated with squished faces and other features, and both detractors and devotees lament that the breed has become too hyped for its own good, attracting unprincipled breeders, unprepared owners and sometimes violent thieves.
The can-do cane corso
If a Frenchie is sometimes described as “a clown in the cloak of a philosopher,” a cane corso is a protector with no use for a cloak.
Big, strong and athletic, the cane corso (pronounced KAH’-neh KOHR’-so) served as a Roman war dog and later a farmer’s helper, boar hunter and household guardian.
Today’s cane corsi (the proper plural) are prized as loyal, rather august companions and adept dog-sports competitors. But breeders worry that social media is spreading misconceptions about the dogs, which they say are not suitable for everyone.
Breeder Vickie Venzen insists that would-be puppy buyers visit her Maryland home, where she introduces them first to an outgoing, easygoing corso and explains that such a temperament isn’t standard for the breed.
Then she will bring out a corso with a classic and desirable demeanor: likely to greet an invited visitor peacefully, but without tail-wagging effusiveness. After its greeting, the dog may walk off and watch with cool vigilance.
Next comes one of her “hard dogs”: one that’s a bit too quick to display its protective instincts.
The point is to show the spectrum of corsi temperaments and make clear that they’re neither lapdogs that just look tough nor rough-and-tumble creatures that can be left outside to guard. They’re very sensitive to their families, Venzen said.
“They’re very good dogs, and they’re very versatile, and they can be taught a lot,” said Venzen, who was delighted to learn recently that a dog she bred mastered paddleboarding. “But you can’t be so foolish as to think you can put it in any situation and the dog will understand.”
New dogs
The newest breed to be counted, the Lancashire heeler, came in at 189th out of AKC’s 201 recognized breeds last year.
The next-newest, the bracco Italiano, sprang last year from 152nd to 132nd, and some longtime aficionados already are concerned about its trajectory, said owner Deb Pereira of North Stonington, Connecticut. She stresses that the substantial, handsome and sociable hunting dogs need a good deal of physical and mental exercise. Quite a few still hunt; Pereira’s bracco, Elvira, is an agility champion, and her daily walks cover about four miles (6.5 kilometers).
Few dogs
The five rarest AKC-recognized breeds are the sloughi, the Norwegian lundehund, the grand basset griffon Vendéen, the Bergamasco sheepdog and, at 201st, the English foxhound.
Doodle doings
To date, the AKC hasn’t recognized any sheepadoodles, Havapoos, borgis or other “designer” hybrids. The club said it has gotten some inquiries, but no doodle or other designer breed fanciers have formally begun the often yearslong process of seeking recognition.
And about the everydogs …
There’s no census of everyday mixed-breed dogs in the U.S., but the American Veterinary Medical Association estimates the country has about 90 million dogs — purebreds, designer mixes and others.
After animal shelters cleared out during COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns and then filled to overflowing, last year’s data from advocacy groups Shelter Animals Count and Best Friends Animal Society differ as to whether dog arrivals and adoptions rose or fell and by how much. That’s not inexplicable, as the two groups count different sets of organizations.
But both emphasize that purebreds and mixed-breeds come up for adoption.
“Really, if you find it in your heart to rescue or adopt a pet, that’s the way to go,” Best Friends Animal Society CEO Julie Castle said.
