{"id":12668,"date":"2024-03-20T12:41:49","date_gmt":"2024-03-20T12:41:49","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","slug":"French-bulldogs-remain-the-most-popular-US-breed-in-new-rankings-Many-fans-aren\u2019t-happy-54456050\/","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/?p=12668","title":{"rendered":"French bulldogs remain the most popular US breed in new rankings. Many fans aren\u2019t happy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"FILE
FILE – Winston, a French bulldog, competes in the non-sporting group competition during the 147th Westminster Kennel Club Dog show, Monday, May 8, 2023, in New York. Frenchies remained the United States’ most commonly registered purebred dogs last year, according to American Kennel Club rankings released Wednesday, March 20, 2024. After French bulldogs, the most common breeds registered were Labs, golden retrievers, German shepherds, poodles and others. (AP Photo\/Mary Altaffer, File)<\/figcaption><\/figure>
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FILE – Memo, a Labrador retriever, competes in the sporting group during the 142nd Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, at Madison Square Garden in New York, Feb. 13, 2018. Frenchies remained the United States’ most commonly registered purebred dogs last year, according to American Kennel Club rankings released Wednesday, March 20, 2024. After French bulldogs, the most common breeds registered were Labs, golden retrievers, German shepherds, poodles, and others. (AP Photo\/Mary…<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"FILE
FILE – Daniel, a golden retriever, wins the sporting group during 144th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, Feb. 11, 2020, in New York. Frenchies remained the United States’ most commonly registered purebred dogs last year, according to American Kennel Club rankings released Wednesday, March 20, 2024. After French bulldogs, the most common breeds registered were Labs, golden retrievers, German shepherds, poodles, and others. (AP Photo\/John Minchillo, File)<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"FILE
FILE – Lily, a miniature poodle, competes in the non-sporting group competition during the 147th Westminster Kennel Club Dog show, Monday, May 8, 2023, in New York. Frenchies remained the United States’ most commonly registered purebred dogs last year, according to American Kennel Club rankings released Wednesday, March 20, 2024. After French bulldogs, the most common breeds registered were Labs, golden retrievers, German shepherds, poodles, and others. (AP Photo\/Mary Altaffer, File)<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"FILE
FILE – A long-haired dachshund competes during the 140th Westminster Kennel Club dog show, Monday, Feb. 15, 2016, at Madison Square Garden in New York. Frenchies remained the United States’ most commonly registered purebred dogs last year, according to American Kennel Club rankings released Wednesday, March 20, 2024. After French bulldogs, the most common breeds registered were Labs, golden retrievers, German shepherds, and poodles. Then came dachshunds, bulldogs, beagles, and…<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"FILE
FILE – Star, a bulldog, competes in the non-sporting group competition during the 147th Westminster Kennel Club Dog show, Monday, May 8, 2023, in New York. Frenchies remained the United States’ most commonly registered purebred dogs last year, according to American Kennel Club rankings released Wednesday, March 20, 2024. After French bulldogs, the most common breeds registered were Labs, golden retrievers, German shepherds, and poodles. Then came dachshunds, bulldogs, beagles, and…<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"FILE
FILE – Miss P, a 15-inch beagle, competes at the Westminster Kennel Club dog show in New York, Feb. 17, 2015. Frenchies remained the United States’ most commonly registered purebred dogs last year, according to American Kennel Club rankings released Wednesday, March 20, 2024. After French bulldogs, the most common breeds registered were Labs, golden retrievers, German shepherds, and poodles. Then came dachshunds, bulldogs, beagles, and others. (AP Photo\/Mary Altaffer, File)<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"FILE
FILE – A Rottweiler competes at the 140th Westminster Kennel Club dog show at Madison Square Garden in New York, Feb. 16, 2016. Frenchies remained the United States’ most commonly registered purebred dogs last year, according to American Kennel Club rankings released Wednesday, March 20, 2024. After French bulldogs, the most common breeds registered were Labs, golden retrievers, German shepherds, poodles, and others, including Rottweilers and German shorthaired pointers. (AP…<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"FILE
FILE – A cane corso competes at the 140th Westminster Kennel Club dog show, Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2016, at Madison Square Garden in New York. French bulldogs remained the United States’ most commonly registered purebred dogs last year, according to American Kennel Club rankings released Wednesday, March 20, 2024. The cane corso is now 16th in the rankings. (AP Photo\/Mary Altaffer, File)<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"FILE
FILE – Toby, 5, left, and Izzy, 4, both sloughi dogs, are introduced at the 141st Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show press conference, Monday Jan. 30, 2017, in New York. French bulldogs remained the United States’ most commonly registered purebred dogs last year, according to American Kennel Club rankings released Wednesday, March 20, 2024. The sloughi was rarest among last year’s registrations. (AP Photo\/Bebeto Matthews, File)<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"FILE
FILE – CJ, a German shorthaired pointer, competes at the 140th Westminster Kennel Club dog show, Feb. 16, 2016, at Madison Square Garden, in New York. Frenchies remained the United States’ most commonly registered purebred dogs last year, according to American Kennel Club rankings released Wednesday, March 20, 2024. After French bulldogs, the most common breeds registered were Labs, golden retrievers, German shepherds, poodles, and others, including Rottweilers and German…<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"FILE
FILE – Lepshi, bracco Italiano, a competes in the sporting group competition during the 147th Westminster Kennel Club Dog show, Tuesday, May 9, 2023, in New York. French bulldogs remained the United States’ most commonly registered purebred dogs last year, according to American Kennel Club rankings released Wednesday, March 20, 2024. The bracco Italiano debuts in the standings at 152nd most popular. (AP Photo\/Mary Altaffer, File)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/figure>

NEW YORK\u00a0\u2014 French bulldogs. U.S. dog owners. C\u2019est l\u2019amour.<\/p>\n

Frenchies remained the United States\u2019 most commonly registered purebred dogs last year, according to American Kennel Club rankings released Wednesday. The club calls the Frenchie the most popular breed, though other canine constituencies may beg to differ.<\/p>\n

Is it a coup to be celebrated? Au contraire, say longtime fans who rue what popularity is doing to the breed. Nevertheless, after lapping Labrador retrievers to take the top spot in 2022, the bat-eared, scaled-down bulldogs held on in the new standings, which reflect puppies and other dogs that were added last year to the United States\u2019 oldest dog registry.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, dachshunds are at a nearly two-decade peak, the cane corso is making moves, and there\u2019s a new breed in the mix.<\/p>\n

Of course, purebreds are only part of the canine population in the U.S., where animal shelters faced an influx of all sorts of dogs last year. Here\u2019s a snapshot:<\/p>\n

Top\u00a010<\/h2>\n

After Frenchies, the most common breeds registered were Labs, golden retrievers, German shepherds and poodles. Then came dachshunds, bulldogs, beagles, Rottweilers and German shorthaired pointers.<\/p>\n

All were also in the top 10 in 2022. A decade ago, Yorkshire terriers and boxers were in the group. Go back a half-century, and the third most popular breed was the Irish setter \u2014 now 76th.<\/p>\n

Pooch preferences shift for reasons ranging from media exposure (social and otherwise) to changing lifestyles as more Americans have moved to cities.<\/p>\n

The statistics have limits. Registration is voluntary, the AKC releases few raw numbers, and the popularity rankings measure only the club\u2019s roughly 200 recognized breeds. They don\u2019t include doodles, other deliberate hybrids or everyday mixed-breed dogs, though those can be registered as \u201call-American dogs\u201d for such sports as agility and obedience.<\/p>\n

The Frenchie malaise<\/h2>\n

Nearly 98,500 French bulldogs joined the AKC pack last year, after a whopping 108,000 in 2022.<\/p>\n

The small, solidly built, push-faced dogs have a penchant for comically pensive expressions and often take city living in stride. \u201cThey\u2019re interesting little beings,\u201d says Naneice Bucci, who has owned and shown them for decades.<\/p>\n

The breed is now are a lightning rod for canine controversy and cultural critique.<\/p>\n

There are the foreshortened snouts that can result in labored breathing, gagging, difficulty with exercise and other ills \u2014 concerns that prompted the Netherlands to ban breeding certain individual dogs with muzzles deemed too short. There are pet-store heists and violent robberies, at least one of them deadly. There\u2019s a proliferation of Frenchies with unusual coat colors and textures, which have Frenchie folk squabbling over longtime standards.<\/p>\n

And there\u2019s concern among long-timers that the hot market for puppies is incentivizing people who are in it for greed, not the breed.<\/p>\n

To Bucci, \u201cit\u2019s a very scary time.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a \u201cpreservation breeder\u201d who follows AKC standards and conducts a battery of internationally recommended health tests before her dogs reproduce, she dreads that breeders who don\u2019t do likewise may lead to crackdowns on everyone. And as a founder of Nevada French Bulldog Rescue, she also sees \u201call of the underbelly of the people who breed indiscriminately.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery time we take in a Frenchie that\u2019s in terrible condition, yes, I get angry,\u201d says Bucci, who lives near Reno. \u201cBut at the same time, I don\u2019t want to be punished for trying to do it right.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dachshund redux<\/h2>\n

Among other breeds, the unmistakable, low-slung dachshund is riding high at No. 6, its highest ranking since 2004. The dogs ranked as high as third at times in the 1950s-70s.<\/p>\n

Their combination of sprightly cuteness, small size and determination \u2014 they were originally bred to roust badgers \u2014 endear them to many. They also have a full-sized bark and a tendency toward stubbornness.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven though they\u2019re small, people have to remember: They are hounds,\u201d says Carole Krivanich of Milton, Delaware, whose nearly 15-year-old dachshund Mo is an agility and show champion. A longtime Rottweiler owner, she\u2019s found dachshunds to be \u201cvery versatile\u201d and good companions.<\/p>\n

On a course for pup-ularity<\/h2>\n

The cane corso (pronounced CAH\u2019-neh COOR\u2019-soh) is now 16th in the rankings, remarkable for a breed the AKC first started counting as recently as 2010. (Perhaps it helped that owners have included such figures as NBA great LeBron James and Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.)<\/p>\n

The dogs are praised as protective, trainable and attached to their people. But the strong breed is \u201cnot for somebody that doesn\u2019t know how to control a dog,\u201d AKC spokesperson Brandi Hunter Munden says.<\/p>\n

Who\u2019s new?<\/h2>\n

The bracco Italiano debuts in the standings at 152nd most popular. But the large, long-eared bird-hunters aren\u2019t exactly obscure. Country music power couple Tim McGraw and Faith Hill have shared the antics of their bracchi Italiani (that\u2019s the proper plural) on social media. A bracco co-owned by McGraw notched a first-round \u201cbest of breed\u201d win at the prestigious Westminster Kennel Club dog show last year.<\/p>\n

Who\u2019s few?<\/h2>\n

The sloughi was rarest among last year\u2019s registrations. Sometimes called Arabian greyhounds, the fleet, somewhat shy dogs joined the AKC pack in 2016.<\/p>\n

Gimme shelter<\/h2>\n

While dogs from affenpinschers to Xoloitzcuintlis were bred last year, U.S. animal shelters were already brimming with dogs and cats. Shelters and rescue groups took in about 3.2 million dogs, while 2.2 million dogs were adopted, according to Shelter Animals Count, a nonprofit that gathers shelter data.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s \u201ca need for a renewed effort to make adoption a priority for the community,\u201d says the group\u2019s executive director, Stephanie Filer. Shelters have a wide variety of dogs to offer, including specific breeds, she notes.<\/p>\n

Hunter Munden, the AKC\u2019s spokesperson, has two rescue dogs and a purebred herself.<\/p>\n

\u201cRescue is wonderful,\u201d she said. \u201cHowever, we do understand that people want specific characteristics to fit their lifestyle, when it comes to dog ownership, and that\u2019s where purebred dogs come in.\u201d<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NEW YORK\u00a0\u2014 French bulldogs. U.S. dog owners. C\u2019est l\u2019amour.Frenchies remained the United States\u2019 most commonly registered purebred dogs last year, according to American Kennel Club rankings released Wednesday. The club calls the Frenchie the most…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":266,"featured_media":12669,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":false,"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","_newspack_byline_active":true,"_newspack_byline":"by [Author id=266]Jennifer Peltz[\/Author] Associated Press","newspack_content_restriction_is_exempt":false,"newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,508],"tags":[505],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"coauthors":[763],"class_list":["post-12668","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-top-headlines-cm","tag-paywall","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/43194807-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12668","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/266"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12668"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12668\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12670,"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12668\/revisions\/12670"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/12669"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12668"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12668"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12668"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fnewspack_spnsrs_tax&post=12668"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcoauthors&post=12668"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}