Britain's top dogs: Old favourites rise and fall while continental cousins skyrocket.

Labrador reclaims the throne as Britain’s ‘top dog’ but popularity of breeds from across the continent soars
•Meanwhile one of Britain’s oldest breeds, the Pointer, could risk extinction as its numbers tumble to historic lows
•Popularity of other British favourites such as the West Highland White Terrier, Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Boxer and Border Terrier slashed by over half in a decade, taking them out of the UK’s top ten
•Kennel Club encourages puppy buyers to consider all 221 breeds to find the right pup for them

The shape of Britain’s favourite dogs is shifting as breeds from across the continent are dramatically rising in popularity, whilst native British breeds are rapidly declining, with some so unpopular that they could be at risk of disappearing from our streets and parks.

New data released today (17 November) by dog welfare organisation the Kennel Club, shows old favourite, the Labrador, has reclaimed the throne as Britain’s top dog following the short reign of the à la mode French Bulldog.

However, shifts over the last five years indicate continental dog breeds certainly are the ever more popular choice with UK dog owners. Of the ten breeds which have risen the quickest in popularity since 2015, nine are of foreign origin. This compares to just one historically native breed, the very royal Welsh Corgi (Pembroke), famous for featuring on Netflix series The Crown, which first aired in 2016 and is returning to our screens today with its much-anticipated third series.

Those breeds ‘going up’ include the small European breeds, the Dachshund and Pomeranian, the distinctively fluffy Chow Chow from China and the exotic and stylish Japanese Shiba Inu.

Full article HERE

My breed has fallen from the highs of the 50s, 60,and 70s we just escape the vulnerable breeds list our cousins the cards are on the list

Although I'd hate mine to be an endangered breed, numerically, I also hate the idea of it becoming popular through TV programmes or films.  All too often BYBs jump on the get rich quick bandwagon.   It's like what happens after BIS Crufts!!

Labradors may still be one of the most popular breeds, but there are a huge amount of them that are puppy farmed, badly pet/byb bred, and even ABS members who don't do the health tests recommended by breed clubs.  The problem isn't so much the decline of interest in pedigree breeds, it's the upsurge of fashionable cross breeds, fed by the myth that they are all healthier than pedigree breeds.

> The problem isn't so much the decline of interest in pedigree breeds, it's the upsurge of fashionable cross breeds, fed by the myth that they are all healthier than pedigree breeds.

Sadly this may well be what's going on.   And it needs to be stopped which will only happen with educating the public who indeed have been persuded they are buying into 'healthier than purebred** breeds' .  If the demand dropped, so should the supply.  It's a pity that some of these 'doodles etc. are so darned attractive!

ps  **  Any dog can have a pedigree, as long as the history/background is known.

Sadly when you get some veterinary surgeons & veterinary nurses who believe that"hybrid vigour" exists when crossing any two animals of exactly the same species that are not closely related the public are mislead by "professionals"who should know better.

More correctly known as Heterosis in genetics, the genetic makeup of the parents however has to be seriously considered, so crossing two breeds like Labradors & Poodles that have the same faulty genetic/partially genetic conditions such as GPRA, HD/ED, epilepsy etc without DNA/clinical testing does not produce heterosis & is akin to breeding from the same breed together or worse introducing non common genetic conditions such as SA, CNM, EIC that appear in F2 generation & subsequent generations of offspring.

Sadly there are high profile vets that ignore the health testing & blindly encourage crossbreeding of different breeds like Bruce Fogle.

As to "oodles" being attractive, by buying such a cross F1 or mongrelised F2 & subsequent generations, you cannot guarentee what they will look like as adults & some are definitely not so"pretty"

But then the problem is exacerbated by breeders who should know better, and produce health problems through sheer carelessness or ignorance.  There are plenty of stud dog owners who allow their dogs to cover bitches where they know a problem has arisen in previous litters with similar lines.  The same goes for some bitch owners, I can think off the top of my head where repeat matings have taken place that have produced HC, HD, ED and epilepsy.  I know there are no genetic tests for any of those, but you would hope a breeder wouldn't repeat a mating that had produced such a problem.  And there are also plenty of breeders who don't utilise the health tests available and carry on regardless, and when these pups do produce problems, that perpetuates the myth that all pedigrees are unhealthy because they are inbred.

It’s certainly an interesting one - many purebred dogs clearly have health problems, especially those with exaggerated features, and a few of the “designer” crossbreeds seem to be (intentionally or not) alleviating extremes of conformation.

A brachy breed crossed with something with a snout is almost certainly going to have less in the way of breathing problems, for example.

I don’t think that’s why most crossbreeds are produced though, unfortunately. Looks, trendiness, “hypoallergenic” coat, and “oops” litters seem to be the main reasons, with no health testing going on at all.

Personally I think that a few well-chosen outcrosses would benefit the majority of breeds and I have no problem with crossbreeds in general. I wish all breeders - purebreds or crosses or whatever - would prioritise health and fitness for function over everything else.

Unfortunately 95% of cross breeding with pedigree breeds isn't done using health tested patents, the breeds relying on heterosis to remove health issues.

Scientific crossbreeding(as in the American Dalmatians)is a step forward, however crosding two breeds with the same genetic/partially genetic conditions is a retrograde step , especially if one or both breeds used have other genetic conditions as this introduces these as carrier conditions to the F1 generation & actual conditions to F2 & subsequent generations.

If(& it is a big if)any dog intended for use in breeding & it's siblings( for polygenetic conditions)were full health tested before being bred from & only those with totally normal results used, it wouldn't matter what cross was used, they would be some improvement.

If you mean using another breed to improve the health of another, then this is a multigeneration breeding program to improve the breed's genepool & not an easy or cheap option.

Take a quite closely bred breed like the showline border collie, what breed would you use to open up their gene pool that doesn't have common genetic conditions ? ALL the collie breeds have common conditions so it cannot be another collie breed. If you use a non herding breed you will lose the function for which the breed was developed for. It's not as easy as some believe.

When I hear about the need to go to another breed for some reason, that puts me right back to the years around the WWs when my main breed's gene pool had become very restricted to the point another breed was chosen, not dissimilar to the in trouble breed.  BUT the difference between those days and now is those who made the decision to breed totally out, KNEW WHAT THEY WERE DOING.   Chose suitable animals to use and once the early breedings were done, set about getting back to how the original breed was.   In other words they benefitted from the complete outcross which wasn't done to promote mix-bred dogs to the unsuspecting public.    Of course said outcrosssing wasn't totally successful, and the breed did pick up some things that certainly were not wanted (the epilepsy we sometimes see in my breed said to be one) but in general, it did bring in the wider genepool that was needed.

Talking to a client today her husband wants a pup from a friends Cocker. I brought up the breed club website and showed her health testing, she was concerned. I said please ask your friend to get these done before breeding and the sire to before she should consider a puppy. She did all her homework for their dog they have now.
She then told me of a cocker x poodle in her training class who suddenly went blind when being walked home. I said were the parents eye tested and the chances are they weren't. I said its a serious risk buying a puppy where no health testing has taken place. She agreed..