Popular dog breeds across the world in 2019
Following on from our blog last week about the most popular dogs breeds in the UK, we decided to have a look at some of the most popular breeds across the world and how people care for their dogs in different countries, starting with Japan.
It can be quite difficult to get exact figures on dog popularity as different nations have different ways of gathering statistics. Our post last week was based on Kennel Club figures, meaning it was only looking at the amount of registered pedigree dogs – not unregistered dogs or crossbreeds - but it gave us a good indicator of which breeds are most popular in the UK right now. Likewise our method for looking at the most popular dog breeds in the world does not give an exact figure of the amount of dogs owned, but it gives a really good impression of how well-liked they are in specific areas, because it is based on the amount of times they have been searched on Google (Sadly this means we don't have much info on dogs in China as they don't have Google there...but a few Chinese dogs made the top 50)
The top ten most popular dogs globally are:
- Bulldog (Most popular in: the UK, Hungary and the US)
- German Shepherd (Most popular in:Poland, the US and Slovenia)
- Labrador Retriever (Most popular in:US, Sri Lanka and the UK)
- Siberian Husky (Most popular in: Czech Republic, Armenia and Russia)
- Pug (Most popular in: Mexico, Costa Rica and Guatemala)
- Golden Retriever (Most popular in the US, Canada and Lebanon)
- Poodle (Most popular in Argentina, Japan and Uruguay)
- Chihuahua (Most popular in Mexico, Guatemala and Puerto Rico)
- French Bulldog (Most popular in the UK, Hungary and Czech Republic)
- Pomeranian (Most popular in Bulgaria, Serbia and Israel)
Looking down the full list it is interesting to see how some breeds such as the Chihuahua are still very popular in their country of origin. The list also seems to indicate the influence of social media and popular culture on dog popularity with ‘Insta-ready’ breeds such as French Bulldogs and Pugs - and of course - Bulldogs topping the list.
Chihuahua Photo by Tamara Bellis on Unsplash
The Doge
Dog videos and memes also have their part to play in raising the profile of certain breeds. One of the the most famous meme dogs is Kabosu, a Shiba Inu rescue dog with over 130,000 Instagram followers who features in the famous ‘Doge’ meme.
Shiba Inu Photo by Christal Yuen on Unsplash
Originally from the mountains of Japan. The Shiba Inu almost became extinct in the mid 20th century but - thanks primarily to the internet - they are now number 18 on the list of most popular dogs in the world. They are number 1 in Japan and popular in other Asian countries - where they suit apartment living - but they can now be found all over the world and are becoming increasingly common. The American Kennel Club ranked them as 44th most popular pedigree dog last year and the British Kennel Club reports a sharp increase in the amount of registered pups in recent years.
Shiba Inu Photo by Evgeny Tchebotarev on Pexels
Big in Japan
At home in Japan the Shiba Inu is the top dog in a country that has seen a steep rise in the amount of dogs owned since the turn of the century. The Japanese ‘pet boom’ originated in 2003 when people started to consider owning a pet as a viable and realistic alternative to the cost of raising a child. The combined number of cats and dogs in Japan now far exceeds the number of children and an entire industry has sprung up around the pet-boom with pet hotels, pet cafés, pet stylists, pet clothing, pet jewellery, pet pushchairs , pet sitters, and even pet funeral services.
Smaller breeds are popular in Japan where many people live in apartments rather than houses - Pic by author
Due to the smaller size homes in Japan, many people prefer toy dogs or smaller breeds such as the Shiba Inu and some of our own smaller UK breeds including the Sheltie. They enjoy dressing their dogs, pushing them in special dog-buggies and sitting them at the table in restaurants for meals – they really do seem to be literally replacing children in the lives of many. Many of these concepts have begun to filter down into our own culture and there are certainly more pet cafés and pet products appearing in the UK – although not to the extent of Japan, where it is quite unusual to see a dog that is not wearing clothes, or a designer collar at least.
A pampered pooch sits at the table in a Japanese Cafe - Pic by author
Do you have a pet café in your neighbourhood? Maybe you like to dress your dog. As you can see from this Instagram video of Shiba Charmy (who has 365k followers!) Shiba Inus certainly like a good brush! We’re always interested to hear about your experiences with grooming and caring for different breeds of dog. Let us know in the comments section below.