Labs still top dog in U.S.

The American Kennel Club has been tracking the popularity of purebred dogs for 128 years as the number of recognized breeds grew from nine to 177. A list of the country’s most popular dog breeds by the decade, according to data released by the AKC:

1880s: Top five breeds (English setters, Irish setters, pointers, Irish water spaniels and Gordon setters) were all working gun dogs, which helped hunters retrieve game.

1890s: The Saint Bernard takes the No. 1. spot, becoming the only giant breed to reach the top but never return.

1900s: The collie debuts at No. 1. The Boston terrier becomes the first small companion dog to reach No. 2.

1910s: The Boston terrier becomes the top dog and remains the only American breed to reach that spot.

1920s: The German shepherd takes over at No. 1 in 1925.

1930s: Boston terriers reclaim the top spot, and cocker spaniels begin their impressive climb. In the 1930s, the decade of the Great Depression, all top 10 breeds are small or medium-sized companion dogs.

1940s: Cocker spaniels (American and English, all colors) begin their reign. Influences included My Own Brucie, who won dozens of best-of-show titles and a likeness on the cover of Life Magazine.

1950s: The beagle becomes the nation’s top breed for most of the decade. Charles Schultz’s Snoopy makes his first appearance in national newspapers on Oct. 4, 1950.

1960s: Poodles take over as No. 1 in 1960 and stay there until 1982.

1970s: Poodles have the top spot locked up but in a harbinger of things to come, the Labrador retriever makes the top 10 for the first time.

1980s: Cocker spaniels return to the top.

1990s: Labrador retrievers take over and hold tight through at least 2012. Hollywood’s fascination with pocket pups is having an effect, as the decade marks the first appearance of the Yorkshire terrier, and the Pomeranian returns to the top 10 for the first time since the 1930s.

2000s: The Labrador retriever is overwhelmingly No. 1.

LOS ANGELES — Help wanted: One trained, easygoing, low-maintenance dog that will work for next to nothing. It was the classified ad that Matthew VanFossan wrote in his head after going blind.

His Labrador retriever, Achilles, “will guide me across busy streets for nothing more than a pat on the head or ‘Good boy,'” said the 31-year-old writer-counselor from Los Angeles. “He loves every bit of attention, but he can also go without it. He’ll let out a low groan if he’s getting too bored.”

The breed’s friendliness, intelligence and love of physical activity helped make it the most popular dog in America for the last two decades, according to American Kennel Club data released last week. Labrador retrievers are widely used as search and rescue, guide, therapy and service dogs, and they’re also perfect for active, outdoors-loving families with children, said club spokeswoman Lisa Peterson.

Labrador retrievers (22 years), cocker spaniels (23) and poodles (22) have been the most popular purebred dog breeds in the United States for a total of 67 of the 128 years the AKC has been counting. The data from the AKC, the country’s only nonprofit dog registry, comes from paid registrations by breeders and owners of purebred dogs, and makes the dog eligible for AKC events such as dog shows. More than 40 million purebred dogs have been registered since 1884, Peterson said.

Some critics, like the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the Humane Society of the United States, argue that owners mistake club registration as a sign of responsible breeding. “Registry with the AKC simply indicates that a dog had two parents of the same breed,” said Cori Menkin, senior director of ASPCA’s Puppy Mills Campaign. The AKC acknowledged that registration does not guarantee the quality or health of a dog.

However, Peterson condemned those who increase breeding to meet public demand, saying “responsible breeders do not produce more dogs just to meet popular demand.”

Factors, including Hollywood, pop culture and the economy, help drive changes in breed popularity. For instance, the yellow Lab featured in the bestselling memoir and the subsequent movie “Marley & Me” help the breed’s popularity skyrocket, Peterson said.

Likewise, the popularity of other breeds has soared thanks to the beagle Snoopy in Charles Schulz’s Peanuts comics, “Lassie” for collies, and cocker spaniels from “Lady and the Tramp.” Snoopy has been one of the biggest influences, Peterson said, and is the only non-dog to be issued an AKC registration certificate.

But “the No. 1 thing that drives changes in dog popularity is people’s lifestyles,” Peterson said. In New York City last year, larger breeds such as the Labrador retriever and German shepherd jumped over the smaller Yorkshire terrier. Peterson attributed to the economic recovery, saying “people are going back to larger dogs.”

The short-haired dogs are easier to groom, easier to walk and to exercise than the smaller, more time-intensive dogs, she said. She believes smaller dogs became popular because of the recession in the 1990s.

Another popular breed, the cocker spaniel, has owners coming back for its friendliness. Carol Bryant, a blogger from Forty Fort, Pa., travels frequently and uses her cocker spaniel Dexter as a networking tool. Dexter is so good that he has his own business cards, she said.

Of the breeds that made most gains in popularity, the most noticeable has been the bulldog, said Peterson. It has inched up the last five years, most recently to No. 5 nationally in 2012, she said.

She attributed some of that to “great visibility. It’s the mascot for the U.S. Marines. Think of all the colleges that have bulldog mascots. The Mack truck has a bulldog on the hood. And Tillman and Beefy are real bulldogs who skateboard.”

Celebrities such as Brad Pitt, rapper Ice-T and athletes Michael Phelps and Sean White have bulldogs, she added, which could partly explain why the breed is No. 1 in celebrity-driven Los Angeles and Las Vegas.

Bulldogs “have such great temperaments, they are adorable puppies, they are sturdy and compact, and they have the wrinkles and the eyes. They don’t require a lot of grooming or exercise and they love to stay in the house and be with you or if you like the outdoors, they love that too,” Peterson said.