Top Dog Breeds by City in 2012

Dogs

This year the AKC celebrates its 129th anniversary and for the 22nd year in a row, the Labrador retriever is once again America's favorite purebred dog, according to registration numbers tallied by the American Kennel Club. The AKC released the figures and, as in past years, the Labrador far outstrips the other dogs in the top 10.
        
They also tallied top breeds by city for 50 US cities including Albany, Albuquerque, Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore, Buffalo, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dallas, Denver, Des Moines, Detroit, Fort Worth, Honolulu, Houston, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Little Rock, Long Beach, Long Island, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Louisville, Memphis, Miami, Milwaukee, Nashville, New York City, Oakland, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Portland, Providence, Raleigh, Richmond, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, St. Louis, Tampa, Tucson, Washington DC, and West Palm Beach.

In reviewing these numbers by city, it is hard to draw any conclusions on why some cities prefer some dogs over other dogs. One might think that the warm-weather tolerant breeds might be more common in the South and outdoorsy dogs might be more common in the Midwestern cities. However, there seem to be no pattern to how these cities love their dogs!

The Top 10 Breeds of 2012 are:

1. Labrador retrievers
2. German shepherds
3. Golden retrievers
4. Beagles
5. Bulldog
6. Yorkshire terriers
7. Boxers
8. Poodles
9. Rottweiler
10. Dachshunds

The Top Breeds by City for 2012 include:

Albany's Top Dogs
1. Labrador Retriever
2. German Shepherd Dog
3. Boxer
4. Golden Retriever
5. Beagle

Registration data pulled from Albany zip codes as specified by U.S. Postal Service.

Atlanta's Top Dogs
1. Labrador Retriever
2. Golden Retriever
3. German Shepherd Dog
4. Cavalier King Charles Spaniel
5. Boxer is tied with the French Bulldog

Registration data pulled from Atlanta zip codes as specified by U.S. Postal Service

Austin's Top Dogs of 2010 (no data collected for 2012)
1. Labrador Retriever
2. Golden Retriever
3. Yorkshire Terrier
4. German Shepherd Dog
5. Poodle

Registration data pulled from Austin zip codes as specified by U.S. Postal Service

Baltimore's Top Dogs
1. Labrador Retriever
2. Golden Retriever
3. German Shepherd Dog
4. Bulldog
5. Boxer

Registration data pulled from Baltimore zip codes as specified by U.S. Postal Service

Boston's Top Dogs
1. Labrador Retriever
2. Golden Retriever tied with German Shepherd Dog
3. Boxer
4. Yorkshire Terrier

Registration data pulled from Boston zip codes as specified by U.S. Postal Service

Buffalo's Top Dogs
1. German Shepherd Dog
2. Labrador Retriever
3. Golden Retriever/Golden Retriever tied for 3rd
4. Yorkshire Terrier

Registration data pulled from Buffalo zip codes as specified by U.S. Postal Service

Chicago's Top Dogs
1. German Shepherd Dog
2. Labrador Retriever
3. Bulldog
4. Golden Retriever
5. Boxer tied with Yorkshire Terrier

Registration data pulled from Chicago zip codes as specified by U.S. Postal Service