a dubious list of most popular breeds. Now with list of dogs falling in popularity too!

edited June 2013 in Other Breeds
Saw this list of supposed "hottest" breeds: http://www.vetstreet.com/our-pet-experts/the-20-hottest-dog-breeds?WT.mc_id=cc_yahoo

I'm dubious. Not just because so many of them are "designer" breeds, but really? The mountain cur and the black mouthed cur are among the most "popular" breeds? How many people have even really heard of them besides dog aficionados or hunters?

No NKs on there, thankfully, though I bet Shibas have been creeping up the rankings, sadly, if there was legit way of measuring that kind of stuff.

(see later post for article on breeds falling in popularity)
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Comments

  • I had to read the article just to see what is a cur!
  • We get a lot of curs in rescue from the south. They used to be labelled boxer or lab mixes, but people are starting to recognize what a BM/Mntn cur is in New England. They absolutely are rising in popularity here.
  • I only like five of those breeds... (Most aren't even actual breeds anyways.)

    Curs are kinda big here. It's a rural area, lots of people hunt, so there are a lot of curs around. Not so much in GP or Medford, but in the smaller towns you'll see them everywhere. Hounds too.
  • I like the word "dubious".
  • edited May 2013
    Anatolian Shepard?? Would have been nice if they said, "American created breed from Turkish dogs." Somebody got offended when I said they were 'basically Kangals mixed with street dogs.' They went in a big spill about how various Turkish breeds made the Anatolian Shepard. I wonder what they think Turkish street dogs consist of?? (Walking down the street you'll see strays that very much fit the Anatolian breed standard) **BTW, I'm Turkish ;)
  • edited May 2013
    I have a Boz/Kangal cross named Taskin.
  • Really! Where/how did you get him?
  • From a friend in Texas. He's about 9 months old now...
    Taskin
  • edited May 2013
    @TRDmom I have an Anatolian Shepherd (foster). We get Anatolians every once in a while, Kangal and Akbash rarely, but mostly deal in Pyrs in my rescue. We even had Saint Bernard x Kangal puppies once. :(

    I believe they are mostly an American invention (even if only due to ignorance at first). I love the Anatolian Shepherd, but I don't love the crazy breed people who really thing that their breed is the exact same one that has thousands of years of history in Turkey when the math just doesn't add up.

    That was one of the only breeds I was surprised to see on the list - the Anatolian Shepherd.

    Also, I love Taskin! I've always been really interested in the Turkish guardian breeds.
    @brada1878 gets the coolest dogs.
  • I love Taskin too! I'd love to have a dog like him someday!
  • Thank you for understanding me. :) Not sure if its because of the internet and people think I'm being rude (no tone or body-language cues available), but they usually get defensive.

    I LOVE Kangals!! They are awesome in so many ways, but not for suburbia (sure, you can make anything work if you put in the effort). They are so natural crossing vast spaces with their flock. I personally wouldn't like to see one locked up as a "housepet," but maybe I am romanticizing too much. ;)
  • The site says the list is of the breeds who have climbed the most spots in popularity ranking over the last ten years, not the 20 most popular. Women's hockey was once the "fastest growing sport", but never the "most popular sport"- it is easy to be fast growing when you start with a very low number.

    (Why am I giving anyone statistics lesson? I have no business doing that!! LOL :) )
  • according to AKC registrations in 2012, Akita ranked 45th and shiba inu 50th in popularity.

    Shibas are creeping up- they were ranked 67th in 2007. Akitas are up from 51st in 2007.

    http://www.akc.org/reg/dogreg_stats.cfm
  • Thanks Chrystal....I didn't feel like going back to see what their ranking system was, so your lesson in statistics was useful! I still wonder if they had a geographical bias in their "sampling" (was it really that official?) because I think some of the hunting curs are more likely to be seen in certain regions than others, but....

    Interesting about the Shibas and Akitas. Well, Akitas are (mostly) doing ok as a breed, I think. I think the AAs have improved as a breed in the past 20-30 years. Shibas not so much. :(
  • It's from "Vetstreet's data"- whatever that is counting. Im sure you are right that its not a comprehensive data set, though. UKC registers a lot of hounds so maybe they got it from UKC registrations?
  • Am I the only person on whom the appeal of all these toy 'poo' mixes is completely lost? :|
  • @Dabish No... I can't stand "poo" dogs. I see nothing appealing about them whatsoever.
  • The poo dogs are bizarre. The name alone should be warning enough! ~
  • I like poodles well enough. Standards are pretty cool dogs, if a bit more clingy than I like. But I don't see the point of mixing poodles with anything else. :(
  • poodles are getting a lot of action with the doodle craze...they are mixing poodles with everything.
  • I don't have an issue with real poodles either. I've actually heard they're really good dogs when you get them from a good breeder & socialize / train them.

    But "-poo" & "doodle"...yuck! ~
  • @Wryly They real are though! I won't be surprised if in the next 10 years they're like: "We've finally managed interspecies breeding...we now present, the PeersianPoo!"

    I do like actual poodles though. I wonder why they're getting pimped out?
  • @Dabish it all started with good intentions, with an attempt in Australia to offer a greater variety of service dog breeds for those who are allergic to dogs. They developed the Labradoodle to get a dog with a lab's personality and a poodle's coat. Bad breeders caught wind of this concept and saw this as a great selling point and means to make some big cash on any mishap mutts that would pop up once in a while in their facilities. It basically turned into dollar signs after that.
  • I actually really love the "proper" Labradoodle - that is, those Labradoodles from the breeding program that did more than spam Lab x Poodle breedings. What they call the "Australian Labradoodle" now had to distinguish itself from the gimmick dogs by changing their name.

    FYI - the Australian Labradoodle appears very well-thought-out to me. They're more than just Lab x Poodle. They're Lab, Poodle, Cocker Spaniel, Water Spaniel, and Curly-Coated Retriever (I may be missing a few breeds). The individuals I've met have had some of the best temperaments I've seen on a dog and that "type" has been pretty consistent with the dogs I've seen.
  • edited May 2013
    Deleted (what was going on there?)
  • An interesting article written by the creator of the Labradoodle: http://alaa-labradoodles.com/uploads/My_Story_I_Designed_a_Dog__by_Wally_Conron_.pdf

    Sounds like that even though he was happy to be able to open doors for those in need of a service dog, but the last paragraph and sentence almost gives a tone of regret for initiating a bad fad.
  • Not into the "designer dogs" either. I prefer larger dogs and those that are more "natural." Of course Dobermans, Rotties, Boxers, etc have been created by man, but they are nice dogs and I would take them over any of the poodle mixes that people seem to be so in love with. They are also what I consider "easy" breeds. ;) My TRD rocks (pretty much like your Japanese breeds, just with short hair), but he does take some effort! LOL
  • edited May 2013
    From the caption of the photographs, most of them are not even in the top 50 popular breeds.

    I think the list is referring to breeds which moved up the ranks the fastest. For example, the caption below Mountain Cur says:
    No. 161 in 2002, No. 139 in 2012
    which sounds about right. With the number of new breeds and designer mixes introduced in the last two decades, it is not exactly difficult to move up the ranks.
  • edited May 2013
    Awe I love our toy poodle we have at home. But he's not mixed with anything, he's just bigger than they're supposed to be...he is just the best companion (also great for my mom with her crazy allergies), whenever I was sick or came out of surgery, he knew I wasn't feeling good and would lay on my tummy all day everyday and never leave my side till I was better. AND he would keep up with me and run 2-3 miles!! I love him and miss the little goober!! Now my mama is home with him...she says she misses me and my sister so much but I told her now is time to take him on adventures!!!

    And I named him Rascal...quite fitting if you knew him :) my mom also cuts his hair (i like it...i can't STAND the random poof balls people trim their poodles to have >:P )

    here's some pictures of the little dude:

    http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5468/8792879537_32896622f8_z.jpg

    http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8548/8794901503_dac77887e5_z.jpg

    http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3747/8805478936_2d3778cdb7_z.jpg

    (pictures normally work, but for some reason this time i can't get them to work, so just the URLs :( )
  • Rascal is cute! I like poodles too.

    My godmother was all set to get an Akita. She loves Akitas! She even contacted a very good AA breeder, and was going to get on the waiting list for a puppy. I was a bit dubious for a couple of reasons: she's a priest, and has a lot of people coming in the house for services, and a lot of Akitas are just not that keen on strangers coming in and out. And she has a shiz tzu too. But my biggest concern: her husband is allergic to some dogs. I said I didn't think a big, double coated dog was the best for them, and convinced them to go and spend an evening with an Akita. They did. They loved her. And my godmother's husband almost had to go the emergency room, his reaction to the dog was so bad.

    The got a standard poodle instead (and now have two) and couldn't be happier. The dogs are a better match for their lifestyle since they're friendly with strangers, still a big (enough) dog like they wanted, smart dogs, probably more active than Akitas, but still a good fit. And her husband is not having any allergic reactions at all, and the get a long with the little dog too. So it was a good match! (And I'm glad I convinced them to at least consider the poodle--it turned out well!)
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