The Most Popular Dog Breeds of 2025, According to AKC Registrations

Every spring the American Kennel Club publishes a ranking of the breeds it registered during the previous calendar year. The 2025 list was released on March 18, 2026, and for the fourth year in a row the French Bulldog sits at number one. Below you will find the official top 20, the breeds that moved since 2024, and, just as importantly, an honest look at what a ranking like this can and cannot tell you about the dog in front of you.

How the ranking is measured

The AKC list is built from registration statistics. In plain terms, it counts how many dogs of each recognized breed were registered with the AKC in 2025 and orders the breeds from most to fewest. In 2025 that covered 202 breeds. The public ranking shows positions rather than the number of dogs behind each one, so a move of a single place could represent a handful of registrations or a few thousand.

That method has a built-in bias worth keeping in mind. Only purebred dogs from AKC-recognized breeds, registered by their breeders or owners, appear in the count. Mixed-breed dogs, which make up a large share of the dogs in American homes, are not ranked at all. Neither are purebred dogs whose paperwork was never filed, dogs registered with other registries, or most dogs adopted from shelters. Breeds with active, organized breeder communities tend to be well represented. Breeds that are often sold without papers are undercounted. So the list is best read as a snapshot of registered purebred puppies, not a census of every dog on the sidewalk.

The 2025 top 10

1. French Bulldog. Number one for the fourth straight year, after ending the Labrador Retriever's 31-year run at the top in 2022. Frenchies are compact, people-focused, and content with modest exercise, which suits apartment life. The trade-offs are real: a flat face that makes breathing and heat tolerance a concern, higher than average veterinary costs, and a popularity boom that has attracted careless breeding. Buy or adopt with care.

2. Labrador Retriever. Unchanged at second place. The Lab is friendly, trainable, and motivated by food, which is why it shows up everywhere from family homes to assistance work. It sheds heavily and needs genuine daily exercise, and a bored Lab will find its own projects.

3. Golden Retriever. Also unchanged. Goldens are gentle, social, and eager to be part of whatever the household is doing. Expect a thick coat that needs regular brushing, plenty of hair on the floor, and a dog that is happiest with a job or a long walk every day.

4. German Shepherd Dog. Steady at fourth. Intelligent, loyal, and built for work, the German Shepherd thrives with structure, training, and something to think about. It is also one of the breeds most often confused with its relatives in photos, which we come back to below.

5. Dachshund. The headline mover of 2025. The Dachshund rose from sixth to fifth, which the AKC notes is its first top-five finish since 2003. Bold, vocal, and funny, with more attitude than its size suggests. The long back means jumping on and off furniture deserves attention, and the standard, miniature, smooth, wirehaired, and longhaired varieties can look quite different from one another.

6. Poodle. Slipped from fifth to sixth as the Dachshund passed it. Standard, Miniature, and Toy Poodles are counted together here. They are smart, athletic, and low-shedding, though the coat is not low-maintenance: plan for regular professional grooming or learn to clip at home.

7. Beagle. Holding at seventh. A friendly, sturdy hound led largely by its nose. Beagles do best with sniff-heavy walks, secure fencing, and owners who accept that a beagle voice carries. They are also enthusiastic about food, so portions matter.

8. Rottweiler. Unchanged at eighth. Confident, calm, and protective, the Rottweiler is a working breed that benefits from early socialization and consistent training. In the right hands it is an affectionate family dog; it is not a breed to acquire on impulse.

9. German Shorthaired Pointer. Up one place from tenth. A versatile hunting dog with a big engine. GSPs need serious exercise and mental work, and they repay it with affection and athleticism. Their rise fits a broader pattern the AKC noted this year, with several hunting and working breeds gaining ground.

10. Bulldog. Down one place from ninth. Calm, patient, and content with short walks, the Bulldog is easy to live with in terms of energy. Like the French Bulldog, it is flat-faced, so heat, exertion, and breathing need watching, and vet bills tend to run high.

Ranks 11 to 20

1. 11. Cane Corso, up from 14th in 2024 and knocking on the door of the top 10.
2. 12. Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, a small, affectionate companion with a silky coat.
3. 13. Yorkshire Terrier, tiny, bright, and more terrier than its looks suggest.
4. 14. Australian Shepherd, a busy herding dog that needs a job.
5. 15. Doberman Pinscher, sleek, alert, and devoted to its people.
6. 16. Pembroke Welsh Corgi, a big personality on short legs.
7. 17. Miniature Schnauzer, a spirited, low-shedding small dog.
8. 18. Boxer, playful, athletic, and expressive.
9. 19. Pomeranian, a fluffy toy breed with plenty to say.
10. 20. Bernese Mountain Dog, a gentle giant with a heavy tricolor coat.

Notable movers versus 2024

The top of the table barely moved. French Bulldog, Labrador Retriever, Golden Retriever, German Shepherd Dog, Beagle, and Rottweiler all held the same positions they had in 2024. The changes the AKC called out were the Dachshund and Poodle swapping fifth and sixth, and the German Shorthaired Pointer and Bulldog swapping ninth and tenth.

Just outside the top 10, the Cane Corso climbed from 14th to 11th. Further down, the Great Pyrenees moved from 74th to 66th and the Greater Swiss Mountain Dog from 82nd to 71st. The AKC noted that the biggest swings across all 202 breeds were close to 30 places in either direction, with the Wirehaired Vizsla the standout climber, rising from 159th to 130th. Many of the breeds gaining ground were working and hunting breeds.

What popularity does and does not tell you about a dog

A high ranking tells you a breed is widely available, well documented, and familiar to trainers, groomers, and veterinarians. That is genuinely useful. If you bring home a Labrador, you will find no shortage of people who understand Labradors. It also means more rescue groups dedicated to the breed, more community, and more informed opinions when something goes wrong.

A high ranking does not tell you a breed is easy, healthy, or right for your home. Two of the top 10 are flat-faced breeds with well-known breathing problems. Several are high-drive working dogs that struggle in a quiet apartment with a busy owner. Popularity also brings a supply problem: when demand for a breed spikes, so does careless breeding, and the health and temperament of the average puppy can suffer as a result.

Finally, the ranking says nothing about the individual dog. Two Golden Retrievers from different lines can differ as much as two people from the same town. Registration counts capture what breeders produced and registered in a given year, not how each of those dogs turned out. Use the list to learn what exists and what is common, then judge the actual dog on its own history, health, and behavior.

Which popular breeds are hardest to tell apart in a photo

Several breeds on this list have close relatives that look nearly identical in a casual snapshot, and a popular breed is exactly the label a guess tends to default to. A few pairs that trip people up regularly:

• German Shepherd Dog and Belgian Malinois. The fourth most popular breed and the 32nd share a similar outline, ear set, and coloring. The Malinois is typically lighter, shorter-coated, and squarer, with a black mask on a fawn body, while the Shepherd tends to carry a longer, sloping back and a black saddle. Our German Shepherd vs Belgian Malinois comparison walks through the differences one at a time.
• Australian Shepherd and Miniature American Shepherd. Ranked 14th and 28th, and essentially the same dog at two sizes. Without a reference for scale, a photo rarely settles it.
• French Bulldog and Boston Terrier. Both compact, flat-faced, and bat-eared from the front. Ear shape, coat pattern, and build give it away once you know what to look for.
• Cane Corso and Boxer or Bullmastiff. Cropped ears and a brindle or fawn coat can make young Corsos look like several other mastiff-type breeds.
• Labrador Retriever and Golden Retriever. Adults are easy, but a yellow Lab puppy and a young Golden with a short coat can be surprisingly close.

We looked at this problem systematically in our study of the breeds most often confused with each other, which measures how frequently a photo of one breed gets labeled as another. If your own dog's paperwork is missing or uncertain, our guide to what breed is my dog explains the signals to look for and when a DNA test is worth the money.

Try it on your own dog

Curious whether your dog is one of the top 20, a mix of two of them, or something further down the list? Upload a clear photo to the Dog Breed Detector and you will get the closest matches in seconds, with links to each breed page so you can compare the details yourself. Then browse the full dog breed list to explore breeds the ranking leaves out.

Sources

• American Kennel Club, "The Most Popular Dog Breeds of 2025: French Bulldog Holds Top Spot": https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/dog-breeds/most-popular-dog-breeds-2025/
• American Kennel Club press release, March 18, 2026, "French Bulldog Remains America's Most Popular Pup for the Fourth Year": https://www.akc.org/press-releases/je-taime-once-again-french-bulldog-remains-americas-most-popular-pup-for-the-fourth-year/