Top of the Pups: Rover Reveals UK’s Most Popular Dog Breeds

Rover.com®, the world’s largest network of five-star pet sitters and dog walkers, has today released “UK’s Most Popular Dog Breeds of 2021.” For the fourth year in a row, mixed breeds were named top dog, while the loyal Labrador Retriever proved the most popular purebred. The Cockapoo, French Bulldog and Cocker Spaniel made up the rest of the top five.

The survey also revealed the biggest surges in popularity, with Adele’s pooch pick, the Dachshund topping the list with a 43 per cent increase in adoption since 2020. Snoop Dog’s doggy of choice, the French Bulldog, was the second highest climber with a 29 per cent increase, and Sharon Osbourne’s fur-vourite, the Pomeranian, snuck into the top 20 for the first time with a 22 per cent rise.

The breed which slipped its lead the most, nationally, was the Jack Russell Terrier, seeing a 23 per cent decrease in adoption. However, try telling that to pet-parents in London, Birmingham or Edinburgh – cities in which the Jack Russell Terrier came out top choice. In contrast, a breed only going in one direction is the Cockapoo, favourite of pop-star Harry Styles, which was found to be the biggest favourite in Leeds, Bristol and Liverpool.

The data showed just how many pandemic pups have been taken on in the last year, with 42 per cent of respondents saying they had brought a new dog into the family since March 2020. Brits have also spent the last year finding the perfect pup-partner for pets they already have, with 58 per cent saying they already had a dog before their most recent addition.

With people having spent an increased amount of time inside over the last year, the biggest consideration when choosing a breed was it being family friendly (53 per cent). Other key factors included wanting a snuggle buddy (48 per cent), needing a breed that gets on with other pets (36 per cent), and desiring the perfect work from home colleague in a highly intelligent hound (32 per cent).