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The Street

Samanda Dorger

The 30 Most Popular Dog Breeds in America

AKC Clifford (Person) Lady Gaga Martha Stewart Reese Witherspoon

You may have heard the news about the French bulldog toppling the Labrador retriever off its podium as the American Kennel Club’s most popular purebred dog.

The cute but solid little “Frenchies,” with their celebrity Instagram accounts, have outnumbered the Labrador retriever based on AKC registration statistics for 2022. We’ve seen the little dogs in “Modern Family,” and they’re popular with celebrities including Martha Stewart, Reese Witherspoon and Lady Gaga.

Sure, French bulldogs are cute, they’re small, and they’re playful, smart and adaptable, according to the AKC. Everyone is their best friend, they’re good with kids, they’re not yappers and they’re only medium droolers.

But face it: A French bulldog will never fetch you a dead duck from an icy cold lake at the break of dawn.

French bulldogs don’t serve as ‘bat dogs’ for a minor league baseball team.

They don’t have webbed paws that act as snowshoes in winter.

There are good reasons the Labrador has reigned for over 30 years as the AKC’s most popular breed. Thanks to its mild temperament, the Labrador will likely most graciously concede its position to the Frenchie without complaint.

Their loyalty, calm demeanor, memory and intelligence make Labradors one of the top breeds to serve as guides for the blind, and they will willingly put themselves between their handler and a speeding car.

Labradors were the family pets on "Downton Abbey." Ernest Hemingway and Queen Elizabeth had Labs, so did a number of presidents, prime ministers, musicians and other celebrities, according to Country Life.

Clifford the Big Red Dog was a Labrador, Old Yeller was played by a Lab mix, and H.Brian Griffin of “Family Guy” is a Labrador. And don’t forget “Marley and Me.”

A black Labrador named Jake became a national hero after burrowing through the debris in search of survivors of the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center. He also later helped search for Hurricane Katrina victims in 2005.

One of the most famous of this breed was Endal, a Labrador in England, who was known as "the most decorated dog in the world" for his work as a service dog and as an ambassador for service dog charity.

A Labrador once threw up in the British House of Commons during a Parliamentary speech.

A Labrador can hold an egg in its mouth without breaking it.

They can open refrigerators.

They come in chocolate.

We're not knocking the French bulldog. Just a nod to the long reign of the Labrador, and to all of these other great dogs: Here are the 30 most popular dog breeds, according to the AKC.