Top 10 most popular dog breeds in Canada last year

The Canadian Kennel Club (CKC) has released its annual list of the 10 most popular dogs in the country, with Labrador Retriever again taking first spot.

According to the non-profit organization, the breed has been the most popular in Canada for over two decades.

Another breed appears to be growing in popularity; the CKC pointed out that the Havanese has taken over fifth spot, held by the Shetland Sheepdog since 2005.

“This is the first time in recent history that one of the toy breeds has made it into the top five,” CKC spokesperson Andrew Patton said in a news release.

“The Havanese is a charming and intelligent breed with a big heart and its compact size makes it ideal for urban and suburban living, so it appeals to many dog lovers.”

The breed was first registered to the CKC in 1999. According to the organization, Calgary dog lovers now own the most CKC-registered Havanese, followed by Toronto and Edmonton.

“They are natural clowns, yet smart and easy to train,” Rose Kimber, President of the Havanese Fanciers of Canada, said. “If you have a Havanese, you can do just about anything with them.”

Meanwhile, the French Bulldog had continued to make great strides, climbing one spot from the previous year to sit in eighth place.

After a two-year hiatus, the Miniature Schnauzer found its way back into the top ten.

Top ten most popular dogs for 2016:

1. Labrador Retriever
2. German Shepherd Dog
3. Golden Retriever
4. Poodle
5. Havanese
6. Shetland Sheepdog
7. Bernese Mountain Dog
8. French Bulldog
9. Yorkshire Terrier
10. Schnauzer (Miniature)

The CKC said the list is compiled based on the 50,170 purebred dogs registered to their organization in 2016. In total, 6,872 of the dogs were located in Alberta, with close to 1,700 in Calgary.