February 05, 2014 Uncategorized

Dog Breeds in the News

Dog Breeds in the News

For pet lovers, there has been exciting news about dog breeds recently. In less than a month, the American Kennel Club (AKC) will introduce three new breeds at the upcoming Westminster Kennel Club (WKC) Dog Show in New York City. The WKC Show, February 8-11, 2014, will allow dogs of any breed or no breed at all to enter their new agility competition, which will be held on Saturday before the big show. Finally, both The Animal Medical Center and Pets Best Insurance announced their top ten dog breeds, based on the number of pets we care for and they insure.

Old Dogs, New Club
The Portuguese Podengo Pequeno, Chinook and Rat Terrier are new only to the AKC dog show ring. One of the most ancient of dog breeds, the Portugese Podengo Pequeno, came to Portugal from Asia Minor around 1000 B.C. This lively hound is related to other ancient breeds such as the Pharaoh Hound and the Basenji. The Rat Terrier is a home grown breed developed early in the 19th century from European terriers imported by immigrants to the United States. The Chinook is another American breed, most famous as the State Dog of New Hampshire, where the breed was developed. For more on these new AKC breeds, listen to David Frei, the voice of Westminster, on NPR.

And the Top Dog is…
A comparison of the top ten breeds seen at The AMC, insured by Pets Best Insurance and holding AKC registrations shows some interesting trends:

The Labrador Retriever, Dachshund and Yorkshire Terrier made all three top ten lists. The mixed breed dog topped both The AMC and Pets Best lists. No surprise here, since AKC does not include mixed breed dogs in their registration. Also on two of the three lists were several small breed dogs, such as the Chihuahua, Shih Tzu and the Maltese Terrier, possibly influenced by the dogs of Paris Hilton or Halle Berry. The ever steady German Shepherd Dog and the much maligned Pit Bull Terrier also made two of the three lists. Unique to the AMC list were the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and the Pomeranian, probably reflecting apartment dwellers selection of a small dog.

Seeing Fewer Spots
Breed popularity comes and goes with popular culture. The movie 101 Dalmations sparked a national craze for the spotted dogs. In 2005, the Dalmatian ranked number 47 in the list of dog breeds seen at The AMC. This past year, Dalmatians dropped in the ranking to 100 as dog owners fell in love with different breeds, for example the French Bulldog.

A Rising Star Among the Breeds
According to Pets Best Insurance, a number of breeds have gained popularity in recent years. In their database, the French Bulldog has seen the most dramatic rise. In 2006, the French Bulldog was the 55th most popular dog breed enrolled with Pets Best. By 2013, this small, muscular pooch soared up the list to become the 19th most popular breed. While Pets Best insures pets nationwide, The AMC’s New York City-based practice reflects the same meteoric rise in the popularity of the French Bulldog. In 2005, Frenchies ranked 30th and our veterinarians cared for 120 individual Frenchies. In 2013, the number of these dogs seen at The AMC has increased 2.5 times to 275 individual dogs.

See More Dog Breeds and Visit the AMC Booth
Like we do every year, The AMC will have a booth in the benching area of the WKC Show on February 10th and 11th. We would love to have you stop by and visit us. You can find us in Booth 16 at Piers 92/94, right alongside the Hudson River at 55th Street and 12th Avenue.

This year, AMC veterinarians have a new role at the 138th WKC show, that of Official Show Veterinarian. Several of our veterinarians will be on site at the Piers and Madison Square Garden, which showcases the main ring events, on both nights to triage any emergencies that could arise.

If you are not a fan of purebred dogs, this year there will be mixes, mutts and Heinz 57 type dogs at the Masters Agility Championship at the WKC Show.

We hope to see you all there!

Tags: agility championship, AKC, animal medical center, ann hohenhaus, chinook, david frei, dogs, mixed breed, NYC, pet health, pets, pets best insurance, portuguese podengo pequeno, rat terrier, veterinarian, westminster, westminster dog show, WKC,

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