The beloved and talked about French Bulldog has become the most popular dog breed in the US.

After 31 years, a new best dog breed has appeared in America.

NEW YORK. For the first time in three decades, there is a new favorite dog breed in the US, according to the American Kennel Club.

Delightful in some eyes, deplorable in others, tough, stubborn, perky-eared, tired-looking and distinctly funny, the French Bulldog became the country’s most common purebred dog last year, the club announced on Wednesday. The French swept Labrador Retrievers out of first place after a record 31 years.

“They are funny, friendly, loving little dogs,” says French Bulldog Club of America spokesperson Patty Sosa. Urban, with modest grooming and exercise needs, she says, “they offer a lot in a small package.”

Still, the Frenchie’s meteoric rise — a quarter of a century ago they weren’t even in the top 75 breeds — worries fans, not to mention critics.

Loud little bulldogs have been the victims of burglaries, including a fatality last month when a 76-year-old South Carolina breeder was shot and killed in 2021 by a California dog walker who handled singer Lady Gaga’s pets.

There are fears that the demand, as well as the premium some buyers will pay for “exotic” coat colors and textures, is producing fast-growing breeders and unhealthy dogs. The breed’s popularity is fueling debate about whether there is anything useful in breeding dogs prone to respiratory, spinal, eye, and skin problems.

Click here to see the best dogs from last year.

The British Veterinary Association has urged people not to buy flat-faced breeds like Frenchies. The Netherlands has banned the breeding of dogs with a very short muzzle, and the country’s Minister of Agriculture intends to outlaw even their possession.

“French Bulldogs can be a controversial topic,” says Dr. Carrie Stefaniak, a Glendale, Wisconsin veterinarian and member of the French Club’s health committee.

She has treated French Bulldogs with breathing difficulties and stresses the need for potential owners to research breeders and health checks, and to acknowledge that problems can be costly to treat.

But she is not an enemy of the French. She has two and has trained them in agility and hill climbing.

“These dogs can be very athletic, they can be very active,” Stefaniak said. “They shouldn’t be sitting dogs that can’t breathe.”

The AKC popularity ratings cover about 200 breeds from the oldest national dog registry. The statistics are based on nearly 716,500 puppies and other dogs registered last year – about 1 in every 7 of them are French. Registration is voluntary.

Most rarely owned? english foxhounds.

The ranking does not take into account mixed breeds, or at least for now Labradoodles, Puggles, Morks and other popular “designer” hybrids. The top 10 AKCs included: French Bulldogs, Labrador Retrievers, Golden Retrievers, German Shepherds, Poodles, Bulldogs, Rottweilers, Beagles, Dachshunds and German Shorthaired Pointers.

With roots in England and then France, French Bulldogs became chic among the American elite at the turn of the 20th century and then fell out of favor.

This has changed rapidly in this century. Social media and celebrity owners (from Leonardo DiCaprio to Megan T Stallion and US Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez) have provided the dogs with new information. More happened last year when American television viewers watched a Frenchman named Winston take second place in the Westminster Kennel Club dog show and then win the Philadelphia Kennel Club’s National Dog Show.

Last year, about 108,000 new registered French Bulldogs outsold Labradors by more than 21,000.

As a longtime breeder and veterinarian, Dr. Laurie Hunt considers Frenchies to be ideal companions, but their popularity is “a curse, not a blessing.”

“They are very exploited” by unscrupulous breeders, she said. A Westlake, Ohio veterinarian has seen many Frenchies with problems, but dismisses arguments that the breed is inherently unhealthy. Some of her own dogs play sports.

Some other breeds are prone to diseases ranging from hip dysplasia to cancer, and mixed breed dogs can also get sick. But a recently published study of about 24,600 dogs in the UK found that Frenchies have “very different and largely poorer” health than other dogs, largely due to the shortened, wrinkled muzzle that encloses in itself je ne sais quoi of the breed.

With such findings in mind, the British Veterinary Association said it “strongly recommends” not to buy flat-faced dogs and campaigned to have them removed from advertisements and even greeting cards.

According to President Dr. Laurie Teller, the American Veterinary Medical Association is looking into ways to improve the welfare of flat-faced dogs.

For animal rights and welfare activists, the frenzy of French Bulldogs represents the snorting and panting face of problems with canine in general.

“Many of the breed characteristics that are instilled in these dogs are for appearance, not necessarily health and well-being, and the French are probably one of the most exaggerated examples of this,” said Dr. Lorna Grande of the Veterinary Society for the Protection of Animals. Medical Association, a professional group associated with the Humane Society of the United States.

“It’s a welfare issue. These dogs are suffering,” she says.

The AKC notes that its Canine Health Foundation has donated $67 million since 1990 to research and education for many breeds, and kennel and French clubs say progress has been made. The new breath test debuted in the US on Frenchies, Bulldogs and Pugs at a dog show in January.

The AKC says potential purebred owners should research breeders’ history and health tests, accept the puppy’s expectation and ask themselves if they’re up for the responsibility.

“Learn what it means to own a dog,” says spokeswoman Brandi Hunter Munden, “and really evaluate your lifestyle to make sure you’re really making the best decision not just for yourself, but for the animal.”

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