Labrador retrievers are still tugging hardest on U.S. dog lovers' heartstrings, but poodles just strutted back into the American Kennel Club's top five most popular dog breeds for the first time since 1997. The club's annual popularity rankings came out Tuesday. They're drawn from more than 800,000 purebred puppies and older pooches that joined the nation's oldest canine registry last year. Labs have been No. 1 for an unprecedented 31 straight years. Rounding out the top five are French bulldogs, golden retrievers, German shepherds and poodles. After that come bulldogs, beagles, Rottweilers, German shorthaired pointers and dachshunds.
What Are the Top 10 AKC Dog Breeds?
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FILE - Siba, a poodle, competes for Best in Show during the 144th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, in New York, Feb. 11, 2020.
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FILE - Manchester, a bulldog owned by Eduardo Hernendez of Mexico City, gets comforting treatment after winning an award of merit in breed at the 136th annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in New York, Feb. 13, 2012.
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FILE - Molly, a 13-inch beagle from Bangkok, Thailand, waits in the benching area to compete during the 140th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, at Madison Square Garden in New York, Feb. 15, 2016.
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FILE - A Rottweiler named Prime, who works as a service dog, is seen during the meet the breeds companion event at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in New York, Feb., 11, 2017.