For the third time in a row, the French Official Stud Book has registered a very good year. And it seems that delays in the management of some files, have prevented 2002 to be a historical year, with an estimated 164000 registrations.
While the majority of the countries deeply implied in the world of dog fancy have known a decrease in the number of births of purebred dogs, France has remained in a good shape. An additional proof that the concept of “purebred dogs”, that is, “dogs registered to a Book of Origin”, is beginning little to little to be part of the habits of the future dog fanciers.
With 162163 dogs registered at the LOF, the year 2002 registered a very small decrease compared to 2001 – which remains a record year for the LOFG with 163245 registrations. However, according to our sources, delays in the management prevented of some files forbad the registration of several thousands of dogs born during the fourth quarter of 2002. They will therefore be registered in the charts of the year 2003. While at first sight there seems to be little change in the Top 30, it seemed interesting to analyse those figures, and underline a few remarkable performances, such as that of the American Staffordshire Terrier, which took in the Top 10 the position of the Berger de Beauce.
Even if the German Shepherd Dog and the Labrador still occupy the two first places from the Top 10, these two breeds register a relative decline of their number. The GSD, which faced a regular and worrying decrease of its registration for 5 years, seems to have slow down the fall. On the Labrador’s side, the success which everybody expected and planned, has not happened. The breed has not reached the figure of 10000 births a year yet. One of the main reasons could be the importance of non registered dogs all over the French territory. Chances are the decrease goes on in the following years. However, it should not let too much gap to its cousin, the Golden Retriever. The frantic growth it was having in the recent years, seems to have stopped. Many specialists had bet on the fact that the Golden would take the place of the Labrador, as has happened in other countries. But considering the figures for 2002, this appears quite unlikely. Has the Rottweiler, after 20 years of continuous growth, reached its growing limit? Anyhow, this is what happened in a majority of countries. Why would the Rottweiler “made in France” not follow the trend?
Behind these four breeds, we can find two unavoidable breeds, the English Setter and the Brittany Spaniel. With a total superior to 10000 registrations, they remain the most fashionable gun dogs in France. And no other similar breed could pretend to take their place so far.
The Yorkshire Terrier was the most sought after dog breed in 2001, and the trend continues. The Yorkie keeps a strong notoriety, even though the competition has got tougher in the last past years. The most serious challenger to the Yorkie is undoubtedly the Cavalier King Charles, which remains the leader in the Group 9. Indeed, out of the 19 breeds in Group 9, the Cavalier King Charles represents almost 25% of the dogs registered within the LOF. It has taken the place of the Poodle, the former star of the 70’s, which has been facing a drastic decrease in its number for the past 15 years.
In 9th position, we can find the English Cocker, which has been confirming since 1995 its return on the front of the scene. In the 70’s, he had climbed way up to the second place, right behind the German Shepherd Dog, before facing too a major drop in the number of requests. But now many bet that the breed will recover its ancient glory, thanks to the devoted and careful work of some serious breeders, and to the variety of its colours.
And finally, at the 10th position, let’s not the performance of the American Staffordshire Terrier. Shunned, mistaken with the pitbull, at the heart of all the breed legislations, the Am Staff nevertheless continues to make his way towards the highest positions of the top 10. and this excellent companion has fortunately not been the object of any news story for more than two years.
The Top 30, which only represents 10% of the total number of breeds registered at the LOF in 2002 (273 breeds), counts for about 65% of the total registrations. 104355 registrations out of a total of 162163 dogs.
By checking the breed group in the chart above, it’s easy to observe where the major differences are: the Group 1 is the first group, and the Group 2 is the second group. Indeed, the Herding, Molossians and Mountain Dogs represent almost a third – 35% exactly – of the number of dogs registered in 2002. here’s a summary on each group, with the three most popular breed in each.
1st: German Shepherd Dog: 11 4842nd: Berger de Beauce: 39903rd: Belgian Shepherd, Malinois: 3434
1st: Rottweiler: 61772nd: Boxer: 24113rd: Dobermann: 2335
1er Yorkshire Terrier: 46912e American Staffordshire Terrier: 40493e West Highland White Terrier: 2572
1st: Rough haired Dachshund: 2648
1st: Siberian Husky: 7062nd: Spitz: 5343rd: Akita Inu: 323
1er Beagle: 22682e Basset Fauve de Bretagne: 10603e Basset Hound: 924
1st: English Setter: 56362nd: Brittany Spaniel: 56043rd: German Pointing: 1671
1st: Labrador Retriever: 90592nd: Golden Retriever: 63633rd: Cocker Spaniel: 4481
1st: Cavalier King Charles: 45182nd: French Bulldog: 24403rd: Shih Tzu: 2104
1st: Whippet: 9582nd: Borzoï: 2453rd: Afghan: 235
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