Here are all the main figures of French dog breeding for the year 2005, thanks to several tables and charts. The LOF – French Book of Origins – is still at the second place of the FCI countries, with 173,819 dogs, behind Japan – more than 530,000 dogs registered in 2005.
At an international level, France is at the fourth rank, behind the USA (920,804 births at the AKC), Japan and England (250,000 dogs), and in front of Italy and Russia.
Group 1 is still dominated by the German Shepherd, the Belgian Shepherd Dog Malinois and the Berger de Beauce. The Berger de Beauce was at the second place in 2004, and it is now behind the number one utility dog. Those three breeds confirm the fact that utility is still the priority when acquiring a dog of the 1st group (almost one third of all the owners). The most noticeable exception to the rule is the Australian Shepherd, a relatively recent breed (29 registrations in 1996, 682 in 2001 and 1,674 in 2005). The breed has had the biggest progression of the last ten years, and is now ahead of the Colley. The Australian Shepherd is also one of the favourites in shows (BIS at the world dog show 2003, BIS in Crufts 20006). The number of births is quite sure to keep on increasing. Another new and very popular breed is the Berger Blanc Suisse (269 births in 2003 for the first year of the recognition, 853 in 2005). It is quite likely to be also in the top 5 in a few years.
In the Group 2, where there are around 50 existing breeds, the situation is contrasted. The tenors seem to be running out of steam (Rottweilers, Dogo Argentinos), decrease (Great Dane, Saint Bernard) or falling back very quickly (Dobermanns, Neapolitan Mastiffs). The Boxer succeeds in keeping his stock steady, even with its long ears and natural tail. Let’s note that the English Bulldog and the Bernese Mountain Dog are seducing more and more owners, and that the cane Corso is also always on a safe valour.
The two “bulls”, the American Staffordshire Terrier and the English Staffordshire Terrier, are the two stars of the Group 3. Behind, the West Highland White Terrier is still the leading breed of the Scottish clan. Behind, one can find the Jack Russel Terrier and the Parson Russel Terrier, which continue their nice increase. On the whole, the Terriers are progressing, especially the smallest breeds.
It is still a hard time for the 4th group, even if the general decrease of the group seems to have stopped for the moment: 4,360 in 2001, 3793 in 2002 and 3,794 in 2005.
There are very few changes in the Group 5, with its eternal leader, the Siberian Husky, which is doing good for three years, after the disastrous 80’s and 90’s period. The most popular breeds, Akita Inu, Samoyed, Chow Chow and Eurasian, are increasing year after year. This is particularly true for the Samoyed, which took the third place of the Akita Inu in 2004.
The Beagle has been the charismatic leader of the Group 6 for several years, and it still represents in 2005 almost 20% of the dogs of the Group. There are numerous French breeds in the Group, with very different situations, from the Basset fauve de Bretagne – now at the second place instead of the Basset Hound – to the Billy, which is really in great danger.
The most popular breeds of the Group 7 remain the same : English Setter, Brittany Spaniel, German Pointing Dog and Pointer, and just right behind them comes the largest dog of the group, the Short haired Weimaraner.
The news in the 8th Group is the fact that the top breed is no longer the Labrador retriever, whose number of birth has been very slowly decreasing for a few years, but the Golden Retriever. Behind these two breeds, one can find three Spaniels:, among which the most popular is the the Cocker Spaniel, with almost 5,000 registrations. The number of births of the English Springer Spaniel is still increasing, while that of the Cocker are 10% down compared to 2004.
The Group 9 is also increasing, with three top dogs, the Cavalier King Charles, the French Bulldog and the Shih Tzu (whose figures have however slightly declined in 2005). The fourth most popular breed of the Group, the Coton de Tulear, has had the biggest increase, and may very well be in the top three in the next few years.
The Group 10 is still looking for a strong leading breed to be on the rise again. The most popular sight hound in France is still the Whippet, with steady figures. The second most popular breed is the Borzoi, while the third rank comes to the smallest breed of the group, the Italian Hound. The group 10 follows the general of purebred dogs in France, as the two most popular breeds are also the smallest ones.
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