Labs extend record as US top dog, but bulldogs make waves

Labs reigned as the nation’s top dog last year for the 24th year after breaking poodles’ decades-old record in 2013.

Four Labrador retrievers line up for a photograph with their handlers before entering the ring for competition at the Westminster Kennel Club dog show - AP file photo

New York — America’s fondness for Labrador retrievers is still setting records, but bulldogs are breaking new ground.

Labs reigned as the nation’s top dog last year for the 24th year after breaking poodles’ decades-old record in 2013, according to American Kennel Club rankings set to be released on Thursday. But bulldogs have hit a new high — No. 4 — and their bat-eared cousins, French bulldogs, sauntered into the top 10 for the first time in nearly a century.

German shepherds, golden retrievers and beagles are holding their own in the top five, with Yorkshire terriers, poodles, boxers and Rottweilers filling out the top 10. Dachshunds slipped from 10th to 11th.

Bulldogs’ rise is no surprise to fans who extol their unmistakable, push-faced expressions and generally calm demeanors.

“They just have such character,” says Bulldog Club of America communications chairwoman Annette Noble. The breed is known for being gentle but resolute — given direction, a bulldog may well want “to think about it first and decide whether it’s worth it,” as Noble puts it.