NEW YORK (WTRF)– Over 48 million households in America own a dog. The American Kennel Club recognizes 200 dog breeds and until 2022 the Labrador Retriever held the top spot, which it held for 31 years.

A new breed has been ranked number one. The French Bulldog is now the most registered dog breed according to the AKC. Gaining popularity over the last 10 years, French Bulldog registrations have increased over 1000% since 2014.

Also known as a Frenchie, this breed is smart, playful and compact, making it perfect for different households across the United States. The breed was first recognized by the American Kennel club in 1898.

While the Labrador Retriever slipped to the number two spot, the Golden Retriever, German Shepherd Dog, and Poodle take the third fourth and fifth spots in ranking.

Over the years, the American Hairless Terrier, Gordon Setter, Italian Greyhound and Anatolian Shepherd dog have also jumped in popularity.

New to the AKC are the Hungarian farm dog breed the Mudi and the Russian Toy, which debuted at numbers 150 and 144, respectively. In 2023, we will see a new breed in the rankings, the Bracco Italiano, which was the 200th breed to be fully recognized by the AKC in July of 2022.

Coming last in rankings are the Sloughi, Norwegian Lundehund and English Foxhound as numbers 197, 198, and 199.

The American Kennel Club was founded in 1884 with only nine breeds recognized, most being hunting dogs.

With so many breeds to choose from it’s hard to tell who will take next year’s top spot, but for now The Frenchie gets to enjoy the limelight.

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