2024 Top Ten Most Popular Dog Breeds In The UK – at The Little Dog Laughed!
Last week I was doing some online research as I wanted to check where the breed favourites ranked and compare it to our best selling cards list. It’s getting harder to keep up with the dog breeds I have drawn and there is a constant ebb and flow of reprints, amends or discontinued. Finding quiet time to look at the figures is pretty rare. I compared three of the latest Most Popular Dog Breeds tables and then looked at our own design rankings. Of the three tables, one was from a top selling dog toys business, the other was linked to the Kennel Club breed registration and the third was a YouGov study on fame and popularity. To do this blog piece justice and because I’m assuming you all have lives to live, I’ve split it into two parts.
Common sense would suggest I work from In at No.10 up to No.1 but we all know the Labrador will win and therefore the real interest comes at the other end!
So here is our
2024 Top Ten Most Popular Dog Breeds in the UK – at The Little Dog Laughed | Part One
Number One
No surprises here. Labradors are and have been, for as long as I can remember the No.1 top dog favourite dog breeds and this tallies with our design findings. We currently have four best selling designs that feature Labradors. I am pleased our new Lab & Wine does really well because I gave it a masculine bias. I designed for a fictional gentleman who loves their Labrador and who also enjoys a drop of red of an evening with a well walked dog at their feet. Not sure life can get much better than that! It is not easy to find greeting cards for men that do not revolve around sport or breaking wind!
I’m slowly edging closer to satisfaction on my Labrador design offerings but still feel I haven’t hit a classic for this breed as of yet. And I am missing the stunning fox red Lab variety so that needs addressing in 2025. Any fox red Labrador owners out there, please do get in touch.
I think my artistic ability lets me down when it comes to painting short haired dogs. A hairy beastie is much easier to get right first time. That said, the Thinking Food Labrador and Staffie design featuring Harry and Harvey, gorgeous DogsTrust rescues, does make me giggle. Labs obviously have a reputation for eating but this caption was actually inspired by my own street mutt who literally lives for breakfast, lunch, dinner and of course obligatory holding snacks. I think this caption resonates with many dog owners regardless of breed preference and I feel sure these two were waiting patiently after their breakfast for the next feed session.
Number Two
At No.2 in the Top Ten Most Popular Dog Breeds tables is where we get our first deviation from the other’s results with Border Collies and French Bulldogs listing high. For us it’s the iconic Dachshund that steels our No.2 spot.
Be a Happy Sausage with the black and tan smooth-haired Dachshund is a big favourite with our customers which is why you can find it on so many of our gift options. This design has been around for quite some time although it has had a few composition changes along the way. I am slightly regretting my current background colour choice of muted tomato red because it is proving really hard to colour match on the various gift lines. I think as long as I don’t display all the Happy Sausage gift lines together I will be able to sleep at night. Colour variation, it’s a designer’s nightmare!
Number Three
In at No.3 with an unanimous result across the board is the Cocker Spaniel but for little ‘ole us it the Rescue mix breed terriers that receive our bronze medal. We have lots of designs that are terrier focused and although my company name was actually chosen because of my final degree project on cows, I think the name, The Little Dog Laughed may have unconsciously driven the business’s cheeky, short-legged doggie design bias!
I have mixed feeling about our Caught design, mainly because the caption isn’t one of mine. The artwork came first when I did a book project with Battersea Dogs and Cats Home. Fast forward to the internet reaching the masses, I read this popular meme in the same week I was sorting through my design archive. It was obviously milling around in my head when the lightbulb went ping. To me it really looks like Teddy the JR is whispering the advice to Joshie from the corner of his mouth and the focus of both dogs made me giggle.
About 98% of our captions are original to us which explains some of the really obscure “What on earth was I thinking when that one went to print” designs. Niche is an understatement. In fact, it took me over two decades before I finally conceded that a simple Happy Birthday might be a popular caption for anyone looking for a birthday card! We’ve been told our captions resonate with fellow dog and cat lovers who spot the same emotions, characteristics and traits in their furry ones. I think perhaps it is this originality and genuine affection for animals that has formed the bedrock of our longevity.
Number Four
Spaniels rank at No.4 for us but the other tables are split between Collies, Cockapoos and Dachshunds. Our top selling spaniel offering is actually a mix breed rescue from Cyprus and it is because of Skyla and her owner that I too ended up with a rescue dog from overseas, which is probably why this artwork holds a special place in my heart. I’ve always believed it was the caption that made this design popular but now knowing about the high-ranking spaniel love, maybe it’s an equal breed, artwork and caption split.
We do have rather a strong turnout for spaniels at The Little Dog Laughed but Springers and Sprockers feature more than Cockers so I’ll get a wiggle on and try and improve the balance.
Number Five
Now we are really going off piste in the ranks with this one. Border Terriers are super popular at The Little Dog Laughed but elsewhere it is Golden Retrievers and Border Collies snaffling the No.5 spot. The Border Terrier’s highest ranking is 10 in the other charts. Therefore, it a high five, low paws to this plucky, sturdy breed for reaching No.5 in the Top Ten Most Popular Dog Breeds In The UK – at The Little Dog Laughed!
Archie was the star of this best selling design but for years I was unable to reconnect with his owner who had submitted her photo in one of our annual calendar competitions. Eventually, over a decade later, our paths crossed when her friend said I was looking for her. The funniest thing was she had constantly told her husband that she was sure this card was their dog. He hadn’t believed her. That has to be the ultimate “I told you so” moment. But here is the best bit, Archie was still with her so I got to draw him again in his golden years.
And that concludes Part One of our
Top Ten Most Popular Dog Breeds in the UK – at The Little Dog Laughed!
If I haven’t bored you senseless then keep ’em peeled for the Most Popular Dog Breeds big reveal in Part Two. And I’ll leave you with my current favourite because this breed doesn’t get nearly enough of the limelight. Hungarian Wirehaired Vizslas … gorgeous!
I love ALL of your designs (incl. cats, hares, birds and flowers) and have bought many items. I have a black/tan daxi crossbreed so have bought a couple of “Happy Sausage” items. But my most favourite design was the terrier and hound with the matching bandanas and quotation of being twins. That melted my heart.
Keep on producing the wonderful designs and quotes.
I love your products and succumb quite frequently, I have a Westipoo named Ned and a cheeky rough coated Jack Russell called Elsie.
I think the poodle mixes must be in the top ten as they come in all shapes and sizes
But i may be a little biased by my Scruffy