Fads in Dog Ownership
Why are dogs like neckties, hairstyles and skirt lengths? Because current fashion trends affect individual choices in all these areas. To a large degree, the waxing and waning popularity of dog breeds follows the same trend lines that marketing experts observe in the purchase patterns of consumer fashion goods.
Five Stages of Fashion Trends
Over time, trends in consumer choices tend to sort into five stages:*
Introduction – A new trend emerges, typically from high-fashion runways, influential designers, or grassroots movements. At this stage, the trend is adopted by a niche audience and appears on the market in only limited ways.
Rise – The trend gains visibility and momentum, often thanks to celebrities and influencers. It starts appearing across media and begins to reach a wider, trend-conscious audience. Think Paris Hilton and her purse-portable Chihuahua.
Peak – The trend reaches its height of popularity, becoming widely available and embraced by mainstream consumers. Labrador Retrievers reached this stage of popularity in the 1990s.
Decline – Oversaturation sets in. Consumers grow tired of seeing the trend everywhere, prompting a change. Too many Labs? Hard to believe, but perhaps this was a factor in the ascent of the French Bulldog to number one. The Frenchie took over the top spot in 2022, the first time in 31 years that the Labrador Retriever had not sat at the top of the American Kennel Club (AKC) rankings.
Obsolescence – The trend fades out of mainstream fashion, no longer considered current. Will French Bulldogs fall out of favor, as owners grow tired of the challenges they bring (breathing constrictions, ear infections and back injuries)?
Poodle Popularity Bucks the Trend
Some dog breeds buck the trend line, showing booms in popularity without the precipitous declines that characterize the final two stages of the fashion trend lifecycle. The Poodle is one such breed. In terms of popularity, it is by far the most successful breed in the history of the AKC. Poodles hit the top of the popularity chart in 1960 and stayed at the peak until 1982. This 23-year run is by far the longest stretch over which any breed held the top position.** Poodles still appear in the top ten of most popular dog breeds (currently at number five).***
Underlying Factors**
Major social changes can affect the attractiveness of fashion styles, including dog breed choice. For instance, the post-World War II migration of American families to suburban neighborhoods endowed many for the first time with dog-friendly yards. This, in turn, made larger dogs more feasible as pets. Class imitation can also affect pet choices as interest in specific breeds finds its way into the mainstream. Corgies and Lhasa Apsos, for instance, were once associated with royalty, but are now common across all socioeconomic groups. Hunting dogs such as English and Irish Setters, once the working pets of the landed British gentry, now live in all kinds of neighborhoods across America.
Cultural imitation explains some of the trends in dog breed popularity. As with other fashion choices, during stage 2 rise people may simply decide that a trend increasing in popularity must be gaining momentum for a reason, even if the reason isn’t obvious. Social media traffic may accelerate this trend, as internet memes and other bits of widely available information affect pet choices.
In some instances, a particularly prominent media phenomenon may have an outsized effect on which dog breeds gain popularity. We might call this “The Disney Effect.” Following the 1959 Disney movie, The Shaggy Dog, Old English Sheepdog registrations increased 100-fold over the following 14 years. In the eight years following the 1985 re-release of Disney’s 101 Dalmatians, the annual number of new Dalmatian registrations with the AKC increased more than fivefold. Following the peak in 1983, the breed then witnessed the steepest decline in popularity of any breed in AKC history – a 97 percent drop within a decade. A dramatic example of the transition from stage 3 to stage 4.**
Why Do Fads Matter?
Come meet some wonderful poodles and doodles at the MobilityDog Open House on October 4.
It’s always a potential danger sign when people base complex decisions like the choice of a dog breed on celebrity images or internet memes rather than on rational, informed analysis. Here again, French Bulldog popularity may turn out to be a cautionary tale. As cute as they are, they bring inherent health challenges that not all individuals and families are equipped to handle.
Moreover, domestic situations change. That pocket-sized pooch you adopted for companionship during the COVID-19 restrictions may not fit your post-pandemic desire for a dog that can hike all day or dominate an agility contest.
Finally, as we have mentioned several times in this blog series, making a pet choice simply on breed may be fraught with complications. Dogs are individuals – better to understand the temperament, physical capabilities and health issues associated with one prospective pet dog than to rely simply on broad-brush breed characteristics.
Better Criteria
Fashion life cycle trends appear to explain a good deal of
*”Understanding fashion trend life cycles: The 5 Stages,” June 23, 2025, Fashion Cycles: Understanding The 5 Stages Of A Trend
**Herzog, H. (2006). Forty-two thousand and one Dalmatians: Fads, social contagion, and dog breed popularity. Society & Animals, 14(4), 383-397, Forty-two Thousand and One Dalmatians: Fads, Social Contagion, and Dog Breed Popularity
***Kloepple, S., “The Top 10 Most Popular Dog Breeds Going Into 2025,” https://www.petmd.com/dog/general-health/most-popular-dog-breeds