Are labradors the top dog in YOUR postcode? Britain's most popular pooches revealed...(VIDEO)
Are labradors the top dog in your postcode?
Pooches revealed as the UK favourite
(but if you live up north you're more likely to have a greyhound or Staffordshire bull terrier)
- New data shows type of dog we choose could be down to our postcodes
- Most popular pooch is labrador with more than 500,000 tagged in the UK
- Jack Russell is second while Staffordshire bull terrier comes third
- Physical space dictates breed with Londoners favouring smaller dogs
From bulldogs to border collies and great Danes to greyhounds, Britain is indisputably a nation of dog lovers.
But now data has emerged which shows that the type of pooches we chose to take home as pets could be entirely down to postcode.
An analysis of ten years’ worth of microchip data has revealed for the first time Britain’s favourite dog breed by area – with some startling results.
By far, the most popular dog breed across England, Wales and Scotland is the Labrador retriever, with more than 509,000 tagged by pet registration companies Petlog and Animalcare in the past decade.
In second place came the Jack Russell terrier with more than 376,000 animals tagged, while the Staffordshire bull terrier was third, with 356,000, according to the BBC.
The Labrador retriever tops the list in almost every county, but there are pockets of areas in which Britons favour another – such as Sunderland, in the North East, where Staffordshire bull terriers are most popular, or Llandrindod Wells in Wales where Border Collies reign supreme.
The data, which included five million dogs but excluded the numerous types of crossbreeds, also revealed that Liverpool was the most popular postcode for fashionable shih tzus, while greyhounds are the dog of choice in Halifax, West Yorkshire.
And the Jack Russell terrier is top breed for those living in the West of the UK, with more Jack Russells than any other dog being tagged in Northern Ireland, Plymouth, Truro, Bristol, Gloucester and South Wales.
Popular pooch: Labradors are the UK's favourite dog
Perhaps unsurprisingly, physical space also dictates the breed, with Londoners choosing smaller dogs such as dachshunds while in the Shetlands, the most popular breeds are the large Border Collies.
Scroll down for video
Kennel Club secretary Caroline Kisko explained why Labrador retrievers, Jack Russell terriers and Staffordshire bull terriers are such popular breeds and said that they are ‘wonderfully loyal, easily-trained breeds, suitable for single owners, couples or families’.
She also told the BBC: ‘Labradors are very popular working dogs and are equally as happy spending a day out in the field or in the woods as they are curled up on the sofa with their family.’
The other breeds tagged most frequently by Petlog and Animalcare include the cocker spaniel, German shepherd, golden retriever, border terrier, Rottweiler, cavalier King Charles and Chihuahua.
According to the Pet Food Manufacturer’s Association, which carries out an annual pet population survey, about 25 per cent of all households own a dog - which equates to more than 8.5 million across the British Isles.
Prof Lance Workman, of the University of South Wales, who has researched the psychology of dog ownership trends, told the BBC that when choosing a dog ‘sometimes the heart rules over the head’.
Referring to the recent London trend for dachshunds, he said: ‘They are certainly livelier than they look and can be a bit boisterous and aggressive, so they may not be the best dogs for small flats.
By far, the most popular dog breed across England, Wales and Scotland is the Labrador retriever, with more than 509,000 tagged by pet registration companies Petlog and Animalcare in the past decade
‘People need to not only look at the size of the dog but the breeds and their temperaments.’
The data from the study was taken from the past ten years – the the average lifespan of a dog - from Petlog and Animalcare, two of the UK’s three biggest microchipping firms, covering about 60 per cent of all dogs in the country.
The BBC said crossbreeds were excluded as these are the most popular dog in all postcodes and have numerous permutations.
It added that some dogs may have been incorrectly chipped while owners of breeds classed as dangerous dogs are less likely to get their dog chipped.
From 2016, chipping data may become a more accurate reflection of dog popularity, as it becomes the legal responsibility of all owners in England to chip their pet.
.
