Camp Bow Wow, North America’s largest doggy day care and boarding franchise, shares the top five large and top five small dog breeds for 2023 based on its database of nearly 400,000 Campers across the U.S. and Canada.
Unlike kennel clubs that share annual lists based on purebred dog registrations, Camp Bow Wow’s list includes a range of purebreds, mixed-breed dogs (listed by their primary breed) and popular crossbreeds, including doodles.
In the big-dog category, the ever-popular Labrador Retriever (including Lab mixes) tops the list for the sixth year in a row. The Goldendoodle comes in second, followed by mixed and purebred Golden Retrievers, German Shepherds and Australian Shepherds — rounding out the top five large-dog and top five overall breeds at Camp Bow Wow.
The most popular small-dog breeds based on Camp Bow Wow’s data are, in order, the Miniature Poodle, Chihuahua, Shih Tzu, Beagle and Yorkshire Terrier. Of the small-dog list, only the Miniature Poodle (7th) and Chihuahua (8th) appear in the top 10 overall breeds, which is rounded out by the Pit Bull Terrier (6th), Labradoodle (9th) and Siberian Husky (10th).
“Some small breeds are big dogs at heart — for example, even the smallest terriers tend to be high-energy and need lots of attention and exercise, while a large dog breed like a Great Dane is known to be fairly calm and lower-energy,” Askeland said.
Regardless of the breed, all dogs benefit from playtime, social activity, and enrichment. www.campbowwow.com