UK dog owners prefer crossbreeds and imports to domestic pedigree breeds, study finds

The UK pedigree dog population shrank by a yearly decline of 0.9% between 1990 and 2021, according to research published in Companion Animal Genetics and Health. The study highlights a rise in the populations of crossbreeds and imported pedigree dogs since 1990, but finds that only 13.7% of registered domestic pedigree dogs were used for breeding between 2005 and 2015.

There are more than 400 breeds of dogs globally, characterized by different appearances and behaviors. While the overall population of pet dogs in the UK has increased from 7.6 million in 2012 to 12 million in 2021, limited genetic diversity in pedigree (or purebred) dog populations has heightened the risk of inherited diseases, supported by accumulating evidence for breed-specific diseases.

Joanna Ilska and colleagues analyzed demographic data for 222 dog breeds from the Kennel Club’s electronic database, including breed, parentage, and country of origin. The ten most popular pedigree dog breeds represented 44% of the whole pedigree population, with Labrador Retrievers, French Bulldogs, and Cocker Spaniels being the most common.

The researchers found that pedigree populations have decreased markedly since 2010. Yorkshire Terriers saw the largest decline in population of 10.6% from 1990 to 2021, while French Bulldogs saw the biggest increase of 22.1%.

Meanwhile, trends for imported pedigree dogs rose sharply after 2010, with more than 3,000 dogs imported each year between 2011 and 2019. Ireland exported 11,577 dogs to the UK between 1990 and 2021, Russia exported 4,396 dogs, and Poland exported 3,905 dogs.

The authors suggest the pedigree population drop may be linked to negative attitudes towards dog breeding, compounded by the routine neutering of dogs—it is estimated that 44% of dogs in the UK are neutered. They note that the decline in the number of pedigree dogs may also reflect changing attitudes in favor of mixed and crossbred dogs, such as Cockapoos.

Ilska and co-authors suggest management strategies for pedigree dogs should account for declining population sizes and be tailored to the circumstances of individual breeds, with the increased number of imported dogs used in breeding potentially benefiting the overall genetic diversity of dog populations.