Dogs come in all shapes and sizes - the UK Kennel Club recognises 221 different pedigree dogs, from Affenpinscher to Yorkshire Terrier (there are sadly no dog breeds starting with the letter ‘z’!).
Then there are all manner of crossbreeds, from so-called ‘designer dogs’ to lovable mongrels.
Each has its own list of positive and negative attributes, and it’s important to take plenty of time to think about what breed will fit into your lifestyle the best - for instance a smaller dog if you live in a flat, or a hypoallergenic dog if the mere mention of dog hair makes you think about sneezing.
There is even scientific research to guide you, in particular psychologist Stanley Coren’s groundbreaking book The Intelligence of Dogs.
Dog breeds regularly fall in and out of fashion for myriad reasons and the Royal Kennel Club (formerly the UK Kennel Club) keeps an eye on the numbers by publishing how many dogs of each breeds are registered with them each year.
Their figures for 2025 were recently released and Briefcase PR have been crunching the numbers to see which breeds are falling in popularity the fastest by comparing the data from 2025 with the numbers from the year before.
Here are the 10 dog breeds that are currently suffering a drop in popularity.
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5. English Bulldog
Like its more popular diminuative French cousin, the English Bulldog is suffering something of a downturn. There were just 2,711 registered in 2025 compared to 3,865 the year before - a reduction of 1,154. | Getty Images
6. Miniature Schnauzer
There were 739 fewer Miniature Schnauzers registered with the Royal Kennel Club in 2025 than the year before - down from 3,695 to 2,956 pups. | Getty Images
7. English Springer Spaniel
The second spaniel to sadly make the list, the English Springer Spaniel has dropped from 6,527 registrations in 2024 to 5,845 in 2025. That's a drop of 682. | AFP via Getty Images
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8. German Shephard
It may be one of the most useful dogs in the world -used by the police and army - but fewer of us are adding German Shepherds to our family than we were. There were 4,817 registrations in 2024 but only 4,278 a year later - a drop of 539. | AFP via Getty Images