There was a time during the Covid pandemic and I guess shortly afterwards when the French Bulldog was the most popular breed in the UK but owners of this dog breed learnt to their cost that the French Bulldog is perhaps the most unhealthy dog breed of all with, as I recall, an average lifespan of about seven years, which falls far short of the general average which must be somewhere around 13 years for dogs and perhaps about 18 years for cats nowadays.
So the French Bulldog is, today, in 2026, the third most popular breed having slipped from first place and that lofty position has been taken by the miniature dachshund.
I often visit Richmond Park to walk and the most common dog that I see is, unsurprisingly, thr dachshund both the standard version and the miniature version and some wirehaired versions.
It was apparent to me without reading this Times article that the dachshund in the UK is the most popular breed. And as mentioned it is the miniature version of the dachshund which is the popular one.
Popularity as usual has been driven in part by celebrity culture with celebrities showing off their dachshunds. Perhaps the best known celebrity to live with a dachshund is the singer Adele who named her dog after Louis Armstrong.
The rise in the miniature dachshund has been swift because in 2018 the breed was the 16th most popular offered for sale. In second place today is the Cocker Spaniel.
The survey comes from Pets4Homes which is the UK's largest online marketplace for pets. They say that the miniature dachshund accounts for 1/3 of the country's puppy sales. However, the dachshund also has health issues (back) and it can be bred to long and too low to the ground. They are dwarf animals which is morally problematic.
Prices are beginning to rise again with 2025 being a turning point in prices and therefore popularity. The average puppy price reached £989 in December 2025 which is up 23% year-on-year. Demand has recovered to above pre-pandemic levels.
There are far more pedigree dogs and there are pedigree cats. This is because the domestic dog has been in existence for far longer than the domestic cat. Dogs were domesticated perhaps 20,000 or more years ago while it is believed that the wildcat was first domesticated around 10,000 years ago but that date is in dispute to a certain extent.
The reason for the early domestication of dogs is because they were used as utilitarian animals whereas cats are much less able to be utilitarian.
Pedigree dogs account for 65% of puppies sold which by the way is down from 82% 10 years ago. Perhaps nowadays there are more people adopting rescue dogs which are mixed breed dogs. This would indicates a greater concern nowadays for dog welfare than in the past.
The survey also concluded that cats are gaining ground in popularity with kitten adverts rising 8% in 2025 which represents a second consecutive year of growth. As mentioned in the title, British Shorthair cats are the most popular breed. They have a dense coat and they are known to be very good full-time indoor cats with a placid temperament. I suspect that a lot of these cats are full-time indoor cats because of modern work practices and with people being more aware that there are natural dangers outside for free-roaming cats particularly road traffic.
The British shorthair represents about 20% of sales by the way.
The Cavalier King Charles spaniel is the most expensive dog with an average price of £1441. The average price of a miniature dachshund in the UK, in December 2025 was £1016. Note: I can remember dog prices being a lot higher during the Covid pandemic because of rapidly increased demand and a lack of supply.
Prices for the miniature dachshund have risen £33 over the period 2024 (December) to 2025.
People who are interested in animal welfare will be pleased that the French Bulldog has lost its some of its popularity. Animal rights activist would argue that the French Bulldog should not be bred at all because it is inherently unhealthy due to its extreme breeding with an extremely round head with a very flat face described as brachycephalic by experts. The reason why breeders do this is to make the dog look more like a baby child which triggers a desire to buy the animal.
A lot of people nowadays appear to be buying dogs as a precursor to having a baby. They are testing themselves to see whether they can cope and whether they enjoy the experience.
Accordingly, it is arguable that they are treating their dogs as little babies which is to anthropomorphise them, which in itself, is not entirely advisable although quite cute. That's because one should treat dogs as dogs in order to ensure that they are even the best chance to behave naturally.
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