We know which dog breeds are most popular in different parts of the United States, but which breeds are our readers searching for the most?
You’ve already seen which giant breeds vetstreet.com readers are most interested in learning about — the 10 large breeds with the most searches since the start of 2015 are listed here. But how about small breeds?
No. 10: Boston Terrier
The Boston Terrier is a portable dog who's typically friendly with people and other animals he meets. At 10 to 25 pounds, he's on the bigger end of the spectrum for this list.
No. 9: Maltese
A member of the Toy Group, the Maltese has a glistening white coat with the cutest shoe-button eyes and generally sports a bright and lively personality.
No. 8: Corgi
Whether you prefer Corgis of the Cardigan Welsh or Pembroke Welsh variety, they're a commonly searched breed! The Queen of England favors the Pembroke, who has a foxier face and no tail. The Cardigan tends to be a bit larger than the Pembroke, although both originated in Wales.
No. 7: Chihuahua
Small in stature, the Chihuahua has a supersize personality, and when she decides what she wants, she goes after it with single-minded determination.
No. 6: Miniature Schnauzer
Another larger-than-life personality, the Miniature Schnauzer typically loves participating in everything his owner wants to do (and is happy to alert his owner to anything he might not be aware of). Searches for both "Schnauzer" and "Miniature Schnauzer" (but not Standard or Giant) were included.
No. 5: Dachshund
The smallest member of the Hound Group, the Dachshund has a big spirit that won't be denied. She's typically intelligent (but occasionally stubborn) and tends to be quite devoted to her people.
No. 4: Pug
The sturdy little Pug generally has a charming, fun-loving personality. He was bred as a companion for Chinese royalty and continues to thrive as a cherished member of the family.
No. 3: Yorkshire Terrier
The Yorkie is a member of the Toy group, but her spunky personality tends more toward her Terrier roots. Smart and playful, she's got both looks and brains — although that gorgeous, silky coat can be high maintenance.
No. 2: Shih Tzu
We won't make you guess how many different spellings we found in searches for the Shih Tzu, but as you can probably imagine, there was quite a variety. He was originally bred as a companion for royalty in China, and many modern Shih Tzus continue to be wonderful family dogs.
No. 1: Poodle
The beloved Poodle comes in a Miniature and Toy variety (as well as a larger Standard), so for this list, we included searches for "Poodle," "Miniature Poodle" and "Toy Poodle," and altogether, they added up to No. 1!
We parsed through several thousand searches to come up with the list above. And, for each of the breeds listed, we included all obvious varieties of the breed name: misspellings, nicknames and abbreviations, as well as any searches for the breed name with other information. So, for example, "What does a Shih Tzu chew on?" counted as a search for that breed.
However, any searches for a breed along with another breed ("Maltese" and "Poodle") were not counted, nor were any designer mixes or other mixed-breed nicknames ("Maltipoo"). Finally, to be considered, breeds had to have a maximum top weight of 25 pounds.
