Generally, rare breeds are bred by individuals who are quite knowledgable about the breed and rescues are not common. Popular breeds have a much broader breeder base and often have well developed programs for dealing with rescues. In addition popular breeds are more likely to be turned into animal shelters.
In 1994 the number of individual registrations of Labrador Retriever with the AKC (126393) was equal to 9.4% of the dogs registered with the AKC and Labrador Retriever were ranked #1 in popularity.
Labrador Retreivers are popular for many reasons. The short slick coat is easily cared for. The pleasant outgoing personality suites them as a starter large dog and a family dog. They are a hunting dog used to retriever game birds from water and are fairly high energy dogs who are quite playful. Since 1969 the popularity of the Labrador Retriever has experienced a steady, but not explosive, growth. As with any popular breed the buyer needs to become familiar with genetic problems in the breed and seek out a knoweldgable seller with screened, warrenteed stock.
Buying a pupular breed puppy of is more like buying a used car than buying a brand name product and the impulsive or ignorant buyer is frequently disappointed in the long run.
Dogs = Number of Labrador Retriever individuals registered with AKC. Litters Number of Labrador Retriever litters registered with AKC. ************************************************************************* Year 1994 1987 1983 1969 Dogs 126393 81987 67389 21611 Litters 30471 20055 15491 na