Madison's Most Popular Dog Breeds Show Surprising Variation
Madison is home to a wide variety of dogs, reflecting the myriad shapes and sizes these canine companions can take.
September 13, 2017
Madison is home to a wide variety of dogs, reflecting the myriad shapes and sizes these canine companions can take.
A total of 162 specific dog breeds were registered in Madison in 2016 — that’s about 85 percent of the total number recognized by the American Kennel Club. An analysis by the University of Wisconsin Applied Population Laboratory of dog licensing data of Wisconsin’s second largest city examined where the most popular breeds are more likely to be found, but there’s a lot more detail about people’s pups that can be unpacked.
Many different breeds of dogs are popular in Madison, not counting those listed as “mixed breed” and “other.” In fact, mutts and other non-specific types of dogs are the two most common types of canines in the city, at least based on the licensing data. The following figure provides an interactive view of all licensed dogs that are listed as a specific breed. Hover over the pieces of the pie chart to learn every breed’s relative popularity.
Licensed Madison dogs by breed in 2016
This chart shows the number of dogs by individual breed registered in the city of Madison in 2016. Of all licensed dogs in the city, 35 percent are mixed breed, which are not listed here. Hover over each segment of the chart to view the breed name and license count.
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//prevent top cut-off if(top < 0){ top = 0; } //prevent left cut-off if(left < 0){ left = 0; } //prevent right cut-off var diff = (rect.left+rect.width) - (left+tt.clientWidth); if(diff < 0){ left += diff; } tt.style.top = top + "px"; tt.style.left = left + "px"; diff = null; top = null; left = null; rect = null; } //function to make the chart! function makePieChart(div, data){ data = JSON.parse(data); //need to parse out string var container = d3.select("#"+div); var height = 620, width = 620, radius = Math.min(width,height)/2; //set outer radius of pie chart container.append("svg"); var svg = container.select("svg") .attr("viewBox", "0 0 "+width+" "+height) .attr("preserveAspectRatio", "xMidYMin slice"); //ensure values are numeric data.forEach(function(d){ d.count = +d.count; }); //sort data = data.sort(function(a,b){ return b.count - a.count; }); var group = svg.append("g") .attr("transform", "translate(" + width/2 + "," + height/2 + ")"); //centers group/graphic within svg var pie = d3.pie() //draw the pie chart using the data .value(function(d) { return d.count; }); //d.count selects the "count" column from the csv var path = d3.arc() .innerRadius(0)//Increase this number to make a doughnut chart .outerRadius(radius); var arcs = group.selectAll(".arc") .data(pie(data)) .enter().append("g") .attr("class", "arc"); var tooltip = container.append("div") //add to container instead .attr("class", "dog-chart-tooltip"); arcs.append("path") .attr("d", path) .attr("class", "arc-path"); //mouse events d3.selectAll(".arc") .on("mouseenter", function(d){ tooltip .text(d.data.breed + ": " + d.data.count) //this is what will be shown in the tooltip .style("opacity", 0.9); //this function helps catch on/off screen issues positionTooltip(tooltip.node(), container.node(), d3.mouse(container.node())); }) .on("mouseleave", function(d){ tooltip .style("opacity", 0); }); } var dogData = '[{"breed":"Beagle","count":269},{"breed":"Wirehaired Terrier","count":14},{"breed":"Maltese","count":54},{"breed":"German Shorthaired Pointer","count":77},{"breed":"Golden Retriever","count":541},{"breed":"American Bulldog","count":30},{"breed":"Japanese Chin","count":10},{"breed":"Cocker Spaniel","count":113},{"breed":"Border Collie","count":208},{"breed":"Springer Spaniel","count":68},{"breed":"Yorkshire Terrier","count":94},{"breed":"Bichon Frise","count":113},{"breed":"Miniature Dachshund","count":120},{"breed":"Pug","count":111},{"breed":"Pekingese","count":13},{"breed":"Labrador Retriever","count":1381},{"breed":"Doberman Pinscher","count":40},{"breed":"Jack Russell Terrier","count":98},{"breed":"Australian Cattledog","count":110},{"breed":"Boxer","count":139},{"breed":"Standard Poodle","count":120},{"breed":"Cavalier King Charles Spaniel","count":75},{"breed":"Collie","count":68},{"breed":"Greyhound","count":73},{"breed":"Miniature Schnauzer","count":39},{"breed":"Australian Shepherd","count":197},{"breed":"Portugese Water Dog","count":34},{"breed":"Miniature Pinscher","count":50},{"breed":"German Shepherd","count":282},{"breed":"Chihuahua","count":165},{"breed":"Cairn Terrier","count":55},{"breed":"Rhodesian Ridgeback","count":26},{"breed":"Belgian Shepherd","count":5},{"breed":"American Eskimo","count":35},{"breed":"Pit Bull","count":121},{"breed":"Welsh Terrier","count":13},{"breed":"Kerry Blue Terrier","count":1},{"breed":"Dalmatian","count":17},{"breed":"English Shepherd","count":14},{"breed":"Miniature Schnauzer","count":74},{"breed":"Coton De Tulear","count":6},{"breed":"Pomeranian","count":61},{"breed":"Tibetan Terrier","count":24},{"breed":"Fox Terrier","count":20},{"breed":"Samoyed","count":27},{"breed":"Papillon","count":19},{"breed":"Shih Tzu","count":183},{"breed":"Miniature Poodle","count":71},{"breed":"Boston Terrier","count":102},{"breed":"English Bulldog","count":39},{"breed":"Old English Bulldog","count":14},{"breed":"West Highland Terrier","count":44},{"breed":"Rat Terrier","count":113},{"breed":"Basset Hound","count":38},{"breed":"Havanese","count":52},{"breed":"Wheaton Terrier","count":39},{"breed":"Flat-coated Retriever","count":12},{"breed":"Weimaraner","count":45},{"breed":"Gordon Setter","count":7},{"breed":"Siberian Husky","count":153},{"breed":"Brittany","count":50},{"breed":"Shiba Inu","count":53},{"breed":"Shepherd","count":56},{"breed":"Hound","count":67},{"breed":"Munsterlander","count":5},{"breed":"English Setter","count":32},{"breed":"Standard Poodle","count":22},{"breed":"Lhasa Apso","count":35},{"breed":"Vizsla","count":73},{"breed":"Toy Poodle","count":17},{"breed":"German Wirehaired Pointer","count":13},{"breed":"Whippet","count":22},{"breed":"Scottish Terrier","count":24},{"breed":"Standard Schnauzer","count":22},{"breed":"Basenji","count":20},{"breed":"Shetland Sheepdog","count":56},{"breed":"Border Terrier","count":10},{"breed":"Tibetan Mastiff","count":5},{"breed":"Mastiff","count":15},{"breed":"Giant Schnauzer","count":6},{"breed":"Bernese Mountain Dog","count":41},{"breed":"Finnish Spitz","count":2},{"breed":"Belgian Malinois","count":5},{"breed":"Staffordshire Bull Terrier","count":15},{"breed":"Shar-pei","count":27},{"breed":"Plott Hound","count":18},{"breed":"Saint Bernard","count":18},{"breed":"Pembroke Corgi","count":71},{"breed":"Newfoundland","count":31},{"breed":"Coonhound","count":46},{"breed":"Norfolk Terrier","count":1},{"breed":"Saluki","count":2},{"breed":"Bull Terrier","count":5},{"breed":"American Staffordshire Terrier","count":28},{"breed":"Clumber Spaniel","count":8},{"breed":"French Bulldog","count":42},{"breed":"Rottweiler","count":43},{"breed":"Great Dane","count":47},{"breed":"Standard Dachshund","count":50},{"breed":"English Cocker Spaniel","count":17},{"breed":"Toy Poodle","count":29},{"breed":"Sussex Spaniel","count":1},{"breed":"Tibetan Spaniel","count":4},{"breed":"Bouvier Des Flandres","count":5},{"breed":"Alaskan Malamute","count":18},{"breed":"Airedale Terrier","count":27},{"breed":"Welsh Springer Spaniel","count":9},{"breed":"American Water Spaniel","count":5},{"breed":"Dutch Shepherd","count":10},{"breed":"Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier","count":13},{"breed":"Wirehaired Pointing Griffon","count":8},{"breed":"Catahoula","count":31},{"breed":"Pointer","count":23},{"breed":"Italian Greyhound","count":17},{"breed":"Redbone Coonhound","count":11},{"breed":"Irish Terrier","count":10},{"breed":"Schipperke","count":8},{"breed":"Chesapeake Bay Retriever","count":13},{"breed":"Bull Mastiff","count":8},{"breed":"Irish Wolfhound","count":4},{"breed":"Chinese Crested","count":11},{"breed":"Irish Setter","count":9},{"breed":"Irish Water Spaniel","count":4},{"breed":"Presa Canario","count":1},{"breed":"Chow Chow","count":11},{"breed":"Borzoi","count":2},{"breed":"Sealyham Terrier","count":2},{"breed":"Great Pyrenees","count":22},{"breed":"Old English Sheepdog","count":5},{"breed":"Swiss Mountain Dog","count":3},{"breed":"Keeshond","count":10},{"breed":"Akita","count":6},{"breed":"Field Spaniel","count":3},{"breed":"Fox Hound","count":6},{"breed":"Afghan","count":1},{"breed":"Cardigan Corgi","count":20},{"breed":"Silky Terrier","count":9},{"breed":"Beauceron","count":1},{"breed":"Bearded Collie","count":4},{"breed":"Schnauzer","count":2},{"breed":"Australian Terrier","count":5},{"breed":"Bedlington Terrier","count":2},{"breed":"Treeing Walker Hound","count":15},{"breed":"Norwich Terrier","count":3},{"breed":"Kuvasz","count":1},{"breed":"Leonberger","count":5},{"breed":"Wirehair Dachshund","count":6},{"breed":"Bloodhound","count":5},{"breed":"Norwegian Elkhound","count":10},{"breed":"Anatolian","count":3},{"breed":"N. S. Duck Tolling Retriever","count":6},{"breed":"Brussels Griffon","count":6},{"breed":"Affenpinscher","count":1},{"breed":"Neapolitan Mastiff","count":2},{"breed":"Boykin Spaniel","count":2},{"breed":"Lakeland Terrier","count":1},{"breed":"Cane Corso","count":1},{"breed":"Miniature Bull Terrier","count":1},{"breed":"Belgian Tervuren","count":2},{"breed":"Manchester Terrier","count":1},{"breed":"Spinoni","count":3},{"breed":"Briard","count":1}]'; //{"breed":"Mixed Breed","count":4179} makePieChart("dog-chart", dogData); //call function!
The most popular breed of dog in Madison is the Labrador retriever, which numbers over 1,300, followed by golden retrievers at 541, German shepherds at 282 and so on down the line. The least common dog breed in Madison is a tie. In terms of 2016 licenses, the city was home just one apiece of these 13 unusual breeds: Afghan, affenpinscher, Beauceron, briard, cane corso, Kerry blue terrier, kuvasz, Lakeland terrier, Manchester terrier, miniature bull terrier, Norfolk terrier, Presa Canario (included in the AKC Foundation Stock Service), and Sussex spaniel.
How do these stack up to national figures? Hover over the names in the following to view a comparison between the most popular breeds in Madison and AKC national rankings.
How do Madison dog breeds compare nationally?
This chart shows the relative popularity of dog breeds in Madison versus those across the United States as tracked by the American Kennel Club. Hover of the dog breed name to show a comparison between its popularity in the city and at the national level in 2016.
Breed | Madison | National |
Labrador Retriever | 1 | |
Golden Retriever | 2 | |
German Shepherd | 3 | |
Beagle | 4 | |
Border Collie | 5 | |
Australian Shepherd | 6 | |
Shih Tzu | 7 | |
Chihuahua | 8 | |
Siberian Husky | 9 | |
Boxer | 10 |
Labs are the most common breed both in Madison and nationwide. In fact, the top four dog breeds in Madison are also very popular nationally. However, things start to deviate thereafter. Border collies are Madison's fifth most-popular breed, but rank only 38th in the nation!
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