Friendly, sociable, affectionate, devoted to the family.
These traits may sound like attributes listed on a dating app.
Good-natured, smart.
You will probably swipe right for this. Traits can refer to an ideal partner or, in this case, a person’s best friend.
In particular, the American Kennel Club cites these characteristics of Indiana’s most popular dog breed, the Labrador Retriever, according to a report released just in time for National Dog Day celebrations on Friday.
Featured in a database of nearly 400,000 Camp Bow Wow campers in the US and Canada, Hoosier dog lovers have named the Labrador Retriever their favorite.
The Labrador Retriever is also America’s overall favorite thanks to the long spinning frisbee throw – you know, landslide – according to Camp Bow Wow, defined as America’s largest dog grooming and boarding franchise.
Camp Bow Wow’s Top 10 Dogs list included purebreds, mixed breeds, and hybrids, including doodles.
According to Indiana dog lovers, the top five breeds in Hoosier State are:
- Labrador retriever
- goldendoodle
- Golden retriever
- German Shepherd
- australian shepherd
For the fifth year in a row, the Labrador Retriever tops Camp Bow Wow’s list of America’s favorite breeds for a number of reasons.
“The labs are very versatile and have a friendly, outgoing temperament,” said Erin Askeland, an animal health and behavior expert at Camp Bow Wow. “They are great companions for both outdoor adventures and lounging at home. All this makes them excellent family dogs.”
Dog lovers at Happy Hollow Park in West Lafayette on Wednesday night were not surprised to learn that the Labrador Retriever topped the list of favorites. Doug Magers, however, was a little shocked by the news that Goldendoodle wasn’t the first, given his own non-scientific research.
“The Labrador Retriever and the Goldendoodle have outperformed the Golden Retriever,” Magers mused.
“Well, at least I was third,” said Magers, who brought his dog Ziggy to the park. “But I see a lot of goldendoodles and didn’t even think about it. But they are pretty cute dogs.”
His dog Ziggy is not on the list at all.
“Now I have a mongrel, but our first dog was a golden retriever,” Magers said, “and he lived with us for 14 years. Then we got the German Shepherd, which is probably the second #1 if I have to guess. We had him for 12 years and my wife and I said we would never have another dog. But then we got Ziggy and he saved us from Natalie.”