13 Once-Popular Dog Breeds You Don't See As Often Anymore

As with fashion trends, certain dog breeds rise and fall in popularity over the years. While some can bounce back after their numbers decrease, others get pushed further and further into obscurity –– sometimes to the point of extinction. Once-popular breeds may become increasingly rare for a number of reasons.

Sometimes, political turmoil causes so much instability that breeders focus less on puppies and more on navigating conflict. Other breeds see their numbers dwindle because their jobs no longer serve a purpose or get replaced by more efficient technology. While some working breeds have found their niche in the domestic sphere, others have problems adapting to household living, making them less desirable as pets and contributing to their overall decline.

Still, there's a dog for everyone. Even in the case of uncommon breeds, enthusiasts look to boost their favorites' numbers and spread awareness about conserving endangered canines. They hope that they can help their beloved dogs survive for decades to come through educating the public on responsible ownership and reframing how certain breeds fit into the modern world.

Dalmatians make wonderful pets for people who understand the breed's multi-faceted needs, from their reservations around unfamiliar people to common Dalmatian health issues like the risk of deafness. However, at one point in time, the breed was so in demand that rescues and shelters were almost bursting at the seams with rehomed dogs. 

A phenomenon called "the dog movie star effect" where breeds featured in movies see sudden spikes in popularity only for the demand to take a dive once the movie fades from the public's memory may have led to this outcome. Dalmatians have seen their popularity ebb and flow multiple times throughout the 20th century, starting in 1956 with the publication of "The One Hundred and One Dalmatians" and its subsequent movie adaptations released in 1961 and 1996 (the Disney animated and live-action versions, respectively).

Yet, as noted, the Dalmatian isn't the easiest breed to manage, and as a result, many dogs were rehomed or surrendered to shelters. According to DVM360, American Kennel Club registrations for Dalmatians dropped by 97% from 1993 to 2008. However, It's worth noting that not all dog breeds represented in films gain popularity. Remember Toto from "The Wizard of Oz"? She (yes, Toto was a female dog) was a Cairn terrier, but instead of the breed's registration numbers surging after the movie's release, they actually went down.

The American Kennel Club (AKC) was formally founded in 1884, and for more than 140 years, it has operated as the country's most comprehensive registry of purebred dogs. Upon its establishment, the AKC included nine "charter breeds." Each selected breed offers a fascinating window into the world of dog ownership in the late 1800s and what purpose it served.

One of the charter dogs was the Clumber spaniel, a heavy-set gun dog specially bred to navigate harsh cover while hunting. Originating in Clumber Park, England, these large canines enjoyed an interesting dichotomy. In the field, they were the loyal companions of hunters, helping to retrieve game and track scents, while in the world of dog shows, Clumber spaniels stole the, well, show, exemplifying fine breeding and conformation. What's more, they were largely exclusive to nobility for manys years. 

While Clumber spaniels have made friendly companions for different people from various walks of life, they're a fairly rare sight today, with fewer than 200 puppies registered with the AKC in the U.S. annually. The Clumber spaniel is a vulnerable native breed, meaning it could end up extinct if its numbers keep dwindling.

While their exact ancestry remains disputed, Otterhounds may trace their roots to 12th-century England. Over centuries, breeders developed large, shaggy dogs skilled at capturing otters, fending off their razor-sharp claws, and swimming. They primarily did this to keep otters from decimating fish populations, thereby threatening a valuable food source. Otterhounds and their forebears were a familiar sight in hunting circles for hundreds of years, intended to have "a Bulldog's courage, a Newfoundland's strength in water, a Pointer's nose, a Retriever's sagacity, the stamina of a Foxhound, the patience of a Beagle, and the intelligence of a Collie", according to "Dogs and All About Them".

It the late 1970s, otters were deemed a protected species in England, and otter hunting was subsequently banned. Without the ability to fulfill their original purpose, the number of dogs shrank. There are less than 800 across the globe today, with only about 42 puppies registered per annum in the U.S. from 2015 to 2019, per Showsight Magazine. Many otterhounds today assist in cadaver recovery, partake in search-and-rescue missions, and compete in conformation shows.

Dogs have worked alongside humans for thousands of years, and many breeds were developed with the intention of creating well-rounded, skilled hunting companions. Over 50 game retrieval breeds came into existence across the 18th and 19th centuries alone. Some have withstood the test of time; others have largely disappeared. One of the latter is the American water spaniel.

Members of the medium-sized spaniel breed were beloved by hunters because their compact size made them easy to transport in boats, and their water-resistant coat allowed them to retrieve game easily from lakes and ponds. American water spaniels had the strongest presence in the Great Lakes region, but in the early 1900s, their popularity declined as hunting itself decreased in esteem.

Though Wisconsin adopted the breed as its official state dog in 1985, their numbers may have dwindled to 3,000 or lower, according to the American Water Spaniel Club. As a result, if you want to purchase or adopt an American water spaniel puppy, you'll likely find yourself on a wait list before one becomes available. You may also have to undergo a rigorous screening process to ensure that you can properly care for this easily bored, high-energy breed.

While it's against the law to hunt puffins today, they were once a highly-sought source of protein in Norway. And how did hunters get these tuxedo-patterned birds? Using Norwegian lundehunds, of course.

These lean, fox-like dogs are the contortionists of the canine world. They're so limber that a lundehund has an "elastic neck" allowing its head to touch its spine. They also have six moveable toes on each foot, and their unique, twisting gait enables them to retain a foothold in hard-to-reach places, such as the cliff sides where puffins nest. In the 1400s, a Norwegian family could have as many as 12 lundehunds, and a single dog could catch dozens of birds daily.

With the ban on puffin-hunting, lundehunds teeter on the edge of extinction, ranking as the AKC's rarest breed in 2022. Fewer than 600 dogs exist in Norway, with even less in the U.S. Without concentrated conservation efforts, the lundehund likely won't see its numbers increase and could join the dog breeds that only exist in the public's memory.

Both American and English foxhounds (two different breeds with similar traits and origins) have seen their popularity sink lower and lower as the decades pass. Just two years after the AKC's foundation, it welcomed the American foxhound into its ranks, and in 1909, the English foxhound followed suit. Breed enthusiasts of the time viewed both foxhounds as well-liked, useful dogs that met their intended purpose.

That purpose? Fox hunting. In this sport, a fox would be released into a forest or field, where it would find shelter in a burrow or wander. After a certain period, participants would unleash packs of foxhounds to sniff out the fox and guide their masters to its location, where it may (or may not in the case of the American variety) be killed for sport. In England, fox hunting hit its peak in the 20th century before WWI. In the United States today it's a highly-regulated activity.

Once fox hunting fell out of fashion, both foxhounds saw steady decreases in their popularity, with the American foxhounds ranking 182nd out of the AKC's 200 breeds in 2023 (and English foxhounds ranking even lower at 199). Finding a foxhound puppy in either the U.S. or England can prove complicated, as there are only a handful of litters registered each year. Still, you're not out of luck if you're looking for an amiable scenthound; beagles, coonhounds, and pointers share many characteristics of foxhounds.

First things first: pugs are still fairly popular. The breed enjoyed some free publicity following the release of the 1997 film "Men in Black", where a sharp-tongued talking pug offers comedic relief. The movie star effect may have helped boost pug registrations, with the breed hitting more than 10,000 in 2013. However, that has since changed; from 2017 to 2022, pug registrations dropped 68%, with just 3,451 occuring in 2022. But why the sudden shift in public opinion?

Dr. Anna Foreman, resident veterinarian for Everypaw, believes that the decrease stems from increased awareness about health issues affecting pugs, such as brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome (BOAS). "Pugs are generally considered more highly strung than French bulldogs, with the 'easier' personality type preferred amongst owners also being simpler to train," she added. "Although Kennel Club registrations may be falling, people are still breeding and buying pugs, just not advertising or selling them as kennel club registered." The pug likely isn't going anywhere anytime soon. But who knows?

Old English sheepdogs may have seen popularity fluctuations because of the movie star effect. Psychology Today notes that after Disney's 1959 movie "The Shaggy Dog" debuted, old English sheepdog registrations jumped 100%. The breed remained in the public eye with the 1979 family comedy "The Shaggy D.A."

Yet, the old English sheepdog's 15 minutes of fame eventually came to a halt. Registrations declined, dipping below 300 a year in the U.K. and leading the Royal Kennel Club to classify them as a vulnerable native breed in 2020. Thankfully, with the help of breed enthusiasts, U.K. registrations increased by 66% in 2021. In the U.S., old English sheepdogs ranked 77th in popularity out of the AKC's 202 registered breeds in 2023. They're not especially rare, but they're not as common as they once were following the release of certain iconic films.

In the eyes of giant dog lovers, there's no breed quite like the Scottish deerhound, Scotland's answer to the similarly-sized Irish wolfhound. Unfortunately, it's the breed's adoration that has partially led to its unstable population throughout the years. For starters, during the Middle Ages, only nobility could own Scottish deerhounds, and strict breeding standards nearly drove these dogs to extinction. It didn't help that in the 1700s, overhunting decimated red deer populations, and hunters' preferences began to shift from deerhounds to greyhounds.

Over the past decade, Scottish deerhound numbers have ebbed and flowed. When looking at data provided by the AKC, Scottish deerhounds ranked 152nd in popularity in 2015. Two years later, the breed ranked 168th, then recovered again in 2019, ranking at 151. In 2023, the deerhound sat at 171 out of 200 recognized breeds — the lowest in years. This could be due to multiple factors, such as the addition of new breeds to the AKC's registry, and the simple fact that deerhounds aren't for everyone. These large dogs require plenty of space, and their independent nature calls for patience while training. As deep-chested canines, they are also prone to bloat, a life-threatening dog condition prevalent in giant breeds.

Sealyham terriers are small working dogs closely related to corgis, Old English terriers, Dandie Dinmont terriers, and West Highland terriers. A sportsman who wanted a dog suited to keeping his estate free from vermin created the breed in the latter half of the 19th century. In the early days, a Sealyham terrier must have been able to kill a polecat by its first birthday to be considered a good representative of the breed.

After World War I, Sealyham terriers largely transitioned from working life to family life, adapting easily to the domestic sphere. Many Golden Age Hollywood stars owned and flaunted their Sealyham terriers, with admirers including Cary Grant, Alfred Hitchcock, and Elizabeth Taylor. Yet, the breed fell out of fashion over time, seeing its popularity dip following World War II.

Although the Sealyham terrier won Best in Show at the 2023 National Dog Show, this canine has remained fairly obscure. In 2012, it was so difficult for the producers of the biopic "Hitchcock" to find Sealyham terriers that they almost considered using another breed. The Royal Kennel Club deemed the Sealyham terrier a vulnerable breed after registrations reached a record low in 2008.

Have you ever encountered a Molossian hound? Unless you lived in Ancient Greece, probably not. These dogs have been extinct for centuries, but before they completely disappeared, they were popular in their heyday. Molossian hounds were imposing, mastiff-type dogs that were used to guard property, protect livestock, and even fight alongside soldiers in battle.

There are a few theories about why the Molossian hound went extinct. Some believe that the fall of the Roman Empire played a role in the failure to preserve key Molossian breeds. Others suggest that as people's needs evolved, they may have preferred other breeds for certain lines of work, such as sighthounds. While it may seem sad that a once popular breed reached its end, the Molossian hound's story isn't over. Many mastiff breeds share common lineage with Molossian hounds, retaining the stout physique, brute strength, and unwavering loyalty treasured by both ancient people and modern dog owners.

The Canaan dog, Israel's national breed, has seen a massive decline in its population. In 1997, these canines ranked 103rd in popularity in the U.S.; now, they're considered one of the country's rarest dog breeds, sitting at 191 out of 200 in 2023. While many breeds have been added to the AKC's database (causing fluctuations with ratings), there's no denying that political instability in the Canaan dog's homeland has decimated its numbers. Breeders in the region are more focused on safety than puppies. It's unclear whether initiatives will restore the population or whether the breed will remain a rarity.

Were Canaan dogs ever popular? Archaeological evidence depicting them suggest so. However, following the fall of Jerusalem in 70 A.D., Canaan dogs went back to the wild after their owners escaped the city, and the breed was largely forgotten until a renewed interest in the 20th century. Could the Canaan dog see history repeat itself? Only time will tell.

The sloughi is one of the rarest sighthounds in the United States; it sat in last place out of 200 AKC breeds in 2023. Also known as the Arabian greyhound, these limber, long-legged dogs were popular amongst North African nomads and are depicted in artwork and historical records dating back 6,000 years. These dogs largely flew under the radar outside of Africa prior to the 19th century when they were brought to Europe by Auguste Le Gras, a Dutch artist.

However, the breed faced uncertainty because of World War II when fanciers halted breeding and political turmoil weakened the dogs' numbers, along with a rabies outbreak. While sloughi breeders have worked diligently to increase registration and puppies born each year, the breed is facing yet another setback. In Morocco, where sloughis are prevalent, these hounds are no longer able to assist in hunting. This could lower demand for the breed even further and soon make it a relic of the past.