10 Puppies Trending in 2015

In August we revealed the UK's favourite puppy by analysing internet search data from Google. But which puppies' popularity has increased the most in the last 12 months? We looked at the latest data to find out.

Trending Puppies: Biggest change in number of internet searches since June 2014

1. Cavalier King Charles Spaniel
2. St Bernard
3. Shih Tzu
4. German Shepherd
5. Dachshund
6. Lhasa Apso
7. Papillon
8. Caucasian Shepherd
9. Pomeranian
10. Newfoundland

Trending now: BIG dogs

Perhaps the most unfamiliar name in this Top 10 - to UK dog lovers at least - is the Caucasian Shepherd Dog (also known as the Caucasian Ovcharka).

Hailing from the Caucasus Mountains of Russia, Georgia, Armenia and Azerbijan, Caucasian Shepherds were originally bred to hunt bears and kill wolves - skills which are unlikely to be needed in most parts of the UK.

Caucasian Shepherds can grow up to ten stone in weight, sometimes dwarfing their owners.

Also trending are two other sizeable breeds: the water-loving Newfoundland, and the original moutain rescue dog the St Bernard.

As well as physical strength and discipline, new owners of these giants breeds will need deep pockets. Big dogs have big appetites, and the cost of pet insurance can be 4x higher than it is for smaller dogs.

Toy Dogs: The Next Generation

At the other end of the size spectrum, interest in Toy Dogs is also evolving. While French Bulldogs and Pugs are now firmly established in the Top 10 most searched-for puppies, it is other small breeds who are now making the running - literally in the case of Papillon-cross Konjo, recently crowned the world's fastest dog on two paws.

Meanwhile, another diminutive member of the spaniel family, the Cavalier, is the top trending puppy of 2015.

Other toy dogs to win new fans in 2015 inlcude the Dachshund, the Pomeranian, and the oft-confused Shih Tzu and Lhasa Apso.

@samgilb @iPosUK @RonnyLavie Shocking Sam. Lottie can't believe it. 😂 pic.twitter.com/ck07Uw7fzC

— Heidi Abela (@HeidiAbela) March 9, 2015

Still the nation's No. 1: Cockapoo

The latest data shows only one change to the nation's favourite ten puppies in the last 12 months, with German Shepherds overtaking Cocker Spaniels to move into 4th place.

As a result, the Cockapoo retains its title as the favourite puppy of UK internet users.

Preferred Pooches: The UK's Favourite Puppies by Total Volume of Internet Searches

Change in position vs 2014 is shown in brackets

1. Cockapoo
2. Labrador
3. French Bulldog
4. German Shepherd (+1)
5. Cocker Spaniel (-1)
6. Husky
7. Bulldog
8. Beagle
9. Pug
10. Golden Retriever

Notes on how we do this research

We license a tool called Hitwise from Experian. Among other things, Hitwise enables you to research anonymised internet search data for millions of UK internet users.

For this research, we looked at searches containing the term "puppy" in the 12 weeks to 14th June 2015, and compared them to searches for puppies in the corresponding period in 2014. We got rid of the searches that weren't relevant (such as those for Slush Puppy) and then summed up different variations on the same search (for example, "cavalier puppies" and "cavalier king charles spaniel puppies for sale"). Finally we sorted the data set by the volume of searches to create these results.