Most Popular Dog Breeds in Germany

Key Takeaways

• Mixed-breed dogs were registered 92,976 times in 2025. That is more than seven times the Labrador Retriever’s count. They have ranked first in every German state and every year since 2017.
• The Labrador Retriever ranks second nationally with 13,109 new registrations in 2025. It also ranks second in 15 of Germany’s 16 states. Only in Sachsen-Anhalt does the German Shepherd outrank it.
• Dogs weighing more than 26 kilograms fell from 25% of Germany’s dog population five years ago to 19% in 2025.
• The Miniature Poodle entered TASSO’s national top 10 in 2025 with 3,202 new registrations. It is the breed’s first appearance since TASSO began publishing rankings in 2017.
• Housing situations and daily activity levels increasingly shape German owners’ breed choices. Smaller, more adaptable dogs are gaining favor over large working breeds like the Labrador and German Shepherd.

Most Common Dog Breeds in Germany

Stay tuned!

Learn something new about Germany every week and make informed decisions with confidence.

Stay tuned!

Learn something new about Germany every week and make informed decisions with confidence.

Mixed-breed dogs are Germany’s most popular dogs by a wide margin. TASSO registered 92,976 new mixed-breed dogs in 2025. That is more than seven times the Labrador Retriever’s count in second place.

These rankings come from TASSO e.V., Germany’s largest free pet registry. Owners register a dog’s microchip with TASSO, so lost pets can be reunited with their families. Registration with TASSO is voluntary. It is separate from Germany’s microchip laws. Those laws vary by state. The figures above count dogs newly registered with TASSO in 2025. They do not represent a census of every dog living in Germany.

Mixed-Breed Dogs Is Germany’s Most Popular Dog Breed Since 2017

In 2025, mixed-breed dogs ranked first in all 16 German states. That includes dense city states like Berlin and Hamburg, and large rural states like Bavaria and Lower Saxony. The pattern holds across every year in TASSO’s records, back to 2017.

The Labrador Retriever ranks second nationally with 13,109 new registrations in 2025. It also ranks second in 15 of Germany’s 16 states. Only in Sachsen-Anhalt does the German Shepherd outrank it. TASSO recorded just a handful more German Shepherd registrations than Labrador registrations there.

No other breed comes close to this consistency. Nationally, the German Shepherd reclaimed fourth place from the Chihuahua in 2025 with 7,963 registrations against the Chihuahua’s 7,607. The Golden Retriever, German Shepherd, and Chihuahua continue to trade positions between third and fifth, depending on the state and year. The top two spots barely move.

Smaller Dog Breeds Are Gaining Ground Across Germany

Germany’s dogs are getting smaller, not in number, but in size. Dogs weighing more than 26 kilograms made up 19% of Germany’s dog population in 2025. Five years earlier, that share stood at 25%.

About a third of German dogs now weigh between 5 and 10 kilograms. That range includes the Jack Russell Terrier. It recorded 3,458 new registrations in 2025. The Miniature Poodle entered TASSO’s national top 10 with 3,202 registrations. That was its first appearance since 2017. It replaced the Havaneser in tenth place.

Housing situations and daily activity levels increasingly shape German owners’ breed choices. Smaller, adaptable dogs fit more easily into apartments and busier schedules than large working breeds like the Labrador and German Shepherd.

Germany’s dog population tells two stories at once. Millions of owners skip pedigree entirely and choose mixed-breed dogs instead. At the same time, the pedigreed dogs that Germans choose are getting smaller and more suited to modern, urban life. Both trends point to the same shift. Convenience and companionship now matter more than breed standards or working pedigree.