TOP 5 Most popular DOG breeds in toy shape!

I'll present you, daily, the 5 most popular dogs in toy shape, obviously cartoons are not included, no Bloodhound Plutos or Beagle Snoopy.
If you want to guess, make your considerations about what turns these breeds popular in toy shape, talk about your favorite replica of each breed, just feel free to post.
I'll keep posting during next days!

5th PLACE - ROUGH COLLIE

The 5th most common dog breed in toy shape is the Rough Collie.
It is a breed originated in Scotland during XIX century. It was originally breed as a herding Collie.
No doubts that the Lassie novel, that I think we all know, is one of the main reasons why this breed is so popular, especially in toy sahpe where it is common, both in modern and vintage brands.
It is widely known also as Lassie dog, I can tell you that in my country, it is rarely called a Collie once the name Lassie crossed all generations.
You can find pictures of several Rough Collie figures at Toy Animal Wiki and a link to Wikipedia page.


To illustrate my post, here goes a picture of 2014 Bullyland Collie from Susanne's collection!
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Great topic
And great to see this relatively unknown model from Mojo

To me, that term "Rough" collie is kind of weird. I mean : The coat of this dog is silky soft
In Denmark this is not a rough collie , it is just a collie.
Perhaps experts talk about a long-haired and a short-haired collie, but I have never seen a shorthaired one

I hope to find time later to give my guess with pictures

Funny, just yesterday I started looking for Collie models! I love this breed, but my search on ebay just came up with Border Collies. Thanks for this!

Very nice! I actually don't have any rough collies yet, but I sure do see them everywhere. I'm not familiar with this figure, but it looks quite a bit nicer than the original Bullyland collie. He seems much more lively.

Yes ! That collie is really nice

He is of the recent smaller size, which Bullyland commenced in 2014. But still larger then the first one they made.
You can see them compared to the little, sitting farmer here [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Thanks Everyone for your coments, this night I'll reveal the 4th place.
Susanne, I agree the name Rough Collie sounds rough but I think that following Wikipedia is a good way to keep somewhat protocolar and to be sure that we all are talking about the same creature.
I really plan, seriously, someday, to start a little collection of dogs, preferrably in 1:12 scale with a single adulte representative of each breed. This Collie is one of those that I have no idea which one to choose, though, I believe this day is still distant so maybe another Collie is released meanwhile.

4th PLACE - DALMATIAN

The 4th place goes to Croatia! Yes, the very popular and easily recognizable Dalmatian!
This large spotted dog was originally used as a carriage dog, it means they were trained to trot alongside carriages to protect their occupants from bandits. Its name is a reference to Dalmatia, a historical region from Croatia.
While Collies were fairly common during the whole toy industry, Dalmatians are clearly a more recent phenomenon of popularity. We can find them in most modern companies, all major brands have a Dalmatian and puppies are quite common, though, they're quite rare among vintage brands. Soon this ranking will be outdated and Dalmatians may likely turn into one of the two most popular dogs in this hobby.
Obviously the novel 101 Dalmatians , contributed in a decisive way to turn this breed much more popular and Pongo is surely the best known Dalmatian dog character of ever.
You can see pictures of more Dalmatian figures at Toy Animal Wiki.

To illustrate here is a picture of 2016 Mojö Fun Dalmatian figure from Susanne's collection.
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So the beautyful Dalmatians are no 4 ! I would not have guessed that    

That Mojo Dalmatian is ever so lovely, standing calmly but alert, with his perfect proportions.
There are many nice details ...look ate the corner of his mouth, the pink on his snout, the skin folds on the front of his throat, his strong shoulder !
This is certainly not just "another dog model".    

Unfortunately I am nervous around dalmatians, whis is totally unfair to the breed.
Almost 60 years ago a Dalmatian attacked our little foxterrier, and the fear it put in me seems to be impossible to overcome  
Perhaps because dalamtiams are extremely rare in Denmark, so I have not met one that could show me that they are nice dogs.

SUSANNE wrote:

So the beautyful Dalmatians are no 4 ! I would not have guessed that    

That Mojo Dalmatian is ever so lovely, standing calmly but alert, with his perfect proportions.
There are many nice details ...look ate the corner of his mouth, the pink on his snout, the skin folds on the front of his throat, his strong shoulder !
This is certainly not just "another dog model".    

Unfortunately I am nervous around dalmatians, whis is totally unfair to the breed.
Almost 60 years ago a Dalmatian attacked our little foxterrier, and the fear it put in me seems to be impossible to overcome  
Perhaps because dalamtiams are extremely rare in Denmark, so I have not met one that could show me that they are nice dogs.

Yes Susanne, Mojö's Dalmatian seems to be a very good figure, if I ever start collecting dogs, the Mojö's will be my Dalmatian.
Poor Fox Terrier and poor little Susanne. Dalmatians are also relatively rare here, anytime I see a Dalmatian, kids around start behaving like they're seeing a pop star.
Reading through dog websites, it is common remarks about several poor breeding work in Dalmatians turning these dogs tendencially agressive. They use to say that if he want a Dalmatian, we need to be sure about the quality of the breeder. they're beautiful creatures anyway . :)

3th PLACE - GOLDEN RETRIEVER

The 3rd place goes to Scotland again. No doubts this country has originated several popular dog breeds.
This time, the Golden Retriever, actually, it could be the 2nd of the ranking once its use as a toy is almost as common as the number 2 of this top.
Golden Retrievers were breed as gundogs to retrieve, mainly, waterfowl.
They love water and they're popular as family dogs. They're also often used to assist blind and deaf people.

You can find more infromation and pictures at Toy Animal Wiki

To illustrate this topic I am using the 2014 Schleich male Golden Retriever from Susanne's collection.
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Of course the Golden Retriever is one of the most popular dog models

An extremely versatile dog indeed, - but also extremely beautyful with the silky, golden fur, nice proportions and the charming, almost cute , face

Now I guess that the Labrador is no 2, and the Alsatian is number 1 ?

That's a very interesting topic! Thank you for starting it Roger
I have only the dalmatian model from these 3 breeds.
Maybe in future, I would get a Lessie ( ) if I find a decent one. Several years ago I had got a chance to adopt a Collie pup from very good people but my parents did not agree and also, we didn't know how our dog would have reacted to a puppy (our dog was rather a jealous type, haha). Collie dogs are indeed very beautiful, have very soft fur and all the ones I have met were friendly

Golden Retrievers are very beautiful dogs too and as Susanne said they have usually cute looking faces.

Great choices for fourth and third place! It really is true, you see those breeds everywhere. Strangely enough, I don't have either of them yet in toy form.

Quote :

Unfortunately I am nervous around dalmatians, whis is totally unfair to the breed.
Almost 60 years ago a Dalmatian attacked our little foxterrier, and the fear it put in me seems to be impossible to overcome Rolling Eyes
Perhaps because dalamtiams are extremely rare in Denmark, so I have not met one that could show me that they are nice dogs.

I'm sorry this happened to your dog and hope he/she's fully recovered now. I actually don't see many Dalmatian owners and those that have them usually say they have bad temperaments. It makes me wonder why there are still so many figures of them.

Golden retrievers are definitely nice dogs, although not ones I would ordinarily seek out in toy form. Perhaps I should try to hunt one down.

I think there will be models as long as Dalmatians as a stereotypical firefighter dog. Or as long as 101 Dalmatians remains popular in some form. I suppose the concrast appeals to certain people, especially young kids (for models). I wonder how much of the temperament has to do with general disposition versus inbreeding or inproper socialization/instruction as a puppy?

Thanks for all your comments, they help me learning about these animals.

2nd PLACE - LABRADOR RETRIEVER

Susanne guessed, 2nd place goes to another Retriever, the Labrador! :)
Labradors are slightly more common as toys than Golden Retrievers, though, they are more abundant because brands use often the same mold in the three known lab colors, black. yellow and chocolat.
Canada is the country where these dogs originated, they were breed for waterfowling. Labradors were originally all black and other colors were only introduced later in the breed.
They are now fantastic family dogs and commonly used for disability assistance.
The popularity of this dog as toy is much probably due to the same reasons as it is popular as a pet. No media, no cartoon, no character, just a dog loved everywhere.

You can find more pictures and information at Toy Animal Wiki.

To illustrate my entry, here is a picture of the 2013 Papo Labrador from Susanne's collection
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Yes ! The labrador !!!
A wonderful, versatile dog. The perfect companion

Looking at the page of the Danish Kennelclub , it is the most popular dog, and has been it for several years.
And looking around me, there are a lot more, because many don't have "papers".
For less common breeds this could be a disaster because of "dog farms" and inbreeding
But what I see is people who cross very much beloved family dogs, and get more wonderful dogs without the cost and trouble of tests, showing and registration .

I also see lots of Labrador dogs around, though, it seems the most popular breed in Portugal during last years is the Siberian Husky. WOW, Labrador is the most popular dog in USA already for many years, I just checked it online now. Soon, I'll also open a topic about a kind of dog from my homeland that is being recovered and waiting to be turned in an official breed.
Though, we still need to know which is the most popular dog breed as toy figure. I have tops of dinosaurs, horses, wild animals, etc., in all of them it is relatively easy to know which is the most common. With dogs it is also somewhat predictable, I guess. Later I'll tell.

I would say it' the German shepherd?

Yes, Bryan and Susanne! You guessed!


1st PLACE - GERMAN SHEPHERD

So the 1st place goes to Germany! The most popular dog breed in toy figure is, without any doubts, the German Shepherd Dog, also known as Alsatian. Whatever is the criteria used to calculate how common is this dog in toy shape, the 1st place goes always to this breed. It is common in vintage companies, in modern brands, in farm series once it is originally a sheep herding dog and still common as action figure due to its popular presence in movies and series and also, of course, because it is common as a police or militar dog.
However, it is also used to disability assistance or to rescue people.
It is still the 2nd most popular dog in the world, only behind the Labrador Retriever.

You can find more pictures and information at Toy Animal Wiki.

To celebrate the victory, here is a picture of Safari Ltd German Shepherd with puppies from Susanne's collection
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Great choices on the top 2 dog breeds!  I can definitely attest to this since I've acquired several of each breed either in sets, or as second choices in online orders.  They're almost impossible to escape and I don't consider it a bad thing, especially with the shepherds.  By the way, that Papo lab is a gorgeous figure.  

Quote :

think there will be models as long as Dalmatians as a stereotypical firefighter dog. Or as long as 101 Dalmatians remains popular in some form. I suppose the concrast appeals to certain people, especially young kids (for models). I wonder how much of the temperament has to do with general disposition versus inbreeding or inproper socialization/instruction as a puppy?

You know, you make a really good point.  I suspect training has a lot to do with it.  I know that Dobermans and shepherds make fantastic dogs, but good training is mandatory with them or things can go terribly wrong.  I think it must be the same with Dalmatians.

No wonder this dog is the most modelled one !!! To me, the Alsatian is THE dog
Strong, brave, intelligent, and beautyful, we see this breed helping people everywhere

Not a dog for me, though, - too strong, brave and intelligent, I am sure it would quickly be the master in my house, and therefore might become dangerous to visitors

I love it that you used the mother and puppies to illustrate ! It is probably the model I love most among them

Thanks for making this topic, Roger! Very informative and interesting!

You're all welcome! Susanne, I am sure you could easily educate an Alsatian once you're very experienced with dogs.
I'd love to mention three other breeds quite common in toy model:
- Saint-Bernard
- Dachshund
- Poodle

After these 8, the 3 mentioned in this tpost together with the top 5. There are several breeds with a relaitvely similar presence as toys.
Figures of Portuguese dogs are really rare, being the Portuguese Water Dog probably the best known. We know the Bullyland figure and Susanne identified, correctly in my opinion, a Portuguese Pointer within Starlux collections.

One of the very rare ones is the Rhodesian ridgeback from Bullyland

Untill recently, Bullyland was the absolute leader of versatility of dog breeds

Quote :

No wonder this dog is the most modelled one !!! To me, the Alsatian is THE dog cheers
Strong, brave, intelligent, and beautyful, we see this breed helping people everywhere Very Happy

Not a dog for me, though, - too strong, brave and intelligent, I am sure it would quickly be the master in my house, and therefore might become dangerous to visitors

I love shepherds and would actually consider owning one if shedding and genetics weren't an issue.  This is what I mean about training being mandatory.  Shepherds are actually very submissive and eager to please, but you really can't let up on the training or they'll entertain themselves in destructive ways.  Labs are a bit easier because they're not as aggressive, but I think they need and thrive on good training too.

The Obamas have definitely helped the Portuguese water dog gain popularity because I rarely ever saw them before hand, even in books.  From what I hear, they sound like decent dogs as well.

I would have love to have seen that Bullyland ridgeback.  I know Papo makes a rare Neapolitan mastiff and Schleich had a Munsterlander as part of their original lineup.  I'd personally love to see companies make more pharaoh hounds since I think they're unique and beautiful dogs.