Popular Dog Breeds & Names

Recent rise in adoption interest across Australia What do we want? Pets!

Australians have shown a surge of interest in bringing four-legged companions into their lives, and search interest around adoption rates have climbed in the past few months with over *6.2 million searches in the first half of the year (January – June). This is a staggering 111% rise in interest compared with the same time last year.

With so much search demand for pups great and small, more Australians are interested in bringing home a dog than ever before. Many of us are working from home more and now have more time to spend with our pets.

In April this year alone, there were more than 1.5 million searches around getting or adopting a dog. This month showed a peak of interest and our data revealed there were more than triple the number of the April before - a huge 208% increase in search YoY.

In fact, national search interest has nearly doubled between January and June 2020 with an 80% increase.

Many also see this time as the chance to give a rescue pooch a loving home. Initiatives like the RSPCA Clear the Shelters help excited families find a pup in need to bring home. Interest in adopting or rescuing a dog has surged, at an all-time peak, with searches in April - June 2020 more than double those of the same time period last year with a 169% increase.

Our data shows that search interest in bringing home a dog started to climb around January this year, with a peak in April and continues to remain at an all-time high.

Top 10 Trending Dog Breeds

#1 Cavoodle
#2 Golden Retriever
#3 French Bulldog
#4 (Tied) Australian Shephard
#4 (Tied) Border Collie
#6 German Shepherd
#7 Pomeranian
#8 Rottweiler
#9 Pug
#10 Labradoodle

Out of the top 10 dog breeds in the study, eight can be classified as pure breeds, capturing more interest than their mixed breed counterparts. As far as mixed breeds go however, Australians love their oodles, with the Cavoodle and the Labradoodle the only crosses to make it into the top 10 most searched for breeds.

Trending Dog Names. What's in a name?

Finding the right name for your new four-legged friend can be a tough task. If you're looking for inspiration, Hill's Pet Nutrition Australia has done the digging on the top trending pup names of 2020 and the results are in.

We **analysed search volumes of 245 well known, popular dog names in order to reveal Australia's current trending favourites through an index ranking score, based on growth in search popularity and YoY change.

When naming our dogs, Australians draw inspiration from the things we love as well as what's happening in the world around us – from celebrities, to popular culture, to animals and, of course, the colour of our companion's fur!

#1 Kobe is the current top trending dog name

Kobe dominated as the most searched pup name of 2020; an ode to basketball player Kobe Bryant who passed away in January. As a name for dogs, it drew 613,600 searches, more than 14 times the number from the same time last year, with a huge 1340% increase. Kobe topped our rankings with an index score of 14.40, double that of current 2nd highest ranked dog name, Dixie.

Top ten trending dog names:
#1 Kobe
#2 Dixie
#3 Walter
#4 Boomer
#5 Bear
#6 Hunter
#7 Odie
#8 Elsa
#9 Gigi
#10 Shelby

For more details see Hill's Pet