Like the rest of the world, the Swiss have a strong connection to "man’s best friend," with over half a million dogs now registered in the alpine nation. To find out more about our furry friends, animal data centre Identitas has revealed which dogs are most common, the most popular dog names in Switzerland and which towns, cities and cantons are the most dog-mad.

More than half a million dogs registered in Switzerland

According to the report, 562.167 dogs were registered with the Amicus dog database at the end of November 2023. For certain animal species, including dogs, registration is mandatory in most Swiss cantons, so that canines can be traceable across the country.

Identitas noted that the number of new dogs registered every year has declined when compared to previous years, with around 6.000 dogs registered in the first 11 months of 2023 compared to the roughly 11.000 dogs bought or adopted every year in 2020, 2021 and 2022. Much of this previous growth was blamed on the number of families and individuals adopting and buying dogs during the COVID pandemic.

Most popular dog breeds in Switzerland

The most popular pure breed of dog in Switzerland is the Chihuahua, with 28.404 of the tiny creatures adorning the handbags of the alpine nation's upwardly mobile. Overall, the top eight most popular breeds are:

1. Chihuahua - 28.404
2. Labrador Retriever - 25.364
3. Yorkshire Terrier - 17.695
4. French Bulldog - 16.297
5. Jack Russell Terrier - 16.271
6. Border Collie - 14.774
7. Pomeranian / Toy Spitz - 14.222
8. Miniature Poodle - 13.861

Interestingly, none of the most popular pure breeds originate in Switzerland, although 415.324 dogs were classified as either "other breed", "crossbreed" or were not able to be identified.

Which Swiss cities have the most dogs?

According to the study, Geneva has the largest number of dogs registered in Switzerland, with 10.423 hounds calling the lakeside city home. This was followed by Zurich (9.903), Lausanne (6.099), Basel (4.854) and Lugano (4.841). However, there is evidence to suggest that Zurich may be a cat city, not a dog one, as it has a reported feline population of over 100.000.

When it comes to Swiss cantons, Jura has the highest concentration of dogs in the country with 11,9 pooches per 100 people. Despite the large number of dog residents, because of its high human population, Canton Basel-Stadt has the lowest density of dogs at just three for every 100 people.

Interestingly, when taken by per capita of population, the small town of Treytorrens in Canton Vaud is the most dog-mad. According to the data, 103 dogs live in the village of just 114 people, of which 88 are Tibetan Spaniels. The reason? One of the residents breeds them.

The most popular dog names in Switzerland

Now onto the thorny issue of what to name your four-legged pal. In Switzerland’s case, many follow European trends in naming their pets. 

Most popular feminine names for dogs:

For female dogs, the most popular names in Switzerland nationally are:

1. Luna - 7.320
2. Kira - 3.159
3. Nala - 3.155
4. Bella - 2.566
5. Mia - 2.267
6. Lola - 1.811
7. Stella - 1.616
8. Lucy - 1.525
9. Amy - 1.505
10. Maya - 1.409

Interestingly, the name Luna was the most popular name in German, French and Italian-speaking areas of the country. However, the language regions soon started to disagree over the rest of the podium, with German areas following the national top three, the Romande going from Nala in second and Lola in third, and Ticino placing Mia in third.

Most popular masculine names for dogs in Switzerland:

For male dogs, the overall top 10 are:

1. Rocky - 3.271
2. Lucky - 2.478
3. Max - 1.882
4. Leo - 1.700
5. Jack - 1.694
6. Milo - 1.561
7. Balu - 1.525
8. Snoopy - 1.443
9. Buddy - 1.207
10. Charly - 1.175

While regions of Switzerland were somewhat uniform on girls' names, the three languages can't seem to agree on a coherent podium. German areas placed Rocky first, Balu second and Lucky third, and the Romande went for Lucky in first, Rocky in second and Max in third. Ticino was the most different with, Jack, Leo and Rocky as the most popular three.

All you need to know about dogs in Switzerland

For everything else you need to know about dogs in Switzerland, check out the official website.