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, a new study by the animal data centre Identitas has found 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, 555.340 dogs were registered with the Amicus dog database at the end of 2022. For certain animal species, including dogs, registration is mandatory in Switzerland so that all canines can be traceable across the country.

Identitas noted that the number of new dogs registered every year has reached new highs, with around 11.000 dogs bought or adopted in 2020, 2021 and 2022, up from 7.000 a year in 2019. Much of this 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 28.516 of the tiny creatures adorning the handbags of the alpine nation's upwardly mobile. Overall, the top 10 most popular breeds are:

1. Chihuahua - 28.516
2. Labrador Retriever - 25.081
3. Yorkshire Terrier - 18.035
4. Jack Russell Terrier - 16.541
5. French Bulldog - 15.947
6. Border Collie - 14.426
7. Pomeranian - 12.910
8. Toy Poodle - 12.898
9. Golden Retriever - 11.805
10. German Shepherd - 9.593

Interestingly, none of the most popular pure breeds originate in Switzerland, although 390.000 dogs were classified as either "other breed" or "crossbreed."

Which Swiss cities have the most dogs?

According to the study, Geneva has the largest number of dogs registered in Switzerland, with 10.294 hounds calling the lakeside city home. This was followed by Zurich (9.567), Lausanne (6.239), Basel (4.779) and Lugano (4.757). 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.

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, 107 dogs live in the village of just 114 people, of which 91 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 girls' names for dogs:

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

1. Luna - 7.187
2. Kira - 3.151
3. Nala - 2.885
4. Bella - 2.456
5. Mia - 2.175
6. Lola - 1.778
7. Stella - 1.612
8. Amy - 1.471
9. Lucy - 1.463
10. Maya - 1.341

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 boys' names for dogs in Switzerland:

For male dogs, the overall top 10 are:

1. Rocky - 3.289
2. Lucky - 2.484
3. Max - 1.847
4. Jack - 1.707
5. Simba - 1.637
6. Leo - 1.629
7. Snoopy - 1.489
8. Balu - 1.424
9. Milo - 1.367
10. Charlie - 1.186

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, Lucky second and Balu third, and the Romande went for Lucky in first, Rocky in second and Snoopy 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.