What are the most popular medium-sized dog breeds in the UK as of 2019?

Small dog breeds are perhaps the most versatile in terms of the number of owners and homes that are a good fit for them, and large and giant breeds have perhaps the most difficulty finding homes, simply due to their size alone.

However, there are a great many dog breeds that fall firmly in the middle of the pack in the size stakes, and these provide an excellent choice for a wide range of different types of homes and lifestyles too, and these middle-of-the-road sized breeds include some of our most popular and in-demand dog breeds of all.

There is a huge amount of variety in terms of medium sized dogs and their personalities, appearances and core traits, so whatever you are looking for from your next dog, there is sure to be an option to suit – if you can find them!

Whether you’re looking for a quiet, fairly sedentary breed that won’t run you ragged out on walks or a lively, full of beans character that will enjoy long walks and lots of activity, there are over seventy different medium-sized dog breeds commonly offered for sale each year in the UK, and you’re sure to find your perfect partner among their number.

However, if you’re not already quite experienced with dogs and particularly, dog breeds, knowing what type of breeds to consider – or even how large a dog breed is based on pictures of them shown online – is not always simple.

When you class a group of dogs together based on their size rather than breed or type, you get a lot of different types of dogs with varied histories, applications and key traits. This means that there may be several medium sized dog breeds that will tick all of the right boxes for you, or maybe just one – and lots of breeds that might be unsuitable too.

One way to narrow down your choices and shorten the journey to finding your perfect canine companion is to get a feel for what types of medium sized dog breeds are most common in the UK, and in demand with a large number of puppy buyers.

What makes the right dog for one person does not, of course, also mean that said dog will be right for you – but when a significant number of buyers each year choose a dog of a certain breed, it is worth finding out a little more about that breed, and what makes it so appealing.

Medium sized dog breeds that are in demand with a large number of people tend to have a range of traits that combined, make them a good fit for lots of different types of homes and lifestyles, which may in turn, make them a good fit for you too.

This doesn’t mean that a less common or less well-known dog breed should be ruled out of your selection process, and if you’re very specific about what you want or are prepared to do plenty of research and potentially travel some way to get the right dog, one of the less popular medium sized dog breeds might be a good choice.

A good starting point for researching dog ownership – regardless of the breed or type you eventually choose – is to get a feel for the market and see what type of dogs lots of other people like and why, to help you to make a decision.

But how can you find out what medium sized dog breeds are in the greatest demand with puppy buyers? Pets4Homes can help.

Pets4Homes is the UK’s largest dedicated pet classifieds website and advice portal, and every year, we host tens of thousands of adverts for dogs and puppies for sale in the UK. This puts us in a unique position in terms of our ability to build up information on what type of dogs are sold in the greatest numbers each year, what buyers are looking for, and even what sort of prices dogs of different breeds and types command on average too.

We’ve analysed data collated from adverts for dogs and litters for sale placed on Pets4Homes during 2018 to draw up a definitive list of the most popular medium sized dog breeds in the UK for 2019, and we’ll share that list with you within this guide.

We’ll also include information on the average prices charged for dogs of these breeds, and share some further insights into their overall popularity, the number of pedigree versus non-pedigree adverts placed for each breed, and information on what makes each breed so popular with puppy buyers too.

We’ll begin by outlining how we determined what dog breeds to class as medium in size and then share information on how we collated and analysed the data we’ve used to draw up the list, before proceeding to the list of the most popular medium sized dog breeds in the UK in 2019 itself.

Read on to learn more.

What counts as a medium sized dog breed?

Let’s start by explaining how we determined what dog breeds count as medium sized rather than small or large.

Obviously if a dog is huge or tiny this is self-evident when you look at them, but determining if a dog is medium sized can be more challenging, particularly if you’re researching online and have only pictures of the dogs to work with.

Dividing different dog breeds up into categories based on their sizes is a common way to class collectives of dogs, but information on their size alone tells you nothing about the core traits dogs of these breeds have when their only uniting factor is size.

In order to classify groups of dogs together for more formal purposes like Kennel Club showing breed categories, a different approach is used to rank collectives of dogs together based on shared traits that don’t necessarily include size – such as gundogs and utility dogs.

However, size is implicit in some Kennel Club groupings, like the toy dog group, all of which are small breeds. Additionally, there can be quite a lot of variance in the size of different dogs that most people would think of as being medium sized, and how any person determines this can be variable, and may factor in height, weight or build, or all three factors combined.

For the purposes of our medium sized dog breeds popularity list, we’ve set some basic parameters for inclusion or exclusion. Within our list you’ll find dogs that most people would consider to be medium sized, which for our purposes, includes dogs that stand between around 30-60cm tall at the withers, and that weigh between around 12-27kg when fully grown.

This range provides quite a degree of variance in terms of builds and conformations, and includes dog breeds that might fall towards the top end of the height spectrum whilst not being overly heavy or stocky, as well as dogs that are somewhat shorter but more muscular and heavily built.

How we established the most popular medium sized dog breeds in the UK for 2019

Before we share our list of the most popular medium sized dog breeds in the UK for 2019, we’ll first take a moment to explain how we reached our conclusions, how we gathered the data we used, and how we processed it.

During the course of 2019, we’ll be sharing a number of exclusive sneak peaks at the UK’s most popular dog breeds, based on advert statistics collated from Pets4Homes. To ensure the accuracy of this information and to enable readers to fully understand the insights that we provide, we’ve set some basic parameters for how we collated and used the information that makes up the basis of our popularity rankings.

How does Pets4Homes collate dog breed popularity data?

Pets4Homes is the best known and most widely used pet classifieds website in the UK, hosting more dog adverts at any given time than any other dedicated pet classifieds portal. We receive well north of a million unique visitors to the website each month, which is comprised of both people looking to sell a dog or litter, and those seeking to browse adverts for dogs and puppies for sale.

The number of adverts placed here each year and the popularity of our site places us in a unique position to get a snapshot of the state of the wider market for dog sales in the UK as a whole, and as it relates to individual dog breeds and dog breed groups and types too.

When someone looking to sell a dog or puppy advertises their dog here, they are asked to populate the advert with a range of basic information including the breed of the dog, whether or not they are a pedigree example of the breed, and how much they wish to sell the dog for.

We collate anonymous data on these factors from every single advert placed here for dogs for sale, and when we review these figures over a set period of time and compare them to other breeds or types of dogs using criteria like size, we can get a picture of the popularity of different breeds compared to each other, or using set parameters like breed groupings.

The statistics we used to draw up the 2019 medium sized dog breed popularity list

To determine the most popular medium sized dog breeds of 2019, we’ve collated data from advertisements placed on Pets4Homes for medium sized dogs for sale for the twelve months of 2018, which is the most recent year we’ve got a full set of data to work from.

Using these figures, we’ve collated a database showing the number of dogs of each breed we’re classing as medium sized that were advertised here in 2018, the split between pedigrees and non-pedigrees, and the average asking price across the board for dogs of each of these breeds.

What information can you find in the medium sized dog breeds popularity list?

Firstly, we drew up a list of medium sized dog breeds based on their popularity in terms of the number of for sale adverts placed for each of these breeds during 2018.

We have only considered dogs of breeds that are recognised within the UK by the Kennel Club as eligible for pedigree registration – which means that hybrid dog types and popular cross-breeds aren’t factored into the list. However, non-pedigree dogs of pedigree breeds have been counted within our statistics, and the split in pedigree to non-pedigree numbers will be shared within the information provided for each breed.

We have used the number of adverts placed for each dog breed in 2018 to collate the order of our popularity list, rather than the number of individual dogs of each breed specifically. This is because dog breeders commonly advertise a whole litter within one advert, rather than placing individual adverts for each pup separately.

For this reason, we talk about the number of adverts placed for each breed in the figures, rather than the number of individual dogs.

We’ve also worked out the average asking price for each dog breed on the list, based on information supplied by the people placing the adverts. We’ve outlined the difference in asking price between pedigree and non-pedigree dogs of each breed too.

To work out the price averages by breed, we’ve had to set some parameters to ensure that our information provides a true and realistic snapshot of the averages, and that this data isn’t artificially skewed by errors or anomalies.

To do this, we discounted pricing information where no price was given, or where the price asked fell well outside of the norms, such as adverts with a price of under £100 or over £8,000.

It is also worth noting that the price a seller asks for any given dog or puppy within the advert might not be the eventual sale price achieved.

To provide a deeper insight into the popularity of our different medium sized dog breeds, we’ve also included some supporting information within the listing that can provide helpful insights for puppy buyers trying to choose the right breed, or find pointers on breeds to consider.

This information includes not only how each dog on the list ranks compared to other medium sized breeds, but also how they rank across the board for all dog breeds and types commonly offered for sale in the UK, the Kennel Club grouping each dog falls into, and whether pedigree or non-pedigree adverts for each breed are more common, and why this might be.

Now that we’ve outlined how to understand the information provided within our list and how we determined the rank and order of it, let’s get right to the list of the most popular medium sized dog breeds in the UK as of 2019, presented in reverse order.

Number 5: The English springer spaniel

The English springer spaniel is one of two recognised springer spaniel breed variants, with the other being the much rarer Welsh springer spaniel.

Facts and figures

• The English springer spaniel is the 5th most popular medium sized dog breed in the UK in 2019, based on advert numbers for dogs and litters of the breed placed on Pets4Homes in 2018.
• The English springer spaniel is also the 17th most popular dog breed in the UK overall.
• Over the course of 2018, a total number of 2,811 adverts were placed on Pets4Homes for English springer spaniels for sale in the UK.
• The average asking price across English springer spaniel adverts placed here in 2018 was £553 per dog.
• Out of the total number of English springer spaniel adverts placed here in 2018, 1,363 of them were for Kennel Club registered pedigree dogs.
• The average asking price within pedigree English springer spaniel adverts in 2018 was £611 each.
• The remaining 1,448 dogs in the total were non-pedigree or unregistered English springer spaniels.
• The average asking price within non-pedigree English springer spaniel adverts in 2018 was £499 each.
• The English springer spaniel falls within the Kennel Club’s gundog grouping.

The English springer spaniel’s popularity and personality

The English springer spaniel falls well within the medium size category, and dogs of the breed generally stand between 42-51cm tall at the withers, and weigh between 16-25kg. This is a breed that has a healthy, workmanlike conformation with a nice balance between height and build that is free from exaggerations and represents a healthy and natural appearance.

English springer spaniels are gundogs, which were initially far more valued in the UK for their working prowess than for their suitability as pets, but as shooting with dogs has become less and less common in the UK, the breed has transitioned to pet life very successfully.

English springers still retain a large number of typical gundog traits, however, including a desire to retrieve and carry things, an affinity for the water, and a very gung-ho attitude to getting in a mess!

As you can see from our English springer spaniel advert statistics from 2018, there is almost a 50:50 split between the number of pedigree versus non-pedigree adverts for dogs of the breed placed throughout the year, which indicates quite a definitive split in terms of what prospective puppy buyers are looking for. Pedigree status within the breed is clearly important to around half of all buyers, but there is still significant demand for non-pedigree dogs of the breed too.

Additionally, oftentimes, working springer spaniels and those bred from working lines are prized for their working abilities and temperament traits rather than a physical appearance, and what any buyer is looking for from their next dog can vary considerably, depending on whether they are interested in showing their dog, working them, or simply keeping them as a pet.

Working type springers are often a little leaner and lither than their show-type cousins, but both variants have more in common than they do apart.

So, what makes the English springer spaniel such a popular medium sized dog breed, and why are they in such demand in the UK?

The English springer spaniel is first of all a very nice-looking dog breed, which can be found with black and white or liver and white patches, often interspersed with clear, crisp spots, particularly across the dog’s nose.

They have a typical spaniel appearance with a nice long muzzle, long floppy ears and kind expression, with soulful, alert eyes. The English springer’s fur is relatively thick and incorporates feathering on the chest, belly, tail and legs, which help to protect working springers against cuts and grazes, but that does tend to attract a lot of seeds and burs!

English springers are kind looking dogs that usually have a temperament to match, and that often have a great affinity for children and really enjoy playing with them.

This is a breed that likes to live a very lively, active lifestyle, as reflected in their historical working roles. Springers need plenty of exercise to thrive, and ideally need to spend lots of time each day walking, playing and socialising. This does mean that they’re not a good fit for all types of homes and owners, but they do suit active, outdoorsy families very well.

English springers are also intelligent dogs too, which can not only learn a lot of different commands but that also actively enjoys training and having a task to fulfil. Generally, even a first-time dog owner can effectively train a springer without too much trouble, assuming that they research the right approach first.

Dogs of the breed do require a reasonable amount of brushing and grooming, due to the type of coats they have and their propensity to get into a mess! Combing seeds and burs from the coat can be very time consuming in the peak of summer, and English springers need regular baths to get them properly clean too.

Whilst they do shed within the home, they’re not one of the breeds that makes a huge mess, however.

English springers tend to be robust, very hardy and quick to brush off the odd knock or bump, but there are a number of breed-specific health issues in play, and some of these should be tested for in parent stock prior to breeding.

Find out more about English springer spaniel health and the breed’s potential health challenges here.

Number 4: The Border collie

The Border collie is a medium sized dog breed that many of us still associate with their working roles as herding sheepdogs, but that is also very popular as a pet too.

Facts and figures

• The Border collie is the 4th most popular medium sized dog breed in the UK, based on the number of adverts for dogs and litters of the breed placed on Pets4Homes in 2018.
• The Border collie is also the 13th most popular dog breed in the UK overall.
• During 2018, a total number of 3,105 adverts were placed on Pets4Homes for Border collie dogs and litters for sale.
• The average advertised price for Border collies showcased here in 2018 was £380 each.
• Out of the total number of Border collie adverts placed here in 2018, just 292 of them were for Kennel Club registered pedigree dogs.
• The average advertised price for pedigree Border collies in 2018 was £579 each.
• The remaining 2,813 adverts making up the total number were for non-pedigree or unregistered Border collies.
• Non-pedigree Border collies were advertised for sale in 2018 at an average cost of £360 each.
• The Border collie is included within the Kennel Club’s pastoral dog group.

The Border collie’s personality and popularity

The Border collie is perhaps the most widely used dog breed that still performs a working role in the UK, even as most traditional working roles for dogs have been eroded. Border collies have great herding skills and high energy levels, and make for great farm dogs.

They are also a sound choice of pet for very lively, active owners that like to spend lots of time outdoors, but can be challenging to manage if you’re not overly keen on exercise!

The Border collie’s size can range from 46-56cm tall at the withers, and they weigh between 12-20kg. Border collies have a lean, fit conformation with a very typical collie appearance.

The Border collie is the 4th most popular medium sized dog breed in the UK, and they also hold their own against smaller and larger dogs too, to achieve the position of the 13th most popular dog breed in the UK overall, out of over 240 different dog breeds and types.

There are a couple of things from our Border collie popularity statistics that stand out about this breed; the first of which is that they are a comparatively inexpensive breed to buy, with average asking prices rather lower than the norm across the board for other dog breeds of a similar size.

This is particularly true of the non-pedigree examples of the breed, but also relevant to pedigrees too. The other thing you may have noticed from our stats is that non-pedigree for sale adverts outnumber pedigrees by several hundred percent, which indicates that this is very much a breed within which pedigree status isn’t given a lot of emphasis among owners.

The aforementioned keen pricing of pedigree dogs of the breed too indicates that even though pedigree offerings are comparatively rare, this rarity is not matched by a correlating high price.

So, what makes the Border collie so popular? The fact that they’re well within the budget of most puppy buyers certainly plays a part, but it is the breed’s core traits and temperament that draws enthusiasts to them – but these same traits also mean that the breed is very much not for everyone.

First of all, the Border collie is not just smart – they’re the world’s smartest dog breed bar none, and can learn and execute more commands and skills than any other dog. This is part of what makes them such a great fit for complex working roles like herding, and many Border collies have a vast vocabulary of commands and skills.

However, whilst many people like the idea of owning a really smart dog breed and owning one does mean that you can theoretically do a lot of things with them and teach them a lot of commands, Border collies need a forward-thinking and experienced trainer that knows how to work with and get the best out of a dog of this type.

They’re not always straightforward to train by first-timers, which often occurs because the dog actually learns faster than expected, and learns from observation and well as being taught direct commands!

Coupled with really high intelligence, the Border collie is also one of the most energetic dog breeds of all, and they need lots of daily exercise in order to thrive. Several active hours spent outdoors or at least two very long, energetic daily walks are required to keep a Border collie on an even keel, happy, and under control.

If the dog’s need for exercise and also mental stimulation aren’t met, they are apt to become highly strung, unruly and disobedient, and hard to manage. However, in the right handler’s hands, Border collies have a huge amount of potential and can be used for lots of applications like canine sport.

Border collies benefit from regular brushing and grooming, and their coats are smooth but quite thick in some areas, so this can take some time. They’re also quite heavy shedding dogs, so can create quite a lot of hair in the house.

In terms of the breed’s health and longevity, Border collies live for an average of around 10-14 years, and like the English springer spaniel, they tend to be hardy and robust. However, hereditary health issues that can be found within the breed include hip dysplasia, epilepsy and eye issues, and so any prospective Border collie buyer is strongly advised to choose a dog from a breeder that undertakes pre-breeding health screening on their parent stock where possible.

Number 3: The Staffordshire bull terrier

The Staffordshire bull terrier is a very familiar dog breed to most of us, and this homegrown favourite falls squarely within the medium sized dog breed territory.

Facts and figures

• The Staffordshire bull terrier is the 3rd most popular medium sized dog breed in the UK as of 2019, based on the number of adverts placed for dogs and litters of the breed in 2018.
• The Staffordshire bull terrier is also the 10th most popular dog breed in the UK overall.
• During 2018, a total number of 4,071 adverts were placed on Pets4Homes for Staffordshire bull terrier dogs and litters for sale.
• The average advertised price within Staffordshire bull terrier adverts placed here in 2018 was £663 per dog.
• Out of the total number of Staffys adverts placed here in 2018, 1,595 of them were for Kennel Club registered pedigree dogs.
• The average asking price for pedigree Staffordshire bull terriers in 2018 was £965 each.
• The remaining 2,476 dogs in the total were non-pedigree or unregistered Staffordshire bull terriers.
• The average asking price for non-pedigree Staffordshire bull terriers in 2018 was £468 each.
• The Staffordshire bull terrier is included within the Kennel Club’s terrier grouping.

The Staffordshire bull terrier’s popularity and personality

The Staffordshire bull terrier is a muscular and stocky dog breed that is quite heavy set but not overly tall, having a compact and workmanlike appearance. Dogs of the breed stand between 33-41cm tall at the withers, and weigh between 11-17kg.

Staffordshire bull terriers have a long recorded history since the breed was first founded right here in the UK, and dogs of the breed were originally used in now-outlawed pastimes like bull baiting. However, this is a breed that made a very smooth transition to life as pets when their old working roles disappeared, and this is a medium sized dog breed that can be a good fit for lots of different types of owners.

As you can see from our Staffordshire bull terrier facts and figures, non-pedigrees are more numerous than pedigrees but the difference in numbers is far less acute than for many other breeds, indicating that there is a distinct preference amongst some puppy buyers for pedigree examples of the breed.

The pricing difference between pedigree and non-pedigree Staffys too reflects the demand for pedigrees, being almost twice as much to buy a pedigree dog of the breed than one without paperwork. This may price some prospective owners out of being able to afford a pedigree dog if they really want one, but means that non-pedigree dogs of the breed are not only relatively economical to buy, but plentiful in supply too.

The Staffy isn’t just one of our more popular medium sized dog breeds, but also one of the most popular in general – and they have a lot of appeal for both families and individuals, and are a good fit for many different types of lifestyles. So, what about the Staffordshire bull terrier makes them such a popular medium sized dog breed? Let’s take a look.

First of all, the Staffy is a medium sized breed but they’re compact rather than tall or leggy, which means that they can suit smaller homes where a taller dog might not be comfortable.

The breed’s appearance too is one that appeals to a lot of different types of owners, and Staffys are distinguished, handsome looking dogs that have a very utilitarian shape and build. They can be found in a lot of different coat colours including some beautiful and distinctive shade like blue and brindle, offering lots of variety for buyers.

Staffordshire bull terrier coats are low maintenance too, being short and single layered, and so very easy to care for. They don’t tend to shed overly much at home either.

The Staffy personality definitely deserves a mention, and for many people who are not already familiar with the breed, this can be surprising. Given the fact that dogs of the breed can look quite serious and business-like, not everyone expects such dogs to be gentle, loving and very affectionate, but Staffys very much love their families and handlers, and are friendly, fun-loving, and cheerful to have around.

They are also confident dogs that don’t tend to be either highly strung or easily daunted, and they tend to keep their cool in challenging situations. However, this confidence can turn to dominance if dogs of the breed aren’t cared for and managed effectively, and they require a solid routine, training, and appropriate boundaries.

On which note, Staffordshire bull terriers are around the middle of the rankings in terms of canine intelligence, which actually makes them quite an easy breed to train for the average dog owner. Whilst they can’t generally pick up as many commands as breeds like the Border collie, they can certainly manage all of the essentials and possibly a few special skills or tricks too.

Staffordshire bull terriers can generally be trained effectively by a first timer, as long as they research the breed’s core traits and motivations first. The Staffordshire bull terrier’s energy levels and need for exercise are also around the middle of the pack too, which means that they very much enjoy lively active walks and have reasonable endurance, but they’re not likely to be too challenging to keep up with by the average owner either.

This is also a breed that is widely viewed as being good with children, both gentle and tolerant as well as enjoying playing with them, and they’re often very protective of smaller members of the family too.

The Staffordshire bull terrier’s average lifespan is between 12-14 years, and this is another well-established and generally healthy breed that isn’t prone to being overly fragile. However, once more it is important for all prospective Staffy buyers to research the breed’s health before committing to a purchase, including finding out about the breed’s potential hereditary health issues.

Number 2: The English bulldog

The English bulldog is a very heavyset and muscular medium sized dog breed, and one that is one of the most easily recognised mascots of all things British!

Facts and figures

• The English bulldog is the 2nd most popular medium sized dog breed in the UK for 2019.
• The English bulldog is also the 7th most popular dog breed in the UK overall.
• During 2018, Pets4Homes hosted a total number of 8,288 adverts for English bulldog dogs and litters for sale in the UK.
• The average asking price for English bulldogs in 2018 was £1,610 each.
• Of the total number of English bulldog adverts placed here in 2018, 5,311 of them were for Kennel Club registered pedigree dogs and litters.
• Pedigree English bulldogs were advertised for sale at an average cost of £1,690 each in 2018.
• The remaining 2,977 adverts making up the total were for non-pedigree or unregistered English bulldogs.
• Non-pedigree English bulldogs were advertised for sale at an average cost of £1,466 each.
• The English bulldog falls within the Kennel Club’s utility dog group.

The English bulldog’s popularity and personality

The