The Labrador Retriever was named the top dog in the United States on Wednesday for the 19th consecutive¹ year by the American Kennel² Club.

上周三，美国育犬协会公布年度最受欢迎犬种，拉布拉多寻回犬连续第19年当选。

The Labrador Retriever was named the top dog in the United States on Wednesday for the 19th consecutive year by the American Kennel Club.

The German Shepherd德国牧羊犬 came in second place for 2009, due to its increased visibility as a preferred breed for law enforcement, followed by the Yorkshire Terrier约克郡犬, the Golden Retriever金毛猎犬 and the Beagle贝高犬.

But the Labrador Retriever's long run at the top may not last too much longer.

"For the first time in nearly three decades the German Shepherd dog finds itself in the number two position, displacing the Yorkshire Terrier," said American Kennel Club美国育犬协会 spokeswoman Lisa Peterson.

Boxers拳师狗, Bulldogs斗牛犬, Dachshunds腊肠犬, Poodles贵宾犬 and Shih Tzu西施犬 rounded out the top 10 most popular dogs in the list of 164 breeds. The ranking is based on the number of registrations⁴ for the breed with the American Kennel Club.

Over the past decade, the Havanese哈瓦那犬 went from 92nd most popular breed to 32nd and the Portuguese⁵ Water Dog葡萄牙水犬 jumped to 60th from 80th place, thanks in part to being President Barack Obama's family pet.

Officers from the New York City Metropolitan⁶ Transportation Authority's K-9 unit, who train with either Labradors or German Shepherds, said the dogs were essential to fighting terrorism.

"The dogs are the best thing that we have, they're the best thing that's out there." said William Morange of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority大都会交通局.

"We know the one thing that really works is the K-9 unit, it keeps the transportation system running."