These are the Swiss dog hotspots – so many live in your community

The dog is man’s best friend and the most popular pet in Switzerland after the cat. According to the Swiss animal database Identitas, there were 555,340 dogs living in Switzerland at the end of 2022. Unlike cats, dogs are subject to registration in Switzerland and therefore the data is much more informative than for the most common pet. Cats are currently registered in Germany with just under 710,000 animals, but the domestic cat population is estimated to be around two million.

But back to the dogs: for a long time, the number of dogs in Switzerland increased steadily, but with the outbreak of the corona pandemic, the curve suddenly rose sharply. Instead of about 7,000 dogs, about 11,000 four-legged friends were suddenly bought in Switzerland. However, for the second time since March 2020, the stock has declined slightly in recent months.

The most popular pure dog breed (ie without mixed breeds and crosses) in Switzerland is currently the Chihuahua with nearly 29,000 animals. Just behind second place is the Labrador with just over 25,000 animals. The Yorkshire Terrier took the podium in third place with some 18,000 animals.

Of all Swiss communities, the city of Geneva has the largest number of dogs. More than 10,000 animals have been registered, but Calvin City is also one of the most densely populated communities in Switzerland. Other urban centers follow in Zurich, Lausanne, Basel and Lugano.

A different picture emerges if one calculates the number of dogs in the municipalities per 100 inhabitants. At the top are suddenly populated communities with relatively many quadrupeds. Dog hotspots are, for example, the Jura and Ticino.

The municipality of Treytorrens VD near Payerne has the most dogs per 100 inhabitants: the municipality, which has 114 inhabitants, has 107 dogs, of which 91 are Tibetan Spaniels. The reason: There is a breed of this particular breed in the village.

When it comes to the most common dog names, the same suspects have been at the top for years. Among the females, Luna is by far the most common name, followed by Kira and Nala. Rocky is the most popular name among the males, Lucky and Max complete the podium here.

A large proportion of dogs living in Switzerland are still imported from abroad. Since the start of the corona pandemic, an average of more than 2,800 animals per month has been imported - during the same period, only 420 were exported on average per month.

Most dog imports come from the neighboring countries of Switzerland, Germany, France and Italy. In 2022, 16,251, more than half of all imports (30,754) were imported from these three countries. This is followed by lesser-known countries such as Spain, Romania, Portugal, Hungary and Slovakia. Because livestock farming there does not always meet Swiss standards.