DOG NUMBERS ARE GROWING FASTER THAN HUMAN NUMBERS IN NZ, AND TWO BREEDS HAVE COME OUT TOP DOG YET AGAIN

Dog numbers in New Zealand are soaring, outstripping human population growth by a factor of 10 in the past year.

The country’s dog population grew by 2.4% in 2022 (on top of a 3.1% lift in 2021), compared to human population growth of a mere 0.2% (this year) and 0.4% (2021), according to an analysis of registered dogs by Infometrics.

Kiwi families have welcomed nearly 70,000 extra dogs into their homes in the past few years, taking the total number of human’s best friends to 605,834.

And top dog status, at least as far as purebreds go, belongs to the family-friendly, lovable and ever-hungry labrador, followed closely, and we suspect more commonly in rural areas, by New Zealand’s own breed, the huntaway.

Brad Olsen, principal economist and director at Infometrics, says he put together the information from Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) data – despite the lack of enthusiasm of some of his team – as he knew it would be of interest to people.

Olsen, not himself a dog owner, believes the increase in dog numbers is to do with “a little bit of companionship that people are looking for”.

He says labrador retrievers (more commonly known simply as labradors) were also the most popular in 2018 and 2020, when he last ran the numbers.

One-year-old Richmond, Tasman, dog Remy must be the perfect pooch – he’s a cross of a labrador and a huntaway.

His human, nurse Dominica Cresswell​, says she rescued him in June after searching for some time and being overwhelmed with how many dogs there were that needed rehoming.

She says his mix of breeds has proved a good match for her family of five, including three children aged 11, 14, and 15.

“The beauty of him is that he has that very friendly lab nature, quite food-driven so relatively easy to train,” she says, “but he’s lovely and athletic-looking. He’s more svelte or lithe than a lab. He was born to go running in the hills and that’s what I like to do.”

Although he is too young to exercise for long, Cresswell has been able to take him on short runs in the mountains, and says: “He’s definitely got legs on him. He’s only little, but he can outrun me, I think.”

Cresswell is not surprised at the increasing number of dogs in Aotearoa, saying they are a boon to the household, making sure the family gets outside in nature.

“Every day he gets us out, either up in the hills or to the back beach (Tāhunanui) or Rough Island. In the afternoon, one of the children will take him down to the park.”

Blenheim dog Zeke is one of 43,193 labradors in the country. (Huntaways number 30,614.) His owner, Blenheim butcher Hamish Burnett, is not surprised labradors are so popular. He adopted 22-month-old Zeke as a young pup, knowing the breed is “great-natured, friendly, cuddly and they love to play”.

“They can run for yonks beside you, they love fetch and tug-of-war. They can be lazy if they want to be or high energy. We can do a 10km run in the morning, and then in the afternoon do another three-hour hike.”

He says it’s true that labs like to eat: “Like father, like dog. But he’s got a controlled diet, so he just gets what he’s given.

“He does sit with his head on your lap when you’re at the table, with drool coming down the side of his mouth.”

Olsen says huntaways appear to be “the more popular regional, rural, provincial dogs” – but even in some country areas labradors prevail.

The breed, which is usually black-and-tan, is also known as the New Zealand huntaway, as they originate here, bred to be high country sheep dogs who can cover great distances in their mustering roles.

Dog ownership, when adjusted for human population, is generally higher in more provincial areas, and is particularly strong in the South Island, according to the DIA figures.

“The South Island accounts for just over 23% of the human population, but just under 33% of the canine population – a ratio broadly unchanged since we first reported on it in 2018,” Olsen’s analysis shows.

He says the Chatham Islands remains the “floof capital of New Zealand”.

“In 2022, there was one dog for every two people on the Chathams (405 dogs for a human population of 800). Other top dog spots around New Zealand include Hurunui, Southland, Ruapehu, and Clutha Districts.

“Across New Zealand as a whole, there was a one dog for around every 8.5 people.”

• Dog numbers in Wellington City are the lowest in New Zealand on a population-adjusted basis: In 2022, there was one dog for every 16 people in Wellington city.
• Wellington, Auckland, and Hamilton cities have among the lowest number of dogs per people across New Zealand.