Clouds roiled the sky. Patagonia fleeces were zipped up to where they nicked chins. But as temperatures plunged, owners and their barking, leaping, running dogs kept bounding in for their daily visit to San Francisco’s largest fenced dog area, the Golden Gate Park Dog Training Area between the Richmond and Sunset districts.
Yet not one of the 40 dogs rollicking through the play area that evening was listed by their owners as a purebred Labrador — two were described as “Labrador mix.”
The San Francisco Chronicle just ended its “dog data week,” which kicked off with a story on Monday naming this chilly part of town is supposed to be Labrador country — Chihuahuas, the overall most popular breed in San Francisco, are bigger further east.
We’re kicking ourselves: Mission Local had the same data and was a day late in publishing — we hate to be scooped — so we decided to pivot with more on-the-ground reporting. It tells a more nuanced story.
While official data based on dogs licensed at San Francisco Animal Care and Control give a clean divide by breed, the real dogs of San Francisco complicate that. Registration requires a fee and isn’t universally known — meaning many people do not bother. The data captures a snapshot of the city’s dog population, in other words, not the whole thing.
Plus, pet owners and others said, dogs often are not so neatly categorized. Shelters can mislabel them, and owners then follow suit.
“I don’t see too many labs out here,” said Mary Liljedahl, a frequent visitor to the dog park with her mixed-breeds Blake and Vinny. Most of the dogs she encounters here are rescues, Liljedahl adds, and few are purebred.
Liljedahl doesn’t blame breeders or rescue organizations for the unclear labelling. She’s aware that owners, if and when they register their dogs, can describe it as just one breed, even if the pedigree is dubious.
“What’s changed a lot in the last five years is the popularity of DNA testing,” Lilijedahl said. Liljedahl tested her own rescue dogs, who also turned out to be flying under false flags. “A shelter might say it’s whatever,” said Liljedahl, ”and then you test — and it’s not.”
“Hey—Blake! Vinny!” she interrupted. Liljedahl rushed off to separate the dogs, who were starting to gnaw on each other.
Ted Lacey, another dog owner at the park, said that he could see why Labradors would be popular in San Francisco. “Labradors are kind of mellow. They just hang out — they’re like these California surfer dudes.” But most “Labradors” in the west-side park were probably not.
A more nuanced story
Mission Local analyzed dog licensing data going back to 2015 — a longer window than the Chronicle’s 2020–2025 snapshot — and found a slightly more nuanced story.
In some zip codes on our map, the gap between the number of claimed Labradors and Chihuahuas is small, such as in 94131 (Glen Park) where there are 262 registered Labradors and 242 Chihuahuas. Likewise, in 94115 (Western Addition) there are 246 Labradors and 225 Chihuahuas.
That means some zip codes can be labeled Chihuahua or Labrador territory when the numbers are close to tied.
The farther east, according to the data, the progressively stronger the Chihuahuas’ domination. In some neighborhoods where Chihuahuas rule, Labradors fall so far behind they sometimes don’t even place second. And Chihuahuas — or at least Chihuahua mixes — remain, according to the city, the overall most popular breed in town.
Not all dog owners believe this. “There’s something wrong with the data,” said Laura Creelman, on a recent Saturday morning in Jefferson Square Park in Pacific Heights.
Creelman has lived with her husband in the neighborhood for the last five years, she said. According to the data, the area should be full of Labradors. But Creelman says she mostly sees an abundance of Doodles — name-brand dogs crossed with poodles. “They’re designer dogs.”
Creelman and Wolf own one themselves: a Golden-Labradoodle named Charlie.
But the couple also has a nominally more eastern-side dog: Deliliah, a scrappy Terrier-Chihuahua mix. “I lived in Mexico,” said Wolf, by way of explanation. “Everyone there has a Chihuahua. They’re aggressive. They’re great guard dogs.”
“I find the big dogs easier,” said Creelman, patting her Labradoodle.“They can hold their pee. The little ones can’t.”
Why is the Chihuahua the most popular dog in San Francisco?
The mystery persists: Wherever they wind up, why is the Chihuahua recorded as the most popular dog in San Francisco?
Of course, not every “Chihuahua” is the real thing. But there are a lot of Chihuahua breeders in California, explained Natalie Koral, co-owner of Dan Perata Training and Boarding in Bayview-Hunters Point. And Koral says that not every would-be dog owner can see past the diminutive cuteness.
“Chihuahuas are actually lion-hearted, fierce, amazing little creatures,” said Koral. Many dog owners don’t understand the temperament of these dogs, explained Koral, and so Chihuahuas — or mutts like Delilah, the Chihuahua-terrier mix — end up abandoned and overrepresented in local shelters.
“If you’re getting one thinking it’s a pocket pet, you’re going to be mistaken,” Koral added. “People get caught up in what a dog looks like — and they forget what a dog is made up of.”
Back at the Golden Gate Park Dog Training area, neither dogs nor their owners seemed to care much about the data. Tomorrow the regulars are hosting a potluck — and all dogs, regardless of breed, are invited.
Methodology
Data from San Francisco Animal Care and Control and covers dog registrations from 2015 to 2025. Each dog is counted once, at the time of its first registration.
Breed classifications reflect the primary breed listed on each animal’s registration form. For licensed dogs, this is self-reported by the owner; for surrendered animals, it is provided by the owner where known; for strays, it is estimated by ACC staff. Zip codes are similarly self-reported. This data only captures registered dogs — unregistered animals are not reflected in the analysis, and registration requires a fee, which may affect which dogs and neighborhoods are represented.
