The pandemic has resulted in a huge puppy boom, with people seeking comfort from four-legged friends during lockdown. But as many are working from home with their dogs, which breeds are the most suitable for a remote working environment?
Small Business Prices have analysed 30 of the most popular dog breeds and their traits to find the most professional dog breeds for remote working, as well as how much they cost to buy or adopt. The study also finds the UK’s favourite dog breeds taking the web by storm by analysing the number of Instagram hashtags and monthly search volume for each dog breed.
The top 10 most suitable dog breeds for remote working
While getting a furry friend is particularly tempting during a lockdown, not all breeds are suitable for a remote working environment. If you’re looking to transition to a hybrid-working system as the UK comes out of lockdown, you’ll want to ensure your pup is also tolerant to being alone.
To find the best dog breeds for aspiring remote working dog owners, we measured 30 dog breeds on key traits that are particularly important when working from home with your dog. These include their ability to adapt to flat living, tolerance for being alone, trainability, their tendency to bark through your calls, energy levels and exercise needs.
The results show that Shih Tzus are the ultimate dogs for a remote working environment– a breed that is highly adaptive to flat living with low energy levels that won’t get you distracted during the workday. The trustworthy Doberman Pinscher also ranks high with a great tolerance for being alone and a low tendency to bark through your work calls, followed by the charming Havanese with a great tolerance for being alone.
These are the top 10 best breeds for a remote working environment and how they score on different traits:
| Dog breed | Adaptation to flat living /5 | Tolerance for being alone /5 | Trainability /5 | Tendency to bark /5 | Energy levels /5 | Exercise needs /5 | Total score /5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shih Tzu | 5 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4.17 |
| Doberman Pinscher | 3 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3.72 |
| Havanese | 5 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3.72 |
| French Bulldog | 5 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3.61 |
| Bulldog | 5 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3.61 |
| Cavalier King Charles Spaniel | 5 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 3.33 |
| Cocker Spaniel | 5 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3.33 |
| Boston Terrier | 5 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3.28 |
| Poodle | 5 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 3.28 |
| Miniature Schnauzer | 4 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 3.17 |
With low scores for a tolerance of being alone and a high tendency to bark, these are the top five least suitable breeds for remote workers:
| Dog breed | Adaptation to flat living /5 | Tolerance for being alone /5 | Trainability /5 | Tendency to bark /5 | Energy levels /5 | Exercise needs /5 | Suitability score for remote working /5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Siberian Husky | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 1.39 |
| Brittany | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 2 |
| Vizsla | 1 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 1.67 |
| Great Dane | 1 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 2 |
| Beagle | 4 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 |
COVID-19’s impact on the cost to buy a dog
As a result of the pandemic puppy boom, the cost to buy a dog has increased by an average of 130%, pushing the average cost of the most expensive breed in the study up to £3,947.
| Rank | Dog breed | Cost to buy/adopt in 2021 (£) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bulldog | £3,947 |
| 2 | Bernese Mountain Dog | £3,209 |
| 3 | Havanese | £3,167 |
| 4 | Great Dane | £3,151 |
| 5 | French Bulldog | £3,142 |
To find out how the cost of the most suitable dog breeds for remote working, we analysed the cost to buy or adopt each of the 30 dog breeds in 2021. We also s compared the current market value with the average cost before the pandemic.
On a budget? Shih Tzus, the most suitable dog breed for remote working in the study, is also one of the most affordable options on the market, making it a great fit for many. While the increased demand for dogs has pushed the average price for Shih Tzus up to an average of £1,896, some still sell for as low as £850-£1,000.
These are the top five most affordable options out of all 30 dog breeds in the study:
| Rank | Dog breed | Cost to buy/adopt in 2021 (£) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mastiff | £1,316 |
| 2 | Australian Shepherd | £1,705 |
| 3 | Beagle | £1,754 |
| 4 | Brittany | £1,829 |
| 5 | Shih Tzu | £1,896 |
However, for some dog breeds, the demand increase has pushed the average cost well past the £3,000 mark. These are the most expensive breeds on the market in 2021:
| Rank | Dog breed | Cost to buy/adopt in 2021 (£) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bulldog | £3,947 |
| 2 | Bernese Mountain Dog | £3,209 |
| 3 | Havanese | £3,167 |
| 4 | Great Dane | £3,151 |
| 5 | French Bulldog | £3,142 |
The most popular dog breeds online
Dogs are greatly popular both in real life and online, with the dog breeds in this study seeing a 51% average increase in search interest during the pandemic. But which are the most popular breeds taking social media by storm?
By analysing the number of Instagram hashtags for each of the 30 breeds in the study, we found the most popular dog breeds online. To see just how popular they are in the UK right now, the study has also looked at the average search volume in the UK for each breed.
These are the top five dog breeds that are the most popular on social media right now:
Crowd favourites like French Bulldogs, Golden Retrievers and Bulldogs all feature on the list of the most popular dog breeds on Instagram, but which breeds have gained the most popularity during the pandemic?
Looking at the search volume in the UK for all 30 breeds before and during COVID-19, these are the top 10 dog breeds that have increased the most in popularity over the last year:
| Dog breed | Average monthly search volume (Mar 19 - Jan 20) | Average monthly search volume (Mar 20 - Jan 21) | Search volume increase during COVID-19(%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Labrador Retriever | 24,100 | 59,864 | 148% |
| Pembroke Welsh Corgi | 5,973 | 12,309 | 106% |
| Havanese | 15,509 | 30,600 | 97% |
| Shetland Sheepdog | 9,282 | 18,073 | 95% |
| Cavalier King Charles Spaniel | 44,064 | 83,545 | 90% |
| Golden Retriever | 123,318 | 230,545 | 87% |
| Cocker Spaniel | 127,000 | 235,455 | 85% |
| Doberman Pinscher | 11,055 | 20,409 | 85% |
| German Shorthaired Pointer | 17,773 | 32,236 | 81% |
| Rottweiler | 113,545 | 199,364 | 76% |
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