Suburbia

in the late afternoon on Thursday, the 14th of July 2005 by Chad

MSN has a typical fluff piece on why people buy labrador retrievers.

The AKC’s stats show that the large-dog trend started to gather steam in 1972, as breeds such as Labs, Doberman pinschers, and Rottweilers showed steady increases from year to year. The trend continued throughout the ’90s; at some points in the decade, only one of the AKC’s Toy breedsa group that includes diminutive dogs such as the Shih Tzu and the Yorkshire terriercracked the list’s annual top 10.

But the trend toward jumbo dogs doesn’t quite explain why the Labrador retriever is far more popular than other big breeds. The simple answer is that dog owners are mimics: Instead of studying up on breeds that might meet their particular needs, they tend to copy the dog-buying habits of the people down the street.

Ummm… no, that isn’t why overly inbred, drywall eating, dumb as dirt labs are popular. Although it is close.
I think it is because when you get in line to buy your SUVs to park in front of your McMansion, they issue them with the registration papers.