The Most Popular Dogs on Instagram

It’s virtually impossible to scroll through Instagram without seeing a dog. Do you really even have a dog if your followers don’t know them and their habits intimately?

Many pet owners actually create separate accounts for their pooches, even writing in first person to really portray their pup’s character. This 21st century phenomenon is not only an incredible opportunity to practise personification, but crucially allows others to virtually experience pooch parenthood.

Insta-famous dogs can amass thousands of followers, with popular hashtags like #dogstagram providing handy shortcuts to the best canine personalities on the web.

There are seemingly endless doggy Instagram accounts, with dog hashtags racking up hundreds of thousands mentions. Some breeds are more popular than others on the platform, and the top ten most hashtagged pups are certainly a very photogenic bunch.

Here at Jollyes, we don’t just cater for the Insta-famous pups - we’ve got something for every pooch in our range. However, that doesn’t mean we’re not curious about which breeds are the most popular on Instagram, so we’ve done a little digging.

As the Insta dog craze isn’t looking likely to slow down anytime soon, we thought we’d take a deep dive into the platform’s top ten most hashtagged pooches.

Hashtagged a huge 37.5 million times on Instagram, labradors have become a firm favourite in recent years, with Google reporting a 42.1% increase for the search term ‘buy Labrador’ in the past three years alone.

Labs are also the most common breed of guide dogs and make excellent swimmers thanks to their webbed toes and two coats of fur.

Also known as Frenchies, French bulldogs have distinctly large ears and are notoriously loud snorers. First bred in Paris during the nineteenth century, Frenchies remain a thoroughly chic companion to this day.

A breed beloved by Paris Hilton and a whole bevy of Hollywood starlets, the chihuahua is one of the smallest breeds of dog in the world, named after the largest Mexican state of the same name.

Chihuahuas enjoyed intense media coverage in the early 2000s when they were often papped peeking out of whichever designer handbag their owner chose that morning and were the breed of choice in many films around that time.

Dachshunds have had a positively stratospheric rise to popularity, partly due to their success on social media platforms like Instagram, where they’ve been hashtagged 24.2m times.

With the best puppy dog eyes, dachshunds were originally bred to flush out badgers, with their miniature relatives intended to hunt rabbits. Google records a massive 67.4% rise in searches for the term ‘sausage dog’ in the past five years - although now you’ll mostly find them posing for the camera.

Many British people decided to adopt dogs during the Coronavirus pandemic, with Google searches for ‘rescue dogs’ peaking during national lockdowns. Rehoming charity All Dogs Matter reported that ‘designer dogs’ like dachshunds and cockapoos were the most popular pandemic pooches. This has since tragically resulted in their overrepresentation in dogs homes today - since work and life resumed to pre-Covid normalcy, and people couldn’t care for the pets anymore.

Ranking fifth in Instagram’s dog hashtag charts does, however, signal a growing proclivity for adoption - and long may it last!

‘Husky’ is a general term which refers to dogs primarily used to pull sleds in the polar regions. As particularly hardy dogs who can tolerate extremely cold weather, huskies make the perfect snow companions. They are also ridiculously Instagrammable thanks to characteristics like bright blue eyes and stunning fur markings.

Bulldogs are an iconic and much-loved British breed, so it’s no wonder they rank so highly on Instagram. Through their association with Prime Minister Winston Churchill during the war, bulldogs have actually become symbolic of a distinctly British brand of plucky courage.

Poodles, once circus performers famed for walking tightropes and performing card tricks, make perfect companions. 20.9m hashtagged posts on Instagram just goes to show how loved they really are. Miniature, toy or standard, whatever poodle you go for, you’ll be sure to make a fabulous furry friend for life.

Classed as a toy dog breed, pomeranians do actually look like….well, toys. More fur than body, all yap and no bark - poms have been a mainstay of royal kennels since Queen Victoria’s reign.

FYI - white poms may be mistaken for clouds.

Jack Russells are an extremely energetic breed and were originally bred by Reverend Jack Rusell in the early nineteenth century, which is how the breed got their name.

You can recognise them from their white fur, which is usually broken up with patches of brown or tan. The coat can be entirely smooth, rough or broken-coated (or a combination of the two).

Literally every dog is Instagrammable - even at their worst angles they wipe the floor with us, as a species. But there are definitely a few things you can do to ensure your pup’s a hit on Insta.

Using hashtags is a brilliant way to signpost your pup for fellow fans of fur, and will ensure your post’s place in the (vast) pool of pooch pics.

Try to retain a strong aesthetic for the account - consistently taking your photographs outdoors will bring a natural vibe to the page, for instance. The same applies to reels - keep them interesting by sequencing different scenes and activities: catching a ball, running into the sea, sleeping on the sofa, and so on.

Running competitions is also a tried and tested way of attracting potential new followers to the account. The priority should always be giving an authentic sense of your dog’s personality - being picture perfect all the time isn’t very compelling or relatable for other dog owners.

An essential ingredient of Instagram success is fashion. Human or canine, sartorial choices communicate so much about our personalities. Choosing matching dog and owner outfits - anything from festive Christmas jumpers to pumpkin get-ups at Halloween - is unfailingly cute.

Keep your pooch cosy through winter months in a stylish coat, and always keep in mind that, just like humans, your pup should dress to accentuate their best features too. Bigger breeds might not suit every fancy dress option, and not every pooch was made to wear mustard, so go with what works for your dog.

In this day and age, most of us have access to a camera 24/7 with our smartphones. Staying ready to capture your pet at any given moment isn’t easy, but it’s imperative for getting those iconic Insta shots.

You never know when your dog might do something cute or funny, so being prepared to capture them at all times ensures Instagram posts that provide excellent insight into their daily routine and lovable charms.

Standing out in the crowd is becoming increasingly difficult on Instagram. It’s a breeding ground for cute canine photography, and to ensure your pup stands out you must emphasise their unique selling point - their personality.

Using posts, reels and stories, give your followers (and followers-to-be) an adorable look at your pooch’s character. Whether that’s through documenting a particularly manic half an hour, or capturing an angelic pose at dinnertime.

Whatever breed your pooch is, you can find Instagram success by following our advice. Use every feature the platform offers (posts, reels, stories, hashtags), stay camera-ready to capture all the best content, dress them in looks you’d be proud to wear yourself and -crucially - give your followers a sense of their personality by documenting the full spectrum of their behaviours and moods. Take a look at the Jollyes Instagram account to get some #Inspo today!