For the first time in three decades, the U.S has a new top dog breed. According to the American Kennel Club, the French bulldog, the sturdy, push-faced, big-eared and distinctively droll pooch became the nation's top purebred dog last year. In winning the top slot, the Frenchie got a leg up on the Labrador retriever, which held the top spot for a record 31 years. Last year's 108,000 newly registered French bulldogs — a tenfold increase in a decade — surpassed Labs by over 21,000. The nonprofit AKC's registry spans about 200 breeds, but French bulldogs accounted for nearly 1 in every 7 of the more than 716,500 newcomers last year. Registration is voluntary. The rankings — based on the numbers of puppies and other dogs added in 2022 to the country's oldest canine registry. — cap an explosion in Frenchie fandom. The breed wasn't even in the top 75 a quarter-century ago. With roots in England and then France, French bulldogs became chic among American elites around the turn of the 20th century, then faded from favor. That changed, rapidly, in this century. Social media and celebrity owners such as Leonardo di Caprio, Megan Thee Stallion, and U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez gave the dogs fresh exposure. The buzzy little bulldogs have been targeted in thefts including last month's fatal shooting of a 76-year-old South Carolina breeder and the 2021 shooting of a California dog walker who was squiring singer Lady Gaga's pets. Still more attention came last year, when a Frenchie named Winston took second place at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show and then won the National Dog Show hosted by the Kennel Club of Philadelphia. There's concern that demand, plus the premium that some buyers will pay for "exotic" coat colors and textures, is engendering quick-buck breeders and unhealthy dogs. It's sharpening debate over whether there's anything healthy about propagating a breed prone to breathing, spinal, eye, and skin conditions. To be sure, some other breeds are prone to ailments ranging from hip dysplasia to cancers. Mixed-breed dogs can get sick, too. The AKC's top 10 were: French bulldogs, Labrador retrievers, golden retrievers, German shepherds, poodles, bulldogs, Rottweilers, beagles, dachshunds and German shorthaired pointers. The rankings don't count mixed-breeds or, at least for now, Labradoodles, puggles, Morkies and other popular "designer" hybrids.