--- description: Hollywood stardom can give specific breeds a boost lasting up to 10 years, new research finds title: Dog Movies Impact Popularity of Breeds image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4d88767a6d9224fc/6986a2ccf983e7838704f932/lassie-dog-breed.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Newsfeed](/tag/time-section-newsfeed/) ## Newsfeed Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # The Lassie Effect: Study Finds Dog Movies Make Breeds More Popular by [Laura Stampler](/author/laura-stampler/) ## Laura Stampler Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 11, 2014 2:16 PM CUT  Dog whisperer Cesar Millan and Lassie at the taping of the 100th episode of National Geographic Channel's "Dog Whisperer" at Pickwick Gardens in Burbank, Calif. on March 30, 2008. Dog whisperer Cesar Millan and Lassie at the taping of the 100th episode of National Geographic Channel's "Dog Whisperer" at Pickwick Gardens in Burbank, Calif. on March 30, 2008.Neilson Barnard—Getty Images by [Laura Stampler](/author/laura-stampler/) ## Laura Stampler Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 11, 2014 2:16 PM CUT Well-received dog movies can influence the popularity of the specifically featured breed for up to a decade — even if the dogs are cartoons, according to a [new study](http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0106565?utm%5Fsource=feedburner&utm%5Fmedium=feed&utm%5Fcampaign=Feed%3A%20plosone%2FPLoSONE%20%28PLOS%20ONE%20Alerts%3A%20New%20Articles%29 "undefined"). Collies saw a 40% bump in registrations through the American Kennel Club after the 1943 release of _Lassie_, according to research published in Plos One Wednesday, though researchers conceded that may have been assisted by its many sequels. But the study also found that registrations of Old English Sheepdogs went up 100-fold after Disney’s 1959 release of _The Shaggy Dog_, and[ _101 Dalmations_ even had a significant impact](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/lifestyle/pets/11086650/Lassie-and-101-Dalmatians-influence-popularity-of-dog-breeds-for-up-to-ten-years.html "undefined") on the breed after its 1985 premiere. Researchers from the University of Bristol, Western Carolina University, and the City University of New York analyzed 87 dog movies in total, comparing them with data from the American Kennel Club, which has registered more than 65 million dogs. They found that early movies had a greater impact than more current ones, which now — alongside internet corgi/frenchie/pug listicles proliferate the market. And this wasn’t necessarily because the dogs had other laudable traits apart from their fame. “On the whole, breeds with more desirable behaviours, greater longevity, and fewer inherited genetic disorders did not become more popular than other breeds,” [said co-author Hal Herzog](http://www.psypost.org/2014/09/new-study-shows-impact-movies-dog-breed-popularity-28068 "undefined"). “In short, cultural shifts in types of pets largely reflect ephemeral changes in fashion rather than selection for functional traits.” But hey, at least that’s better [movies turning teens into smokers.](http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/10/us-smoking-idUSBRE86902720120710 "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3326933/dog-movies-popular-breed/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3326933/dog-movies-popular-breed/"},"headline":"The Lassie Effect: Study Finds Dog Movies Make Breeds More Popular","datePublished":"2014-09-11T14:16:53.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:13:07.280Z","description":"Hollywood stardom can give specific breeds a boost lasting up to 10 years, new research finds","url":"https://time.com/3326933/dog-movies-popular-breed/","keywords":["Newsfeed","animals","Dogs","movies","study","film"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4d88767a6d9224fc/6986a2ccf983e7838704f932/lassie-dog-breed.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Laura Stampler","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/laura-stampler/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4d88767a6d9224fc/6986a2ccf983e7838704f932/lassie-dog-breed.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Lassie Dog Breeds","caption":"Lassie Dog Breeds","creditText":"Neilson Barnard—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3326933/dog-movies-popular-breed/","name":"The Lassie Effect: Study Finds Dog Movies Make Breeds More Popular"}}]}] ```