Huntaway and Border Collie are the second and third most popular breeds, which can likely be attributed to the sheer size of our rural community.
Hurunui is a local government district within the Canterbury region and stretches from the east coast to the Main Divide.
The ministry's figures show they had 5451 total dogs in 2020 to a population of about 12,950 people.
And while Wellington City had 12,220 dogs, compared to their population of 211,200, the number per capita is far less than Hurunui.
As an overall number, Auckland (Group) has the most dogs with 106,332 but its population of over 1.6 million people dwarfs the number of dogs.
It comes after Bella and Charlie were the voted the top two dog names for 2020.
An informal survey conducted by Wellington City Council asked respondents to vote on their favourites on everything from best audiobooks to favourite dog names.
Labradors were voted as the "top dog", followed by Cavalier King Charles spaniels and border collies.
Wellington Labrador and Retriever club secretary Trudy Warmerdam said Labradors had long been a popular pet choice.
"Labradors are great family dogs but they're also easy to train ... they're great for anything really, guide dogs, hunting, duck shooting, guard dogs," she said.
"They're the most popular family dog because they're so good with kids."
Although Wellington was a dense city, Warmerdam said the access to beaches and hiking trails made it an ideal home for labradors.
Registered dogs per capita:
Hurunui District: 12950 population, 5451 dogs, 421 dogs per capita;
Southland District: 31900, 12118, 380;
Clutha District: 18050, 6673, 370;
Central Hawke's Bay District: 14650, 5271, 360;
Wairoa District: 8720, 3123, 358;
Tararua District: 18450, 6586, 357;
Waimate District: 8120, 2854, 351;
Ruapehu District: 12750, 4464, 350;,
Waitomo District: 9630, 3303, 343;
Mackenzie District: 5100, 1654, 324;
Rangitikei District: 15450, 5007, 324;
South Wairarapa District: 10900, 3240, 297;
Carterton District: 9510, 2759, 290;
Kaikoura District: 4060, 1073, 264;
Gore District: 12800, 3188, 249;
Central Otago District: 22200, 5459, 246;
Waitaki District: 22900, 5358, 234;
Selwyn District: 63300, 14491, 229;
Hauraki District: 20700, 4503, 218;
Masterton District: 26400, 5754, 218;
Westland District: 8830, 1920, 217;
Manawatu District: 31100, 6732, 216;
Buller District: 9850, 2106, 214;
Marlborough District: 48700, 1043, 214;
Gisborne District: 49500, 10460, 211;
Stratford District: 9710, 2037, 210;
Waimakariri District: 61300, 12614, 206;
Otorohanga District: 10500, 2131, 203;
Tasman District: 54000, 10397, 193;
Grey District: 13750, 2610, 190;
Timaru District: 47600, 8958, 188;
Kaipara District: 23700, 4390, 185;
Ashburton District: 34600, 6371, 184;
Horowhenua District: 34500, 6179, 179;
Taupo District: 38600, 6860, 178;
Kawerau District: 7460, 1313, 176;
Waikato District: 78200, 13677, 175;
Western Bay of Plenty District: 53400, 9063, 170;
Whanganui District: 46800, 7763, 166;
Invercargill City: 55900, 9186, 164;
Thames‐Coromandel District: 30700, 4963, 162;
South Waikato District: 24800, 3864, 156;
Whakatane District: 37100, 5802, 156;
South Taranaki District: 28300, 4388, 155;
Opotiki District: 9670, 1487, 154;
Matamata‐Piako District: 35300, 5389, 153;
Rotorua District: 74800, 10662, 143;
Kapiti Coast District: 55200, 7805, 141;
Dunedin City: 131200, 18245, 139;
New Plymouth District: 83300, 11281, 135;
Upper Hutt City: 45400, 6138, 135;
Hastings District: 84700, 11081, 131;
Whangarei District: 94100, 11283, 120;
Waipa District: 55000, 6559, 119;
Queenstown‐Lakes District: 42500, 5028, 118;
Nelson City: 52700, 5854, 111;
Christchurch City: 383800, 39529, 103;
Palmerston North City: 88300, 8555, 97;
Tauranga City: 142000, 13435, 95;
Napier City: 64200, 6055, 94;
Porirua City: 58900, 5189, 88;
Far North District: 67900, 5412, 80;
Hamilton City: 168600, 11427, 68;
Auckland (Group): 1654620, 106332, 64;
Wellington City: 211200, 12220, 58;
Most popular dog per district:
Ashburton District: Retriever, Labrador
Auckland (Group): Retriever, Labrador
Buller District: Collie, Border
Carterton District: Huntaway
Central Hawke's Bay District: Huntaway
Central Otago District: Collie, Border
Chatham Islands: Huntaway
Christchurch City: Retriever, Labrador
Clutha District: Collie, Smooth
Dunedin City: Retriever, Labrador
Far North District: Huntaway
Gisborne District: Huntaway
Gore District: Huntaway
Grey District: Retriever, Labrador
Hamilton City: Retriever, Labrador
Hastings District: Retriever, Labrador
Hauraki District: Retriever, Labrador
Horowhenua District: Retriever, Labrador
Hurunui District: Collie, Smooth
Hutt City: Retriever, Labrador
Invercargill City: Retriever, Labrador
Kaikoura District: Huntaway
Kaipara District: Huntaway
Kapiti Coast District: Retriever, Labrador
Kawerau District: Retriever, Labrador
Mackenzie District: Collie, Border
Manawatu District: Huntaway
Marlborough District: Huntaway
Masterton District: Huntaway
Matamata‐Piako District: Retriever, Labrador
Napier City: Retriever, Labrador
Nelson City: Retriever, Labrador
New Plymouth District: Retriever, Labrador
Opotiki District: Retriever, Labrador
Otorohanga District: Huntaway
Palmerston North City: Retriever, Labrador
Porirua City: Retriever, Labrador
Queenstown‐Lakes District: Retriever, Labrador
Rangitikei District: Huntaway
Rotorua District: Retriever, Labrador
Ruapehu District: Huntaway
Selwyn District: Retriever, Labrador
South Taranaki District: Retriever, Labrador
South Waikato District: Retriever, Labrador
South Wairarapa District: Huntaway
Southland District: Huntaway
Stratford District: Huntaway
Tararua District: Huntaway
Tasman District: Collie, Border
Taupo District: Retriever, Labrador
Tauranga City: Retriever, Labrador
Thames‐Coromandel District: Retriever, Labrador
Timaru District: Retriever, Labrador
Upper Hutt City: Retriever, Labrador
Waikato District: Retriever, Labrador
Waimakariri District: Retriever, Labrador
Waimate District: Huntaway
Waipa District: Retriever, Labrador
Wairoa District Huntaway
Waitaki District: Collie, Border
Waitomo District: Huntaway
Wellington City: Retriever, Labrador
Western Bay of Plenty District: Retriever, Labrador
Westland District: Retriever, Labrador
Whakatane District: Retriever, Labrador
Whanganui District: Huntaway
Whangarei District: Retriever, Labrador
