Ask any dog or cat owner and they'll tell you what breed is best.

At the close of 2019, Pet Insurance Australia crunched the numbers to find the top cat and dog breeds for the year.

"We've come up with a list of the most popular breeds around Australia," Nadia Crighton, spokesperson for Pet Insurance Australia says. "It's a great mix of large, medium and small breeds, alongside pure-breds and cross-breeds."

In Australia, there are more than 24 million pets distributed across 62 per cent of households. They are made up of 38.5 per cent dogs and 29.2 per cent cats, with the remainder being fish, reptiles, small mammals and birds.

Some breeds, while not necessarily making the list, have also surged in popularity over the past few years and are clearly on the rise.

"Ownership of the loving French Bulldog has increased hugely over the past few years and is now considered one of the fastest rising insured dog breeds," Crighton says. "This is followed by the Kelpie, Pug and German Shepherd."

The love for the French Bulldog is clearly reflected worldwide, with registrations for in the UK increasing by 3000 per cent in the past 10 years.

"The breed is also set to overtake the Labrador as the most popular dog in the UK, for the first time in 27 years."

So, here are Pet Insurance Australia's most popular breeds for 2019.

TOP DOG BREEDS

1. Maltese Cross

2. Cavoodle

3. Labrador

4. Staffordshire Bull Terrier

5. Bordering Collie

6. Golden Retriever

7. German Shepherd

8. Kelpie Cross

9. Staffordshire Bull Terrier Cross

10. Jack Russell Terrier Cross

TOP CAT BREEDS

1. Domestic Shorthair

2. Domestic House

3. Ragdoll

4. Domestic Medium Hair

5. Burmese

6. Domestic Long Hair

7. Moggie

8. Domestic Short Hair Cross