The American Kennel Club yesterday announced a shift in its 10 most popular dog breeds in the nation and in the city, or at least in that elite group of purebred dogs whose pedigrees and papers are in order.

At a Rockefeller Center news conference filled with handlers, dogs and photographers, the club noted that the dog claming the No. 1 ranking had not changed.

Across the country, the most popular dog last year, as it has been for 16 years in a row, was the Labrador retriever, with about 124,000 registrations, or 14 percent of the club’s total.

In New York, the most popular breed in 2006 was the poodle, with 77 registrations, or about 8 percent of the club’s total in the city. It has been the most popular breed for two years in a row, according to the club, which describes itself as the largest purebred-dog registry in the world.

But the big news, the club said, was the No. 2 ranking in both the city and the country: the Yorkshire terrier, overtaking larger breeds like the golden retriever and the German shepherd.

The tiny Yorkie, favored by the wife played by Eva Gabor in television’s “Green Acres,” had about 48,000 registrations in the United States, or 5 percent; and 49 in the city, also 5 percent.

Daisy Okas, a spokeswoman for the club, said the toy-dog group of breeds, which include Yorkshire terriers, had risen from 12 percent of the registry in the 1970s to about 23 percent today. Among the criteria to register with the club is providing proof of a dog’s family tree.

Yorkshire terriers posed for the kennel club’s news that they were the second most popular breed.