THE WESTERN Bulldogs' drought-breaking premiership has had an immediate effect on their membership numbers for 2017, with the club tweeting on Monday morning their phone lines had been "swamped" with calls.

Any Dogs members wishing to either renew their membership or sign up for the first time for 2017 face at least a 20-minute wait before their call can even be answered by an overwhelmed membership department.

The Bulldogs had already recorded a 12.3 per cent increase in membership numbers (the fifth-largest in the league) from 2015 to 2016, rising from 35,222 to 39,456 as of August this year.

They also broke their all-time membership record this year, and if Monday's membership enquiry onslaught is any indication, will be well on track to do so again in 2017.