The later part of the 1800s sure saw a rise of interest in dogs. It seems that showing off a dog’s talent and/or beauty became quite fashionable, and as a result so did dog shows. The precedent of which continues today.
There’s always been a variety of shows, but some are more prestigious than others. In the United States, it’s the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. In England, it’s Crufts.
Beginning today through March 11, the “World’s Greatest Dog Show” as it’s billed, gets underway. Here’s a little history on how it all came to be, and what it’s since transformed into:
Charles Cruft: The Man for Whom It’s Named
Charles Cruft came from a family of jewelers, but he didn’t want to do that once he graduated from college. Salesmanship, however, seemed to be in his blood. His first job was selling “dog cakes” in London. His next job was a short stint as an office boy which led to a traveling salesman promotion.
Dealing with large estates and sporting kennels was part of the job. In 1878, some French dog breeders he’d met asked him to be involved in the Paris Exhibition, in charge of promoting the canine section.
This experience led him to managing the Allied Terrier Club Show eight years later, in 1886. He combined all of his experience in 1891, when he held the first Crufts show at the Royal Agricultural Hall.
The Show Then and Now
Back then it was permissible for individuals to privately own shows and hold them for profit, which Charles Cruft did until his death in 1938. His wife took over for three years after that, but eventually ended up selling the show to The Kennel Club. The first show sponsored by The Kennel Club was held in 1948.
It has also been held in several venues. From 1948 until 1979 it was held at Olympia. Having outgrown this facility, Earls Court was selected as the next site. But it was once again moved in 1991, this time out of London to the Birmingham National Exhibition Centre. This will be the show’s 16th year at this location.
Fun Facts
• Crufts is called the “World’s Greatest Dog Show,” perhaps because of it’s size: Over 22,000 dogs are entered to compete in this year’s show. (To give you some idea of how large this is, Westminster limits its entries to 2,500. Crufts is nearly 10 times as large!)
• Crufts estimates that this year almost 1,000 entrants are from overseas, representing 32 different countries.
• Last year’s audience attendance was the largest ever: 143,000. They expect that or bigger this year.
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