the UK kennel Club

KENNEL CLUB INFORMATION

HISTORY OF THE KENNEL CLUB

The Kennel Club was founded in 1873, by 12 men shortly after the first dog show took place in 1859. It's original mission statement was : "The Club shall endeavor in every way to promote the general improvement of dogs". As we welcome the new Millennium, this statement remains as the Clubs' primary objective, although the role of the Kennel Club in the world of dogs has evolved immeasurably over the last hundred years or so.

One of the earliest undertakings in 1873 was the formulation of a code of rules relating to dog shows and the compilation of a Stud Book, which has been published annually since 1873. Many new rules, and regulations, were introduced by the Kennel Club Committee, and after a few years a sound system of government was developed which has been adopted by the majority of overseas Kennel Clubs.

The official journal of the Kennel Club called "The Kennel Gazette" was first published in 1880 and has continued as a monthly publication from that date. In 1900 the "Dog Show Scene" was thriving under the guidance of the Kennel Club. The policy of the Committee was to keep rules to a minimum and shows were "recognised", "licensed", or "sanctioned"provided that the executive of the show agreed to adopt The Kennel Club show regulations. The guarantors of a show signed an undertaking (and still do) to hold and conduct the show under and in accordance with the Rules and Regulations of The Kennel Club.

It became obvious that some system of distinctive naming would have to be introduce to overcome the confusion arising out of "quantities of Spots, Bobs, Bangs, Jets, Nettles,Vics, across all breeds! The Committee introduced in 1880, a system of "universal registration" which was strongly opposed at first, but the advantage of reserving the use of a name for a dog was quickly seen and accepted. Registration in 1880 was nothing more than the registration of a name to avoid duplication in the Stud Book. The pedigree was of little importance and only came as an aid to identification at a later stage.

The number of dogs registered at The Kennel Club has increased tremendously over the years, indicating an ever-growing interest in purebred dogs - their ownership, their exhibition and competition. At the same time there has been a tremendous growth in pet ownership of purebred dogs and in recent years the average number of dogs registered with The Kennel Club has been about 260,000 a year.

During the past few years, the registration system has been altered and it has been shown that the requirement is for a simple system easily understood by all. A computer was installed to process registrations in 1981. The system is now being developed to handle other Kennel Club services. The database now comprises over 5 million dog names.

Although the initial objectives of The Kennel Club were related to the interests of the purebred dog, the Club has become concerned by "anti-dog" legislation and actively represents the interests of all responsible dog owners, whether the dog is registered at The Kennel Club or not, pedigree, crossbreed or mongrel.

From the original twelve gentlemen who founded The Kennel Club, the number of those involved in the government of the dog world in this country has increased greatly and The Kennel Club is now also concerned with aspects of general canine matters which could not have been foreseen in 1873. The object of the Club today is to promote in every way the general improvement of dogs and this continues to be achieved.

Please Contact : Caroline Kisco for Further Information on
Tel No. 020 7518 1008
or e-mail : pressoffice@the-kennel-club.org.uk

The Origins of the KENNEL CLUB STUD BOOK.
[Why is the Kennel Club Stud Book Published ?]

written by Mr Vince Bradbury- Dyersbridge Rough Collies

Originally one of the earliest undertakings of the Kennel Club when it was formed in April 1873 was the compilation of a Stud Book, the editor being Mr Frank C.S.Pearce, the son of the Rev. Thomas Pearce, the well known "Idstone" of "The Field".

.....The first volume of the Stud Book contained the record of shows from 1859 and to quote The History of the Kennel Club, it was obvious that some system of distinctive nomenclature would have to be introduced to overcome the confusion arising out of "quantities of Spots, Bobs, Bangs, Jets, Nettles, Vics," most of them insufficiently described and none of them being well known dogs of the same name.

.....In 1880 the committee introduced a system of "Universal Registration" which was strongly opposed at first, but the advantage of reserving the use of a name for a dog was quickly seen and accepted. Registration in 1880 was nothing more than the registration of a name to avoid duplication in the Stud Book. The pedigree was of little importance and only came as an aid to identification at a later date.

.....The Committee formulated a code of 10 rules relating to dog shows, all of a simple character. It was announced that societies which adopted this code of rules for their shows would be "recognised" and the winners at their shows would be eligible for the Stud Book. In 1875 the Committee decided to disqualify dogs which were exhibited at unrecognised shows but this rule was not enforced for some years.

.....The Kennel Gazette was first published in 1880 and has continued as a monthly publication from that date. The Stud Book and Calendar has been published annually for well over 90 years.

.....So the first Stud Book contained the records of the shows. Then in tandem with the registration system which was adopted to avoid name duplication in the Stud Book it was used to record winners at only "recognised" shows.

.....Today the Stud Book is published as a means of recording only winners of certain classes and awards at shows which naturally nowadays are held under K.C. rules and regulations.

.....This record [The Stud Book] is published annually to provide details of elite animals.

Regional Organisers:

NORTH WEST
Mrs A. Cawthera-Purdy, Park View Cottage,
Eyton upon the Weald Moors, Nr Telford,
Shropshire. TF6 6ET
Tel: 01952 248111

NORTH EAST
Mrs P Dufty, Triken,
Watergate, Quadring-Eaudyke,
Spalding, Lincs. PE11 4PZ
Tel: 01775 840295

MIDLANDS
Mrs M Hathaway, Lucknow Farm Kennels,
Blymhill, Weston-under-Lizard,
Shifnal, Shropshire. TF11 8NE.
Tel: 01952 850318

SOUTH & SOUTH WEST
Mrs C Graham-Weall, 2 Furze Cottage,
Keinton, Mandeville, Nr Somerton,
Somerset. TA11 6DQ
Tel: 01458 223479

SOUTH EAST & EAST ANGLIA
Miss S Kimber, 5 The Beeches,
Sole Street, Cobham,
Kent. DA13 9BT
Tel: 01474 814796

SCOTLAND
Mr J Aitken Johnston, 76 Kilnford Drive,
Dundonald, Ayrshire.
Scotland. KA2 9ET
Tel: 01563 850374

WALES
Mr C Griffith, Tanglewood,
Allt Goch, St Asaph,
Wales. LL17 0BP
Tel: 01745 730215

NORTHERN IRELAND
Mrs D Robinson, 8 Oak Fern,
Glengormley, Newtownabbey,
N. Ireland. BT36 5FN
Tel: 01232 832109

CHARLES CRUFT

There can be no one in the world, or even beyond, who has not heard of Mr Charles Cruft, founder of our largest and best known dog show in the worldCharles Cruft was born in 1852, and was the son of a jeweller. Leaving Birbeck College in 1876 he was first employed by James Spratt, starting out as an apprentice office boy and quickly followed by sales traveller in "dog cakes". The position entailed visiting most of the English Counties selling Spratts dog cakes to large estates where packs of hounds were bred and kept for hunting.

While he was in Paris in 1878 the French breeders asked if he would organise a canine exhibition for them at the famous Paris Exhibition, which he did with tremendous success. Si it was not surprising that when he returned to England he was asked by British breeders if he would do likewise. He did so and these shows too were very successful. Shortly afterwards he decided to organise his own shows being the born showman that he was. His first show was held for the Allied Terrier Club show held at the Royal Aquarium, Westminster, in 1886. In 1891 he hired the Royal Agricultural Hall in Islington for the first of his long and successful series of Cruft's Dog Shows.

In 1886 Charles Cruft realised and appreciated how much the general public were interested in rare breeds and set about obtaining these to entice the public to his shows. He soon started calling his shows "Cruft's Shows". These shows went on from strength to strength and in 1936 the famous Jubilee Show had an all time record for those days with an entry of 10,650 and 4397 dogs. In 1938 Charles Cruft died and in the next year his widow organised one more "Cruft's Show", but the project became too much for her so in 1942 she decided to hand over the show to the Kennel Club so that they could continue his shows and perpetuate his name. The Kennel Club accepted gladly and held their first Cruft's Show at Olympia in 1948.

[This information from this brief article was obtained from the book. "Showing & Judging Dogs" by Hilary Harmer, published by John Gifford in London.]