When dog shows first began in the U.K. the participants tended to be

polarised from the social spectrum. There were the wealthy landowners, who could

afford to keep gamekeepers and numerous kennel staff and who kept primarily

sporting gundogs and built lavish kennels, whilst the working classes tended to focus

on terriers and other small breeds. Dogs were kept to keep down vermin in many

small households whilst the breeders often kept dogs on small plots away from their

homes. Indeed, where I grew up in South Wales I can remember several local terrier

men who kept their dogs on their allotments (small plots of land away from home),

along with chickens, pigeons and large vegetable patches. They would often finish

work, many of them being coal miners, and spend many hours in their sheds hand-

stripping their terriers for the next show.

The Victorians’ love of both dogs and hobbies meant that dog showing and

activities became very popular in the 19th Century. The first conformation Dog Show

was held in the Town Hall, Newcastle-on-Tyne in 1859 and the next decades saw

explosive growth in this new and fashionable hobby. The first organised Field Trial

took place at Southill in 1865 and this sport also gained a large following. Whilst

Field Trials were very much for the country gent, Dog Shows were an urban activity,

accessible to people of all classes and popular both with exhibitors and spectators. 

During this period companion breeds that are now classified in our Toy Group

increased dramatically in popularity as dog shows became more numerous. The role

of the dog show was originally something of a breeders’ shop window. Breeders

were eager not only to display the stock they were producing, but they were also

interested in seeing what other breeders were turning out, keen to identify dogs that

may be of use in their own breeding programmes. In those days travel was not easy

and often dogs would be sent with their handlers by rail to attend important dog

shows.

In the early days paperwork and pedigrees were rather haphazard but the

formation of the Kennel Club helped to formalise record-keeping. The founders of the

Kennel Club wanted to ensure that all Dog Shows and Field Trials were run fairly

and honestly and with the welfare of the dogs in mind so they set up the Kennel Club

to govern these events nationwide. In 1874, the first Kennel Club Stud Book was

published. It listed the results of all Dog Shows and Field Trials since 1859 and

included sets of rules for running Dog Shows and Field Trials. A Kennel Club Stud

Book has been published every year since and provides a record of results for all

Championship Dog Shows, Field Trials and other dog activities, such as Obedience

and Agility. 

Another important task for the newly-formed Kennel Club to undertake was to

have a register of dogs so they could be identified properly. In 1880, the first monthly

register of dog names was printed in the very first issue of the Kennel Gazette.

These registration records ensured that each dog could be uniquely identified and,

over the years, have provided the source of pedigree information for every dog on

the Kennel Clubs breed registers.

The early breeders were very much of the stockman mentality. Many of them

kept not only dogs but also horses, cattle, sheep and other livestock. They had an

instinctive “feel” for producing livestock and tended to select breeding stock based

on what dog they felt complemented their bitch.

Dogs were fed very basically, usually with meat, some kind of biscuit meal

and oftentimes growing puppies were given supplements that contained calcium and

other additives. The attitude towards the majority of dogs was equally basic. Bitches

would often be left to whelp on straw in stables or outside kennels, not always

attended, and the whelping process left to nature. If some puppies were born dead, it

was accepted that there was a problem, and equally if puppies faded away they

were allowed to do so, the belief being that only the fittest should survive. To us

today this might seem rather callous and heartless but certainly there were no

attempts made to ensure that struggling puppies survived at all costs, thus enabling

a potentially defective adult to enter the gene pool at a later date.

Today the thinking among breeders and the veterinary profession seems to

be that life must be preserved regardless. As the middle class prospered and the

number of great landowners who kept large kennels diminished, so the hobby

breeders increased, their dogs being kept primarily as companions and breeding

occasional litters when they needed something to show. Sad to say, but in the case

of some breeders a weakly puppy that clearly has problems is seen as a potential

sale for £2,000 and consequently is reared if at all possible. This may be seen as a

caring attitude, but does it really benefit the breed?

I never bred dogs on a large scale when I was active; I had the occasional

litter when I wanted something new to show and I hated selling puppies, always

concerned that they were going to the best homes. Thankfully most did and I only

ever had one returned when the puppy did not meet his owners’ expectations at its

first show! Breeding dogs today has become something of a minefield. Many breeds

have developed health issues that were previously unknown (is this a result of so

many sickly puppies being raised and then bred from, rather than being allowed to

fade away naturally? … who knows?) and there are now so many health tests and

schemes that breeding stock need to be put through if their owners are responsible.

Since 1949, the Kennel Club has been investing in veterinary and scientific research

projects to ensure the improved health and welfare of dogs. Modern health testing

began to be developed in conjunction with the BVA in the 1960s and now the Kennel

Club manages testing schemes and publishes test results for a whole range of

inherited conditions.

There are also restrictions on the level of close breeding that the Kennel Club

will approve. Gone are the days when in-breeding can take place and sires can be

used on their daughters and so on. Some would say this is a good thing if you look at

it logically whereas the old school would say that in-breeding was the best way of

fixing type in a kennel. Nonetheless we are still thankfully far away from some

countries’ breeding rules in that we do not have a “breed warden” telling us which

dogs we can or cannot use at stud on a particular bitch.

Selling puppies has now become quite a complex aspect of breeding. There

are contracts to be signed and recent cases have proved that when there are

disputes the law invariably comes down on the side of the buyer … in my opinion

sometimes unreasonably so.

When breeders had larger facilities and greater disposable incomes it was

possible to run on a few promising puppies from a litter, watching them develop until

they reached their first birthday, thus ensuring that what they kept was definitely the

pick of the litter. Today not everyone can afford that luxury and so the decision as to

the “keeper” has to be made at a much earlier age. We all know that some puppies

blossom with age whereas others go off, never to fulfil their previous promise so this

in itself can be hazardous.

Interestingly, when I first became involved with dogs and dog shows stud fees

were generally considered to be the same price as a “pick of litter” puppy and you

often saw advertisements for stud dogs which clearly stated “18 guineas or POL”

(that was 18 pounds and 18 shillings for those less ancient than me!) and amazingly

breeders would often be happy for the stud dog owner to take his or her pick of the

litter in lieu of a stud fee, often handing over the puppy unregistered too. Can you

imagine any keen breeder agreeing to that these days? It would also be interesting

to know how current stud fees relate to the cost of a “pick of litter” puppy; certainly in

most breeds with which I have been involved the stud fee is considerably lower than

the cost of an average puppy.

Then you have the whole question of breeders’ licences which are issued by

local authorities. Most dedicated breeders will pass any requirements with flying

colours but sometimes I have heard of rather extreme demands by local councils,

which makes it even more unfathomable how some of the large-scale puppy farms

manage to continue unhindered and with local authority approval.

The now abandoned Kennel Club’s Assured Breeders Scheme was set up

some years ago and was met with mixed reactions. Certainly the ABS went a long

way to ensure that breeders met exacting standards and gave some kind of

reassurance to puppy buyers.

Nowadays the whole dog world has opened up and we are living in a very

cosmopolitan environment. With the advent of the internet breeders have access to

others worldwide and those who are keen to improve their stock can study, research

and identify breeders at the other end of the world who are producing dogs they

admire on a regular basis. It is possible to watch a litter of puppies thousands of

miles away via a video link, see them stacked and running around, which gives

breeders a huge advantage if they are thinking of importing some new blood in the

form of a young puppy.

Many smart breeders in the UK have developed long-standing relationships

with breeders in other countries which has enabled them to exchange dogs and

increase the gene pool in their respective countries. Today it is not uncommon to see

dogs being leased for a period of time, shown elsewhere, being used sensibly at

stud before returning to their homeland. In the case of the minority breeds where

numbers are not large this has been a great boost.

Artificial insemination has become more and more common. In the USA

where vast distances have to be covered to use a chosen stud dog this has been

popular for many years but now British breeders can avail themselves of chilled or

frozen semen and thankfully our Kennel Club has adopted a more open-minded and

realistic attitude towards a practice that was once frowned upon. British breeders are

now able to import semen to use on their bitches and to export semen from their stud

dogs to breeders overseas who admire what they are producing here in the UK.

Another thorn in the side of the purebred dog breeder is the general public’s

perception of the pedigree. When I began back in the ‘sixties owning a pedigree dog

was something to be proud of and whilst this is still the case with many people, we

have seen such negative publicity in the recent past that it has left many of the ill-

informed puppy-buyers believing that all pedigree puppies are riddled with hereditary

problems, that mongrels are automatically far healthier and that the ultimate is one of

the ridiculous “designer dogs”. Thanks to the wealthy animal rights groups such as

PETA the image of the purebred companion canine has been well and truly

tarnished. Since I moved to The Wirral some six years ago I often take my mother

for a leisurely stroll along the waterfront at New Brighton, a popular location for dog

walkers. It has been interesting to identify the dogs spotted on our visits and the vast

majority I have seen have been French Bulldogs (most of them not very good

specimens I hasten to add and invariably of colours not included in the Breed

Standard), and what I imagine are referred to as “Labradoodles” or “Cockerpoos” by

their loving owners. So today the dedicated pedigree dog breeder has a greater

challenge than ever before to get their message across to the public. When you buy

a purebred puppy from a respected and conscientious breeder you will get a puppy

that will grow up to be a certain size and shape with a specific coat and a

temperament that is typical of its breed. It will resemble its parents and should have

an approximate lifespan.

Today it is not easy being a breeder of pedigree dogs but thankfully there is

still a widespread admiration for our many breeds and how they can enhance our

lives. Long may that continue.

© ANDREW H. BRACE

(This article may not be reproduced in any form without the author’s

permission)