The First Dog Shows

Since a long time ago, Great Britain has been considered as the country that has led in the breeding of dogs, besides something which should not surprise anyone, is that it was the British who introduced the rules, in the real sense of the word, were to serve as the guidelines for the evaluation at the dog shows. From the start, the British had seen it as an objective to combine the esthetic qualities with the practical ones, even if the motive to attain this objective led to a trait that characterizes the British, their desire to compete and their inclination to place wagers on the outcomes of the competitions. The British have always been very find of animals, for instance the topic of conversation at pubs and local gatherings is usually about who has the fastest horse and of highest breed. Doubts propelled by their qualities were solved by races; however the work of judging physical merits were entrusted to a few men experts in the field and of known and approved experience. With time, dogs were also used as stakes for gambling purposes, their skill in hunting, their usefulness as shepherds or simply, the best looking dog. The judge was selected by finding someone considered an expert in dogs, and that was the beginning of the dogs shows that we know of today.

The first international dog show was held in June, 1859 in Newcastle-on-Tyne, based on exclusive dogs. In November, of that same year, another show was organized in Birmingham, this time with a certain number of breeds. The latter was considered the first "real" dog show. The interest for the shows increased rapidly and that gave way to its commercialization as dog breeding which at first done for shows became a lucrative hobby. Since there were no rules nor guidelines in which the judges and their methods had to abide by, corruption existed, the dog shows lost their prestige and only attracted commercial followers. The situation did not improve until in 1873; the kennel Club was founded, which took over the responsibility of supervising the dog shows.

Nonetheless, the primitive principles were kept with regards to the judging aspects and the manner in which the shows were to be organized, and it even was considered that those that were regarded as knowledgeable people would be given the title of Great Britain judges, without requiring them to present any other requisites regarding their training and personal qualifications. However today, the judges of the most important held shows must have the approval of the kennel Club. The classification differs from that of the Scandinavian. Each breed is assigned various classes and dogs may be registered in more than one class. The dogs are solely judged on their merits: usually, the judge decides which are the three best dogs of each class and also chooses a fourth runner-up. In some shows, or when the classes are particularly numerous, additional awards are conceded, such as, "Very Highly Praiseworthy", "Highly Praiseworthy" and "Praiseworthy"; however they had no official value. Judges is not required to justify their decisions, however, they usually makes a brief report about the winners, in which they essentially indicate their virtues. The English system, which is also used in America, Australia and in most of the English speaking countries, enables a quick judgment; it is not rare that a judge be assigned two hundred dogs per day.