Dog Shows
Man's passion and pride in his dog led to the desire to show his
dog and compare it to other breeds. The organised dog shows were
therefore born in the middle of the 19th Century. The dogs were
unidentified except for their kennel names! This led to real
confusion - there were quantities of dogs with the same names -
Rover, Spot etc which were insufficiently described according to
their breed or type. Organisation was required - descriptions and
breed standards were needed - the Kennel Clubs were born!
The
Kennel Clubs
Official Breed Standards are produced by the Kennel Clubs. The two
Major Kennel Club standards included on this site are:
Breed
Standards
A breed standard is the ideal dog of
that breed looks like. It is an attempt to describe "perfection."
The standard is the model breeders use in their efforts to breed
better dogs. At Dog Shows the Judges use the standard as a guide
when evaluating a dog. The objective of the AKC is to
"Advance the study, breeding, exhibiting, running and maintenance
of purebred dogs".
Breed Groups
and Classes
There are 150 breeds eligible for AKC
registration. Every breed is assigned to one of seven groups or
Miscellaneous Class, based on the uses for which the breeds were
originally developed. The Breed Groups and Classes consist of:
