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:
