A Brief History
On May 8, 1877, the first of what has become perhaps the best known dog show in the world took place in New York City’s Gilmore Garden (later to become Madison Square Garden). A group of hunters and dog enthusiasts had gotten together at the Westminster Hotel to form the Westminster Kennel Club, with the primary purpose of holding a dog show.
Digging Deeper
The Westminster Kennel Club is actually older than the American Kennel Club (AKC), and was the first club admitted to the AKC for membership. Back then for the first 20 years of the show there was no overall dog named “Best in Show,” just champions for individual breeds.
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/63/WKC_logo_2010.jpg/220px-WKC_logo_2010.jpg)
Of course, the love affair between man and dog goes back much farther than 1877, with attempts to determine the original domestication of dogs through DNA studies yielding estimates from 11,000 years ago to well over 30,000 years ago. Dogs were descended from domesticated wolves, and are likely the first domesticated animal. (Note: The wolf of the origin of dogs may be a variety that is currently extinct.)
Some studies indicate the first domestication of “Man’s Best Friend” to have taken place in Europe, while others point to Central Asia. Fossil evidence tends to indicate an earlier origin of domestication than DNA evidence shows, favoring the more ancient estimates of the Man-Dog love affair.
Used for hunting, protection of people and property (including other animals), carrying loads, pulling sleds and carts created a close bond between dogs and people that developed into a symbiotic relationship blossoming into true affection for each other. The loyalty of a faithful dog is the very symbol of that virtue, and over the centuries dogs became more than just another slave to man, but a true companion and friend.
Civilization sped the development of dogs as pets and not just work animals, and along the way the many different breeds were created by selective breeding to bring out the desired traits in each breed. Dogs such as Bloodhounds and Basset Hounds were bred for their incredible noses, while others such as the Newfoundland were optimized for working with fisherman. Specialized sled dogs, rat catching dogs, and tiny toy breeds bred to fit into a rich girl’s purse have all been developed. Aside from shows that measure the close adherence or conformity to breed standards, other dog competitions are also held, such as races (go Greyhounds and Whippets!), agility courses, pointing and retrieving drills, etc. One of the truly great competitions is the annual Wiener Nationals, a series of races of Dachshunds (aka “wiener dogs”).
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c8/Short_haired_dachshund_in_race.jpg/217px-Short_haired_dachshund_in_race.jpg)
Speaking of Dachshunds, this long dog with short legs and (originally) short hair was bred to be as ferocious and courageous as any dog could be in order to go down animal burrows to hunt underground denizens, namely the vicious Badger. These small dogs are often considered the bravest and most ferocious dogs for their size, although they make wonderful pets and are incredibly protective of their human family. The “mini” variety of Dachshund was bred to go down holes after smaller game, such as woodchucks and rabbits.
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d2/Tobyburrower.jpg/220px-Tobyburrower.jpg)
Whether giant breeds such as St. Bernard or Great Dane, tiny ones such as Chihuahuas, hunting dogs, bomb and drug sniffing dogs, police dogs, guard dogs, cancer or termite detecting dogs, therapy dogs, or dogs used for a myriad of uses, the dog is Man’s Best Friend (and of course this means “mankind” including women) and stands alone among all critters as a true companion and member of the family. With 700 million dogs worldwide, the dog is the most prevalent of all the carnivores and remember, the first “person” in space was Laika the dog, not a human.
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/7/71/Laika_%28Soviet_dog%29.jpg/220px-Laika_%28Soviet_dog%29.jpg)
Question for students (and subscribers): Please feel free to share your favorite dog story or your opinions on the best breed in the comments section below this article. The most acceptable answers are either basset hounds or dachshunds.
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
The Lost Century of Sports Collection. The First Westminster Dog Show: 1877 Harper’s Weekly Article & Illustration Plus 20 Special Portraits of the Winning Dogs & Breeds (The Lost Century of Sports Collection). The Lost Century of Sports Collection, 2013.
The featured image in this article, The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show Logo by the Westminster Kennel Club, is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.