Lisa Unleashed: The National Dog Show - A Thanksgiving Tradition
At first it was the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade that lured us to NBC on the holiday morning. Then in 2002 the National Dog Show Presented by Purina premiered — a modern television treatment of a traditional sporting event starring purebred dogs.
Dog lovers can either tune in to watch John O’Hurley, David Frei, the voice of Westminster and NBC’s Mary Carillo talk dogs on Thursday, November 26, at noon, after the parade, or catch the rebroadcast on Friday, November 27 8 pm.
The cast of canines includes more than 1,700 dogs who vied for that best of breed win to make it to the broadcast. I won’t be a spoiler and tell you who won Best In Show since the show was taped two weeks ago, but I will tell you that new this year will be the charming commentary from Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir as reporters and digital contributors.
And speaking of digital, Purina is inviting dog owners to log on to Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram and share why they are so thankful for their dog this Thanksgiving season. For every post through November 29 that includes @Purina and #dogthanking, Purina will donate $1 to the AKC Canine Health Foundation — up to $75,000 — to further pet health research.
Bench Show Beginnings
But where did dog shows formally start in America? Surprisingly, in Philadelphia, where its kennel club played a rather important role in the formation of dog show’s governing body, The American Kennel Club.
The Kennel Club of Philadelphia, which hosts the National Dog Show under AKC rules, held its first bench show in 1879. In 2015, Mary Carillo will be reporting from the ‘benching” area.
What the heck is a bench?
Bench shows were started as an adjunct to field trials, where dogs were tested in the field on their hunting skills, by pointing, setting, flushing and then retrieving game, depending on their breed.
The bench shows — or dog shows as they came to be known — were meant to evaluate a dog’s breeding potential to produce good field dogs. Each dog was assigned to stay on a wooden bench, or a square elevated stall, all day unless they were in the ring being judged by experts. Why? So the public could see the dogs up close and personal. The benching area is where dogs are prepared to show and where fanciers could talk dogs, breeding, and pedigrees.
Between 1876 and 1878 there were nine bench shows held in the United States, including the first Westminster Kennel Club in 1877. In the beginning, these shows were held under the rules of The Kennel Club in Great Britain, the birthplace of the benched dog show around 1859.
After the early efforts of bench shows in New York, Massachusetts, Kentucky, New Hampshire, and other states, it appeared some uniform rules were needed.
AKC Founded in Philadelphia
A meeting was called on September 17, 1884, in Philadelphia at the rooms of the Philadelphia Kennel Club, at 13th and Market streets. There were 14 men who met there at 8:30 pm. The purpose of the meeting was to form a “club of clubs” to consider all dog matters concerning bench shows and field trials in America.
They formed a committee of three men, which included Samuel G. Dixon of the Philadelphia Kennel Club, to make a list of the clubs present and to review each club’s credentials brought by its delegate.
The meeting recessed for ten minutes while the committee examined the credentials.
One man, Mr Dorsey, from the Howard County Kennel Club was present but said his club was not formed to hold bench shows. You wonder why he even went to the meeting? Maybe there was a free meal and drinks involved?
Another man, R.T. Green, was there representing the Knickerbocker Kennel Club, no doubt from New York. But when he presented his club’s credentials in the form of by-laws and a constitution, it didn’t include any provision for holding bench shows. It makes me wonder that perhaps these men only wanted to hold field trials but not bench shows. Then again, maybe it was the lure of a free meal and drinks.
Before adjournment, the following kennel clubs were accepted to join the newly founded American Kennel Club: St Louis, Philadelphia, Westminster, Montreal, New England, New Haven, Kentucky, Baltimore, Cleveland, New Brunswick, London (Canada), Cincinnati, and Illinois.
The men adjourned and vowed to meet again in New York City the following month to work on those constitution and by-laws.
Few clubs from the original 13 still exist, except most notably, two of the remaining bench shows today, Philadelphia and Westminster.
As for the hundreds of other bench shows? AKC rules were relaxed to allow benches as an option, not mandatory. Clubs didn’t want the hassle or expense of installing benches each year at rented venues and exhibitors wanted to go home after they showed their dogs.
So this Thanksgiving, curl up on your couch with your best friend and watch a piece of dog show history.
Lisa Peterson — lifelong equestrian, show dog breeder and award-winning podcaster — blogs about horses, hounds and history at lisaunleashed.com. Reach her at lisa@lisaunleashed.com or @LisaNPeterson.