The story of Crufts and how the world’s most famous dog show got its name

The world’s biggest dog show is back this March, with thousands of dogs, owners and spectators heading to Birmingham.

It will take place over four days, culminating in the crowning of this year’s Best in Show and featuring a host of other canine-related activities and attractions.

Here’s everything you need to know about the history behind the doggy Oscars.

When is Crufts?

This year’s Crufts runs from March 7-10 at the NEC Birmingham.

There will be wall-to-wall coverage of all four days of Crufts on Channel 4 and More4, as there has been since 2010.

Organised and hosted by The Kennel Club, it is the largest show of its kind in the world, with over 20,000 dogs expected to attend.

Why is is called Crufts?

Charles Cruft, the general manager at a dog biscuit maker, is the man who the show is named after.

Cruft travelled to dog shows in Britain and overseas each year and saw the need for a single event that would lead the way for stuandards of judging and excellence.

With his background he had the perfect network of contacts to turn his dream into a reality.

When was the first Crufts?

The first show organised by Charles Cruft was named ‘The First Great Terrier Show’ had 600 entries and took place in 1886.

It was then followed by the first ‘Cruft's Greatest Dog Show’ at Islington’s Royal Agricultural Hall in 1891, when all breeds could compete – attracting around 2,000 entries.

What dog won the first Best in Show?

The Best in Show award wasn’t introduced until 1928, by which entries has risen to several thousand each year.

The first winner of the biggest prize in dog shows was a Greyhound called Primley Sceptre, owned by Herbert Whitley who found further fame after founding Devon’s Paignton Zoo.

SInce then the English Cocker Spaniel is the breed with most success in the competition, winning seven rosettes, followed by the Irish Setter, Standard Poodle and Welsh Terrier, with four wins apiece.

When was Crufts first televised?

The show continued to grown in popularity after Charles Cruft’s death in 1938, with entries of over 10,000 until it was interrupted by the arrival of the Second World War.

It returned in 1948 under the stewardship of the Kennel Club for the first time and the 1950 show London’s Olympia was televised for the first time by the BBC, with a record entry of 13,211 dogs.

When were the first agility, handing and flyball competitions added?

The first Obedience Championships were held in 1955, which was also the first year working sheepdogs were invited to Crufts.

Agility was introduced as a demonstration in 1978, becoming an official part of the event in 1980, with Rescue Dog Agility added in 2000, and an international invitational competition arriving in 2001.

Flyball was introduced in 1990, when the Kennel Club also started to campaign for responsible dog ownership with the addition of the ‘Discover Dogs’ area’ to Crufts.

When did Crufts move to Birmingham?

In 1979 the increasing entries meant the show had to be moved to London’s Earls Court Exhibition Centre, where it was expanses from two days to three days in 1982, then four days in 1987.

It moved to it’s present home at Birmingham’s SEC in 1991, where it was officially recognised by the Guinness Book of Records as the world's largest dog show with 22,973 dogs taking part.

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