The annual show will see masses of wagging tails competing at the Birmingham NEC from Thursday to Sunday. Ahead of Crufts 2019, we take a look at some barking mad facts about the historic dog show.
- Crufts is an incredibly long-standing event, beginning officially in 1891. However, founder Charles Cruft ran his first show in 1886 for terrier and toy breeds. Before this, Mr Cruft was a dog biscuit salesman.
- Cocker Spaniels have won the most Best in Show titles, with seven wins. This is followed by the Irish Setter, Poodle and the Welsh Terrier, who have all won on four occasions each.
- Scruffts, the crossbreed counterpart to Crufts began in 2000 with titles that include Most Handsome Dog, Prettiest Bitch and Golden Oldie.
- Unable to attend this year’s event in Birmingham? No problem! You can catch-up with over 14 hours of coverage on Channel 4 and More4.
- The first Best in Show at Crufts was in 1928 and was won by a greyhound. Previously, there had been the ‘Best Champion’ award but eligibility was restricted.
- Overall, there have been 91 Best in Show winners with 43 different breeds claiming the title over the years.
- In 1991, Crufts was recognised by the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s largest dog show, with 27,000 dogs taking part in the 4-day event.
- In 2018, a total of 3,623 dogs from overseas competed at Crufts. This year, competitors will be coming from 43 different countries to compete.
- In 1891, Queen Victoria’s collie Darnley II and two of her Pomeranians won prizes at Crufts. The following year, more dogs were entered by European royals including the Princess of Wales, Grand Duke Nicholas of Russia and Prince Henry of Battenburg.
- Crufts hasn’t always run annually. In its 127 years, only 10 years have been missed out by the dog show. No shows were held during the two world wars, then in 1954 the event was canceled due to an electrician’s strike.
- Last year, Crufts welcomed over 162,000 visitors to the NEC!