Flat-Coated Retriever Dog Names

The Flat-Coated Retriever is a popular breed throughout the world, but especially in the United Kingdom where they originated. They are still a favorite at conformation shows with judges and on March 13, 2011, a Flat-Coated Retriever named Jet won Best in Show at the Crufts Dog Show hosted by The Kennel Club. Jet comes from Edinburgh and competed at Crufts along with 21,422 other purebred dogs. At nine and a half years old, this was quite the accomplishment since the Flat-Coated Retriever has an average lifespan of 10-12 years. Jet’s breeder Jim Irvine of Queensferry was excited to see a dog that he bred take it all at this prestigious Crufts Dog Show. After four days of competition, Jet’s owner, Iain Ross, could not believe that his dog was awarded Best in Show. It is estimated that there were about 138,000 people in attendance to watch Jet win it all.

The Crufts Dog Show was founded by Charles Cruft. Cruft was born in 1852 and died in 1938. He believed in his vision of a dog show that showcased purebred dogs and built a strong reputation for being innovative in sponsorships, advertising and public relations. Cruft became a travelling salesman for the dog biscuit business and later made his fortune in this area. Cruft believed that the most successful salesman would be able to attract attention to the product and excite people’s imagination to make the product desirable to a mass number of people. In 1878, Cruft became the secretary of the Toy Spaniel Club. He then became secretary of the Pug Dog Club and also began dabbling in other specialty shows for Borzois, Setters, and St. Bernards. With the influence of the Duchess of Newcastle, Cruft began gathering backers for his own dog show. He set the scene for London to host a six terrier shows at the Royal Aquarium in Westminster. These shows ran annually from 1886 to 1890. These terrier specialties are the roots of the prestigious Crufts Dog Show. In 1891, Cruft decided to open the annual show for all breeds and this was the first show to be called Cruft’s Dog Show. The first Cruft’s Dog Show was hosted at the Royal Agricultural Hall in Islington, there were a total of 2,437 dogs entered at this show. The Kennel Club, the official sponsor of the Cruft’s Dog Show considers this show to be the very first Crufts show. Queen Victoria even took notice of the first Cruft’s Dog Show and publicity of this event soared.