Crufts is an international dog show held annually in the United Kingdom, held since 1891, and organised by The Kennel Club. It is the largest show of its kind in the world.
Crufts is primarily a championship conformation show for dogs, and includes a large trade show of mainly dog-related goods and services, as well as competitions in dog agility, obedience, flyball and heelwork to music. Winner of the annual Friends for Life competition which celebrates unsung canine heroes is also announced, and Crufts also hosts the final of Scruffts, a crossbreed competition. It is held over four days (Thursday to Sunday) in early March at the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) in Solihull, England.
Crufts comprises a number of separate competitions. The main competition is for the Best in Show award, which is hotly contested by dogs and their owners from throughout the world.
The BBC programme Pedigree Dogs Exposed accused The Kennel Club of allowing breed standards, judging standards and breeding practices to compromise the health of purebred dogs. The programme led various sponsors to withdraw. The BBC dropped Crufts 2009 from their coverage after being unable to agree to terms with The Kennel Club, with Channel 4 broadcasting the event since 2010.
Crufts was named after its founder, Charles Cruft, who worked as general manager for a dog biscuit manufacturer, travelling to dog shows both in the United Kingdom and internationally, which allowed him to establish contacts and understand the need for higher standards for dog shows. In 1886, Cruft's first dog show, billed as the "First Great Terrier Show", had 57 classes and 600 entries. The first show named "Crufts"âÂÂ"Cruft's Greatest Dog Show"âÂÂwas held at the Royal Agricultural Hall, Islington, in 1891. It was the first at which all breeds were invited to compete, with around 2,000 dogs and almost 2,500 entries.
With the close of the 19th century, entries had risen to over 3,000, including royal patronage from various European countries and Russia. Due to the First World War, the show was not held between 1918 and 1920. In 1928, the Best In Show class was introduced and awarded to a Greyhound named Primley Sceptre, shown by Herbert Whitley, the founder of what is now Paignton Zoo. In 1934, the competition was sponsored by a cat food manufacturer. In 1936, "The Jubilee Show" had 10,650 entries with the number of breeds totalling 80. The show continued annually and gained popularity each year until Charles' death in 1938. His widow then ran the show for four years, until she felt unable to do so due to its high demands of time and effort. To ensure the future and reputation of the show (and, of course, her husband's work), she sold it to The Kennel Club in 1942.
The show was again interrupted, by the Second World War, and consequently the 1948 show was the first to be held under the new owner, at Olympia in London. The show continued to gain popularity with each passing year. The BBC first televised the show in 1950. The 1954 competition was cancelled due to an electricians' strike. In 1959, despite an increase in entrance fees, the show set a new world record with 13,211 entrants.
The first Obedience Championships were held in 1955 one year after the electriciansâ strike cancellation, the same year working sheepdogs were first allowed to enter. In 1978, agility was introduced as a demonstration, to later become a competition in 1980, with an international invitational competition added in 2001. In 1985, the Young Kennel Club was founded to promote dog handling among younger people. Flyball was introduced in 1990, and in 1992, the first Heelwork to Music demonstration was carried out by Mary Ray. In the early 1990s the Kennel Club started to campaign for responsible dog ownership, with emphasis on people choosing the right dog for them, and introduced Discover Dogs area to Crufts, where visitors can meet all currently recognised breeds and chat to breed experts about dog ownership. In 2000, Rescue Dog Agility was added to the programme.
By 1979, the show had to move to Earls Court exhibition centre, as the increasing number of entries and spectators had outgrown the capacity of its previous venue. Soon, the show had to be changed again â the duration had to be increased to three days in 1982, then in 1987 to four days, as its popularity continued to increase. Since 1991, the show, previously always held in London, has been held in the National Exhibition Centre, Solihull.
At the Centenary celebrations in 1991 Crufts was officially recognised by the Guinness Book of Records as the world's largest dog show, with 22,973 dogs being exhibited in conformation classes that year. Including agility and other events, it is estimated that an average 28,000 dogs take part in Crufts each year, with an estimated 160,000 human visitors attending the show. Crufts was formerly televised by the BBC; this ended after the 2008 event (see "Criticism") and the 2009 event was only shown via the Internet. Since 2010 the show has been broadcast on the commercial channels Channel 4 and More4, attracting over 4.5 million viewers.
In 2021, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Crufts was first postponed, then cancelled for the first time since the electricians' strike of 1954.
The show was held on 10âÂÂ13 March 2022, 9âÂÂ12 March 2023, 7-10 March 2024, 6-9 March 2025 and 5-8 March 2026.
The show will be held on 4-7 March 2027.
Crufts is not an open competition; dogs must have qualified during the previous year. There are a number of ways of qualifying for the breed classes at Crufts, but dogs typically qualify by obtaining first, second or third place in the relevant class at a Kennel Club-affiliated Championship show where Challenge Certificates are awarded, or by achieving Best in Show, Reserve Best in Show or Best Puppy in Show at a Kennel Club-affiliated Open or General show. Dogs can become qualified for life upon attaining their Kennel Club Stud Book Number.
Dogs begin by competing against others of the same breed, split by gender, age and previous class wins. These classes include Veteran, Special Puppy, Special Junior, Yearling, Post Graduate, Mid Limit, Limit, and Open. Each is awarded once for dogs and once for bitches. The dog and bitch class winners then compete again for the Dog and Bitch Challenge Certificate (CC). The two CC winners then go head-to-head to determine the Best of Breed.
After the best of each breed has been chosen, they then compete against the others in their Group (in the UK, there are seven Groups: Toys, Gundogs, Utility, Hounds, Working, Pastoral, and Terriers) to find the Best in Group. The seven Group winners then compete to find the Best in Show and Reserve Best in Show.
Best in Show winners receive a replica of the solid silver Keddell Memorial Trophy, and a small cash prize of ã200.
As of 2016 the English Cocker Spaniel had been the most successful breed at Crufts, awarded Best In Show seven times, and the Gundog Group is the most successful group, having produced twenty-three Best In Show winners.