Gilded age dog breeds: which dogs the Victorians actually kept

Part 1

What counted as the gilded age for dogs

The first Westminster Kennel Club show was held in 1877, and the American Kennel Club was founded in 1884. Before that point, dogs were mostly named for the job they did, such as retriever or sheepdog. Dogs came to be judged against a written description of the ideal specimen of their breed. If you look up records for your own dog's breed from this period, you may find it grouped or named differently than it is today.

Part 2

The fashionable breeds of the era

Sporting breeds dominated the decade. English Setters ranked as the most popular breed in the United States during the 1880s, followed by Irish Setters and Pointers. These were working gundog breeds. The journalist Nelly Bly entered her Maltese at Westminster in 1894, a few years after her trip around the world. One Victorian rulebook described the ideal pug as a fawn colour with a coat that was sleek, shining, and soft to the touch. St Bernards were part of the mix too: they were among the more than 1,200 dogs, alongside spaniels, dachshunds, and wolfhounds, entered at the first Westminster show in 1877.

1. English Setter ranked as the most popular breed in the United States during the 1880s.
2. Irish Setter ranked second in the decade, then dropped out of the top ten until the 1970s.
3. Pointer ranked third among the era's top gundog breeds.
4. Irish Water Spaniel ranked fourth and has not returned to the top ten since.
5. Gordon Setter ranked fifth, its name taken from the eighteenth-century Duke of Gordon.

Part 3

The rise of kennel clubs and dog shows

The Westminster Kennel Club held its first show in New York City in 1877, organised by a group of hunters who met at the Westminster Hotel to talk about their sporting dogs. The show drew more than 1,200 dogs and proved so popular that it was extended by an extra day. Forest and Stream magazine called the event a triumph that represented much of the culture, wealth, and fashion of the city. The American Kennel Club followed in 1884, seven years after Westminster's first show. Dogs are judged by how closely they conform to a written description of the ideal specimen of their breed.

Part 4

Working dogs versus parlor dogs in this era

Before formal breeds existed, dogs were named for what they did. Before formal breeds existed, dogs were named for what they did: a retriever retrieved, a sheepdog herded, a guard dog guarded. Dog shows themselves began, in part, among working-class clubs and pubs in Britain, once organised dogfighting was outlawed in the 1830s and gamblers looked for a new contest to bet on. Wealthy owners took the idea further and turned it into fashion, with some buying small lap dogs purely to be carried around and shown off rather than to do any job at all. Top show dogs became valuable property, bought, sold, and hired out for breeding at high prices.

Part 5

How records and images show us gilded age dogs

The Westminster Kennel Club's own logo is based on a steel engraving of a Pointer named Sensation, brought over from England in 1876. A Victorian rulebook that laid out show standards also included illustrations, among them one showing a greyhound alongside a pug. Newspapers covered the shows in detail too: the New York Times reported that everyone at the first Westminster show was fashionably dressed, and Forest and Stream gave the event a glowing review.

Part 6

A famous gilded age dog worth knowing

One dog from this era is well documented: Sensation, a Pointer imported from England in 1876, mainly for breeding. He was said to have the best head of any Pointer in the world. His image became the Westminster Kennel Club logo, and a bronze statue of him now greets visitors at the show. Sensation stood out at the time partly because he was among the first dogs owned by the club itself, kept at its own kennels, rather than by an individual exhibitor.