The Kennel Club (KC) is the official kennel club of the United Kingdom. It is the oldest recognised kennel club in the world. Its role is to oversee various canine activities including dog shows, dog agility and working trials. It also operates the national register of pedigree dogs in the United Kingdom and acts as a lobby group on issues involving dogs in the UK. To celebrate its 150th anniversary on 5 April 2023, King Charles III confirmed the club with a 'royal' prefix, however until the members of the KC have voted to change the trading title to include "Royal" it will remain the Kennel Club.
Sewallis Shirley, the founder of the Kennel Club
Charles Cruft, the founder of the Crufts dog show
Medical Detection Dogs attend the 2021 Discover Dogs convention at London Excel Centre.
A Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, one of the dog breeds featured in Pedigree Dogs Exposed
A dog show is an animal show, an event where dogs are exhibited. A conformation show, also referred to as a breed show, is a kind of dog show in which a judge, familiar with a specific dog breed, evaluates individual purebred dogs for how well the dogs conform to the established breed type for their breed, as described in a breed's individual breed standard.
Handlers set up their dogs for judging so that their stance is perfect when the judge views them; this is known as hand stacking.
Dogs may also be presented standing freely, in the so-called "self stack" or "free stack".
A handler prepares a Silky Terrier to be presented.
Winning dogs are awarded prizes by the judge.