United Kennel Club

The United Kennel Club (UKC) is the second oldest all-breed registry of purebred dogs in the United States and the second largest in the world. The UKC records 250,000 registrations annually, from all 50 states and 25 foreign countries. The UKC is not part of the International Canine Organization, Fédération Cynologique Internationale, as most other countries' kennel clubs are.

History

The UKC was founded by Chauncey Z. Bennett in 1898. The UKC states that Bennett formed the club in order to provide a registry for working pit dogs as opposed to the American Kennel Club's emphasis on dog conformation shows. Some UKC detractors claim that the club was originally formed so that the founder could register his American Pit Bull Terrier, Bennett's Ring.

Bennett conceived and promoted the concept of the "total" dog, that is, a dog that performs as well as it looks; in which intelligence and working ability was as important as conformation to the show bench standard. Bennett found a niche among the owners of herding and hunting dogs. The UKC was innovative in the establishment of competitions and the use of DNA testing to establish parentage. Eventually the club expanded into other areas, including dog sports and more recently conformation, and today sponsors a variety of conformation, obedience, hunting, and agility shows and trials.

Kennel club

A kennel club (known as a kennel council or canine council in some countries) is an organization for canine affairs that concerns itself with the breeding, showing and promotion of more than one breed of dog. Kennel Clubs became popular in the mid 19th century and were founded on the principles of eugenics. All-encompassing kennel clubs are also referred to as 'all-breed clubs', although "all" means only those breeds that they have decided to recognize, and "breed" means purebred dogs, not including dog hybrids and crossbreeds or mixed-breed dogs. A club that handles only one breed is known as a breed club.

Role

Kennel Clubs maintain breed standards, record pedigrees, and issue the rules for conformation dog shows and trials and accreditation of judges. They often serve as registries, which are lists of adult purebred dogs and lists of litters of puppies born to purebred parents. A kennel club manages all these aspects of the dog breeds it claims to represent, either directly or through its member bodies.

The Kennel Club

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 act as governing body for 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. Its headquarters are located on Clarges Street in Mayfair, London, with business offices in Aylesbury.

The Kennel Club registration system divides dogs into seven breed groups. The Kennel Club Groups are: Hound, Working, Terrier, Gundog, Pastoral, Utility and Toy. As of 2011, the Kennel Club recognised 210 breeds of dog. This was increased to 211 breeds with the addition of the Turkish Kangal dog in 2013.

The Kennel Club licenses dog shows throughout the UK but the only dog show actually run by the KC is the Crufts conformation show. The show has been held since 1928 and attracts competitors from all over the world. Crufts is held every March at the NEC, Birmingham. The Kennel Club also holds the dog event Discover Dogs in London every November, featuring the Scruffts dog show for crossbreed and mixed breed dogs.

Verband für das Deutsche Hundewesen

Verband für das Deutsche Hundewesen (VDH) is Germany's Kennel club for dogs and represents the world federation Fédération Cynologique Internationale. It is headquartered in Dortmund, Germany.

As the country wide controlling body, the VDH represents 167 member organizations with more than 650,000 members. In addition, there are over 250 different breeds of dog in the VDH.

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