The 'Dog Fancy' and Fancy Dogs: Pedigree, Breeding and Britishness, 1859-1914.

Dog breeds have a long history, created over thousands of years to aid in work (setters and terriers) and leisure (Bull Dogs), or for ornament (e.g. King Charles Spaniels). However, in the mid-nineteenth century the nature and meaning of breeds changed with the development of pedigree dogs, with specific standards and certified lineages in published pedigrees. These 'new' dogs were displayed and judged at shows, traded in emerging markets, and became associated with social groups and identities. Pedigree breeds were created by the 'dog fancy', a new social formation of breeders, aficionados and owners that was initially unique to Britain, but which was then emulated around the world. The world's first modern dog shows were in Newcastle and Birmingham in 1859 and the London Kennel Club's Stud Books, first published in 1874, became international reference documents.

The nature and meaning of dog breeds changed in four linked ways. First, breeds came to be defined by form rather than function, with standards regulated and certiificated by the Kennel Club. Indeed, the question of the welfare of pedigree breeds, which has recently been the subject of intense public scrutiny and debate, dates from the very first shows and concerns about judging only for conformation. Secondly, the number of breeds increased as novel forms were created by selective breeding, or imported from across the world. Thirdly, specific breeds were produced by, and became associated with, particular social groups, for example, 'ladies' and Yorkshire terriers, and the minor gentry and Basset Hounds. Fourthly, societies and service industries were created to support pedigree dogs, their owners and the dog fancy, which changed the nature and meaning of pet owning across the country.

This project will begin by investigating the social locations and forms of the 'dog fancy', to determine how its institutions operated across class, gender, region and age, and map the forms of expertise, formal and informal, that developed amongst breeders, owners, entrepreneurs and veterinarians. We will then explore changing definitions of pedigree, and how meanings of 'lineage', 'blood' and 'type' developed and were used by the 'dog fancy'. We will do this for 'pedigree' in general, and for particular breeds. There are numerous sources in the archives of the Kennel Club, in records of dog shows and breed club records, and in the large newspaper, periodical and book literature that was produced, much of it richly illustrated. It is suggestive that the first dog shows were in the same year as the publication of Darwin's On the Origin of Species; we will deepen our ongoing research into how dog breeding interacted ideas of evolution and heredity. It is well known that 'artificial selection' was critical to the development of the theory of natural selection, but we will go on from this to look at dog breeding's role in changing ideas of heredity, especially eugenics. Victorians and Edwardians were concerned about the impact of inbreeding on the health of individual dogs and the degeneration of breeds. As well as exploring these concerns within the 'dog fancy', we ask how qualified veterinarians and lay 'dog doctors' understood, advised upon, and managed the health and welfare of pedigree dogs.

In final part of our work, we will ask how dog breeding and pedigree breeds reflected and shaped notions of Britishness, along with regional, class and gender identities, particularly in relation to biological conceptions of blood, ancestry and character. We will look at the emergence of the idea of Britain as a 'nation of dog lovers' and the extent to which this reshaped meanings of Britishness, from the eighteenth-century creation of John Bull and his bulldog to the ageing Queen Victoria surrounded by collies and other homely breeds.

Who will benefit from the research?
Since the submission of our original application in June 2008, we have continued to work on the topic. We organised a meeting on the Health and Welfare of the Manufactured Animal in September 2008, which attracted historians of medicine, social and cultural historians, sociologists, animal studies specialists and veterinarians. Pemberton and Worboys gave a paper entitled 'Pedigree Chums: The Making of the Modern Dog' and were invited to give the paper again at the Central Veterinary Society in January 2009. Their talk attracted representatives from the Kennel Club and other dog organisations. Interest was further evident in an invitation from BBC History Magazine to write an article to mark the 150th anniversary of the first modern dog show, which appeared in June 2009 and led to an invitation from the Dictionary of National Biography to write an article on Sewallis Evelyn Shirley MP, a founder of the Kennel Club. These events fully demonstrate the potential of this project to engage with many audiences.

We see the main non-academic beneficiaries of our work as current members of the dog fancy, dog breeding organisations, dog welfare organisations and veterinarians. Our exhibition with the artist Jo Longhurst will have immediate outreach to a wider 'Nation of Dog Lovers'. We considered establishing collaborations with dog organisations and animal welfare groups, but felt that the current state of affairs over the health of pedigree dogs meant that our work might be seen to be compromised by association with any party. That said, we will seek to work with these organisations, and other stakeholders, as well as engaging the wider public through our planned exhibition and writing for popular outlets, including the many dog magazines.

How will they benefit?
All of the groups identified will benefit from historical perspectives on the development of dog organisations, changes in the forms and meanings of pedigree dogs in general and in specific breeds. We have plans to inform current policy making within the dog fancy by revealing the changing meanings of pedigree, changing forms of breeds and breed standards, and past debates about the consequences of different breeding practices. Such findings will show the instability and contingency of breed standards and of breeds themselves, perhaps opening the way to greater readiness within the dog breeding community to change breed standards and consider animal welfare. Any economic benefits will be to dog organisations, owners and animal services industries due to better understandings of the relativity of breed standards and previous responses to the criticisms of certain breeding practices.

What will be done to ensure that they benefit?
We will continue to foster the snowballing of interest and respond to opportunities for public engagement. We have plans for popular articles, drawing on our contacts with BBC History Magazine, History Today and the Veterinary Times, and will seek publications in dog owning and dog breeding magazines.

The aim of the exhibition, curated by Jo Longhurst with contextual historial material from the project, will be to exploit the richness and potential of visual materials, through presentations of photographs of dogs from the period 1859-1914 alongside images produced today by professional and amateur photographers. The Wellcome Collection (Dr Ken Arnold) and the National Museum of Science and Industry (Dr Lisa O'Sullivan) have agreed to consider this exhibition as part of their programme in 2012 and it will be hosted at http://www.jolonghurst.com/docs/projects_list.php The displays will illustrate the ways in which pedigree breeds have been idealised, then and now, as well as having a photoboard where the members of the public can display favourite images of their dog. Jo Longhurst's recent exhi