Meet the three new dog breeds invited to compete at Crufts 2019

Crufts, the world’s best-known, largest and most prestigious dog show takes place every March at Birmingham’s NEC arena, this year it is running from 7th March to 10th March and the show itself is often used to introduce and showcase brand-new dog breeds that have received formal recognition and acceptance by the UK Kennel Club for the very first time.

A total of three new dog breeds have been invited to compete at Crufts 2019, which signals their recent inclusion within the UK’s complete list of Kennel Club recognised pedigree dog breeds for the very first time, and all three of these breeds are apt to get a lot of attention over the course of the coming year as a result of this.

New dog breeds don’t just come into being all of a sudden – whether a breed is developed from scratch from other breeds, dogs that share the same traits, or dogs with specific common skills, it takes many years and usually, decades before they are even eligible for consideration for pedigree registration, and even then this is by no means a given.

However, some dog breeds that are already very well established outside of the UK and that are already formally recognised by their own country’s respective Kennel Club and/or other formal breed registries may only become eligible for UK registration once a UK breed standard has been established and a large enough population of dogs of the breed are present in the UK to form the foundations of future breeding stock.

This latter is the case for the three dog breeds that have achieved recognition and permission to compete at Crufts for the very first time this year – and all three of them are already well established in their home countries, and may soon become equally well known in the UK.

These three breeds have all become formally recognised breeds for Kennel Club pedigree registration in the last couple of years, which means that they are now eligible to compete at Crufts itself for the very first time.

In this article we will introduce the three dog breeds that have become eligible to compete at Crufts for the first time this year, with some insights and information on each of them. Read on to learn more.

The Russian Toy Terrier

The Russian toy terrier first became eligible for Kennel Club registration in 2018 after receiving recognition in 2017 within the imported breed register, which reflects the relatively small number of dogs of the breed present in the UK at the moment.

Russian toy terriers are very petite, delicate little dogs that have the type of size and appearance that we commonly associate with toy dog and lapdog breeds, but with a hearty sprinkling of terrier personality that gives them a strong streak of mischief!

This dog breed is small, finely boned and very elegant-looking, with bright, watchful eyes and a playful nature. Both shorthaired and longhaired dogs of this type can be found, and even shorthaired variants tend to have longer fringes of feathering around their ears, which are large and bat-like.

Russian toy terriers are a great choice of pet for people looking for a very loving and affectionate toy dog that is also often playful and entertaining, but that does not have a hugely onerous need for long, vigorous walks. Because this breed is so petite, a couple of lively half-hour walks per day is usually perfectly sufficient to keep them happy, and they tend to be relatively easy to train to follow basic commands.

Another plus point of the breed is that they tend to be good with children, although they are a better fit for homes with older children who know how to handle dogs properly and that won’t be overly boisterous to the point of potentially injuring such a small dog accidentally.

The White Swiss Shepherd

The White Swiss Shepherd or Berger Blanc Suisse actually gained formal Kennel Club recognition in the UK in 2017 as part of the imported breed register for pastoral dogs, but 2019 is the first year in which the breed is eligible to be exhibited at Crufts.

At first glance, the white Swiss shepherd looks a lot like an all-white German shepherd, and there are certainly a lot of commonalities between the two breeds.

White Swiss shepherds originated in Switzerland, and is a very modern breed in that it only began to gain recognition in any country in the latter part of the 20th century. They’re a working herding dog breed that can be found in both longhaired and medium-length coats, which are always white, and this breed is such a new addition to the UK’s pedigree dog list that the formal breed standard for the white Swiss shepherd is currently still under development.

This is a large, highly intelligent and very energetic dog breed that is very versatile and capable of carrying out a wide variety of different types of working roles, and their distinctive and very handsome appearances mean that once this breed does begin to become better established within the UK, they might well pose some real competition to the German shepherd itself, and other shepherd-type breeds too!

The black and tan coonhound

The black and tan coonhound received formal Kennel Club recognition in the UK in 2018, and 2019 is the first year within which dogs of the breed will be exhibited at Crufts, with the breed standard only having been formalised towards the end of 2018.

Black and tan coonhounds originated in America, and were originally bred and developed to hunt racoons, hence the name. This is a breed that was developed from ancestry involving both bloodhounds and a type of local Virginia foxhounds, and is a very skilled scenthound that has a lot of different working applications.

However, they also have a great reputation as domestic pets despite their working origins, and if you have the room to share your home with a large dog breed, the black and tan coonhound might be a good pick – but with less than 100 of them registered in the UK at present, you may have to wait some time to find one offered for sale, and travel some way to see it!