Any other time, a lot of people would be preparing to leave for the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show right about now, but in this time of COVID, the show has been moved up a few months to June. It seems like a good time, however, to talk about a few dog show “firsts,” and we start with the breed of the first dog known to win a Best in Show in the United States.

His name was, “Count,” and the white Bull Terrier, according to one of our favorite dog writers, Bo Bengston, won the award at the Western Connecticut Poultry, Pigeon, and Pet Stock Association Show in 1885. At the time, a “Best in Show” award didn’t meant what it does today. In fact, there was often no judging beyond Best of Breed, and as Bo writes in his fabulous book, “Best in Show,” sometimes there wasn’t even competition between the class winners.

Putting that aside, the Western Connecticut Poultry, Pigeon, and Pet Stock Association Show was not the first dog show held in America.  That happened in 1874, and to learn about how it happened, you have to meet P.H. Bryson, the person we have to thank for introducing the idea to America.

Bryson was a Civil War veteran who was sent home after the war ended so that he could “go home to die so that he might have a decent burial.”

He didn’t die.

Weak and emaciated from injury, the soldier weighed only 110 pounds and could scarcely walk any distance without having to stop and rest. His family doctor, Dr. D.D. Saunders, advised him to get as much outdoor exercise as he could stand, and suggested he get a gun and a bird dog to encourage him. Bryon got himself a “bobbed-tail Pointer” and a “pin-fire gun” and hit the great outdoors of his home in Tennessee. Long story short, his strength improved, his shot improved, and with the help of his devoted hunting dog, Bryson went from 110 pounds to 210 pounds and completely recovered.  He also became a dog man and avid sportsman. He switched from Pointers to Setters, and found himself becoming more and more entrenched in the dog world.

Bryson, in fact, became the first person in America to advocate the holding of dog shows through the articles he wrote for sporting journals like TURF, FIELD AND FARM. With his brother, David, the Bryson siblings planned a combined Bench Show and Field Trial near Memphis, Tennessee for November 1874, but Bryon’s articles had been so interesting that they inspired other sportsmen to follow suit.

And that’s exactly what the Illinois State Sportsmen’s Association did. They announced a dog show for June 4, 1874 in Chicago, five months ahead of the show that Bryson had planned.  The Illinois Show for Setters and Pointers only became the first dog show ever hosted in the United States.

A few months later in October, a more formal show (which is to say one more recognizable by modern standards) was held in Mineola. The event held classes only for Irish Setters, Gordon Setters and Pointers. Just the next day, another show for sporting breeds was held in Tennessee, and early in 1875, the first all breed show in America was held in Detroit.

It was just the beginning. To our knowledge, there are now around 1,500 all-breed shows, and approximately 2,000 independent shows are held every year in the United States.

Image: A chromolithograph from the Mascoutah Kennel Club dog show.