Dogs

Claws of a dog		16, 18 or 20
Teeth of an adult dog		42
Dog licences introduced in the UK (as a tax to raise money for the Royal Navy)		1796
Dog licences abolished in the UK		1987
Cost of a dog licence when abolished		37½p
Cost of a dog licence in old money		7/6d
UK quarantine period		24 weeks

Crufts

Charles Cruft held his first dog show (in the UK – taking up management of the Allied Terrier Club Show, at the Royal Aquarium in Westminster) in		1886
Crufts was first held under that name (at the Royal Agricultural Hall, Islington) and first allowed all breeds, in		1891
Organisation that has owned Crufts since 1942, when it bought it from the widow of its founder (organising its first show in 1948)		Kennel Club

Subsequent venues	1948–78		Olympia
	1979–90		Earls Court
	Since 1991		NEC, Birmingham
Prize for Best in Show at Crufts (as well as a replica of the Keddall Memorial Trophy)			£100

The seven 'groups' of dog used at Crufts:

Gundog

Hound

Pastoral

Terrier

Toy

Utility

Working

Breeds

Largest breed of terrier (wiry black & tan coat)		Airedale
Said to have been introduced to America by Helen Keller, who was touched by the story of Hachiko – the Japanese equivalent of Greyfriars Bobby – which died in 1935 (hers were called Kamikaze–go and Kenzan–go)		Akita
Can't bark (originates in Africa, name comes from Bantu)		Basenji
First bred in France from the French bloodhound and the St. Hubert hound		Basset hound
Terrier named after a former mining town in Northumberland, where it was first bred to hunt vermin in the mines – noted for its similarity to a lamb in appearance		Bedlington
Also known as the Russian wolfhound		Borzoi
The smallest of all breeds of dog – named after a Mexican state		Chihuahua
Famous (in quizzes!) for its blue/black/purple tongue		Chow Chow
Best of Show a record seven times (up to 2016) at Crufts		Cocker spaniel
The Kelpie (Australia) is a kind of; rough, bearded, smooth and border are also breeds of		Collie
Pembroke and Cardigan are the two recognised breeds of; believed to have been bred to control cattle, although there is very little evidence for this; name (of Welsh origin) may mean "dwarf dog" or "watchdog"		Corgi
Originally bred for hunting badgers – name is German for "badger dog"		Dachshund
Gets its name from the region where it originated – now part of Croatia		Dalmatian
Named after a character in Walter Scott's Guy Mannering		Dandie Dinmont
Named after the German tax collector who bred it		Doberman pinscher
The heaviest breed of dog (Guinness Book of Records, pre–2000)		(English) Mastiff
The world's tallest dog (Guinness 2002); also known as the German mastiff		Great Dane
Traditionally the tallest breed		Irish wolfhound
Named after a Devon clergyman (an enthusiastic hunter and dog breeder, 1795–1883)		Jack Russell
The most popular breed to keep as pets in the UK, USA, Australia and New Zealand		Labrador retriever
Cross between a sighthound and a pastoral dog (e.g. a greyhound and a collie)		Lurcher
Black & Tan terrier		Manchester terrier
The Landseer (named after the painter) is a variety of (with white markings on the body)		Newfoundland
Breed standard defined in Bulawayo, 1922		Rhodesian Ridgeback
Breed of terrier, named after the Georgian country house in Pembrokeshire where it was first bred in the late 19th century by Captain John Edwardes		Sealyham
Thought to have originated in Tibet and been developed in China; name means "lion dog"; nicknamed the chrysanthemum dog		Shih Tzu
Greyfriars Bobby		Skye terrier
Kind of dog, thought to have originated in Spain; name derived from the Spanish or French word for a Spaniard		Spaniel
More familiar name for the Alpine Mastiff		St. Bernard
Named after the former province on the Japanese island of Shikoku, where it was originally bred as a fighting dog; the only breed still used (legally) in Japanese dog fighting, and one of the main dog meat breeds in South Korea; ownership is regulated in the UK under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991		Tosa Inu
Breed of hunting dog: established in the 17th century, but now extinct; named after the 1st Earl of Shrewsbury (appears on the family crest)		Talbot
Hungarian sporting breed, in the Pointer group: won Cruft's in 2010		Vizsla

Real Life Dogs

White House Dogs

F. D. Roosevelt's Scottie		Fala
Bill Clinton's dog (and cat)		Buddy (and Socks)
George W. Bush's Scottie – bit a Reuters reporter on the finger, November 2008 (3 days after Obama was elected to succeed Bush). (See also Miss Beazley)		Barney

The Obamas' dogs:

Breed		Portuguese water dogs
Acquired in 2009 (just after he took office)		Bo
Acquired in 2012 or 2013		Sunny

Joe Biden's dogs:

Breed		German shepherds (Alsatians)
Died in June 2021, aged 13		Champ
Left the White House in disgrace in December 2021, after "some biting incidents"		Major
Replaced the above – a gift from Biden's brother James and his wife Sara		Commander

Other

Adolf Hitler's German Shepherd – given to him in 1941 by Martin Boorman		Blondi
Lord Byron's dog (buried at his family home, Newstead Abbey)		Boatswain (Bosun)
Roy Rogers's dog		Bullet
Roy Hattersley's dog, whose 'diaries' ("as told to Roy Hattersley") were published in 1998		Buster
Rick Stein's Jack Russell (died 2007 aged 17)		Chalky
John Steinbeck's standard poodle (actually his wife's), featured in the title of his 1962 account of their journey together around the USA in 1960		Charley
The first Dulux dog		Dash
Isaac Newton's dog – destroyed years of experimental results by upsetting a candle		Diamond
Boris and Carrie Johnson's Jack Russell cross, acquired during their time in Downing Street		Dilyn
Princess Anne's English bull terrier, which attacked two schoolboys in Windsor Great Park in 2002 (escaped punishment after Anne agreed to a retraining programme); originally blamed for Florence's attack on the Queen's corgi Pharos		Dotty
"The most famous dog in Britain" in November 2011, after his exploits chasing deer in Richmond Park (pursued by his hapless owner) went viral on YouTube		Fenton
Princess Anne's other English bull terrier (see Dotty), that savaged one of the Queen's corgis (Pharos) at Christmas 2003 – resulting in the corgi having to be put down; bit a maid on the leg five days later (escaped punishment after Anne agreed to a retraining programme)		Florence
Elizabeth Barratt Browning's cocker spaniel – the subject of a biography by Virginia Woolf		Flush
2000: the first pet (dog) allowed into Britain on a pet passport		Frodo Baggins
Llewellyn's wolfhound (according to legend – there is no historical evidence) – said to be buried at the Snowdonia village of Beddgelert		Gelert
Skye terrier that watched over his master's grave in Edinburgh for 14 years; commemorated by a statue in Greyfriars Kirkyard and a monument on the corner of Candlemakers Row and King George IV Bridge		Greyfriars Bobby
Original (bulldog) mascot of Yale University		Handsome Dan
Three–year–old stray from the streeets of Moscow, that became the first living creature (that we know about – apart from microbes!) to orbit the Earth (on Sputnik 2)		Laika
George W. Bush's other Scottie (see Barney)		Miss Beazley
Monty Don's two golden retrievers, who often appear with him on Gardeners' World		Nigel
		Nellie
Guy Gibson's dog		Nigger
The dog on the HMV record label		Nipper
Rishi Sunak's "fox red" labrador (introduced on Instagram in 2021, when he was Chancellor)		Nova
G. K. Chesterton's dog		Old Don
Dog (i.e. not a bitch!) that played Lassie in Lassie Come Home (1943) and six subsequent films; Lassie has been played ever since by his descendants – all dogs (dogs retain a thicker coat in summer, which is felt to look better)		Pal
Found the World Cup in 1966; strangled himself on his own lead while chasing a cat in 1967		Pickles
Dog owned by Norman Scott, shot by a hired gunman in 1975, resulting in the scandal that led to the resignation of Jeremy Thorpe as leader of the Liberal Party		Rinka
German Shepherd that appeared in 27 Hollywood films, after being rescued from the trenches of a World War I battlefield, and is credited with greatly increasing the popularity of the breed		Rin Tin Tin
St. Bernard that replaced brother Mike as Bernie Winters's comedy partner		Schnorbitz
Thomas Hardy's wire–haired terrier		Wessex

The Queen's Corgis (and her other dogs)

Queen Elizabeth II is said to be very careful to keep her private and public lives separate. Apart from her actual family however, the one thing that everyone surely knows about her private life is her love of corgis.

The story goes that the princesses Elizabeth and Margaret, as very young children,  fell in love with the corgis owned by the Marquess of Bath's children. The rest, as they say, is history.

The Queen is said to have owned over 30 corgis, all bred from Susan (see below).

Bought in 1933 by the Duke of York (later King George VI) for Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret (died c. 1939)		Dookie
The second corgi bought by the Duke of York for his family – accidentally run over in Windsor Great Park		Jane
Jane's offspring		Crackers
Given to Princess Elizabeth on her 18th birthday (1944), to replace Jane: accompanied Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh on their honeymoon in Scotland; the common ancestor of all the Queen's corgis; died in 1959		Susan
Susan's offspring		Honey, Sugar
Sugar's offspring		Whisky, Sherry
Put down in 2003 after being savaged by Princess Anne's dog Dottie (a.k.a. Florence)		Pharos
"Photo–bombed" the photo of the Queen with England's rugby World Cup winning squad in 2003		Berry

Other corgis whose names I've managed to discover (my main source being an article published by Vanity Fair in July 2015) are, in roughly chronological order:

Carol, Bee, Smoky, Jet, Spark, Phoenix, Pundit, Mint, Fay; Ranger, Beau, Lark, Gambol, Dash (1984, dam Spark) Dagger, Rush, Disco (1984, dam Dash); Minnie, Flora, Swift, Quiz, Linnet, Emma, Heather; Kelpie, Legend, Puck, Phantom (2003, dam Myth); Holly, Willow, Bramble, Laurel, Jasmine, Cedar, Rose, Larch (2003, dam Linnet)

Rush, Minnie and Monty belonged to the Queen Mother, and were taken in by the Queen after her mother's death.

Appeared in the opening ceremony for the 2012 London Olympics (when Daniel Craig as James Bond visited Buckingham Palace, allegedly to escort the Queen to the stadium)

Monty, Holly, Willow

Monty died in September 2012, leaving Holly and Willow as the Queen's last surviving corgis. It is often reported (but has never, as far as I can establish, been officially confirmed) that the Queen has decided not to have any more dogs after Holly and Willow because she doesn't want to leave them behind when she passes away.

The Queen has also owned cocker spaniels, black labradors and dorgis (cross–breeds resulting from an unplanned liaison between a corgi and Princess Margaret's dachshund Pipkin). She is said to name them all herself. The spaniels and labradors are bred at Sandringham, the corgis at Windsor; their names are often prefixed by the names of the kennels (i.e. Windsor or Sandringham, as appropriate).

	Spaniels	Bisto, Oxo, Flash, Spick, Span, Fern (1979–91)
	Black labradors	Slipper, Brae, Gryffindor
	Dorgis	Cider, Berry, Vulcan, Candy

Apart from Monty (who died at Balmoral and is buried there), the queen's dogs are traditionally buried at Sandringham, where they have individual memorial stones. There is also one commemorating the death in 1958 of the yellow labrador Candy – "for 6 years the faithful companion of ... [the] Duke of Edinburgh".

Fictional Dogs

Odysseus's dog (in Homer)		Argos
Bill Sikes's dog (Oliver Twist)		Bullseye
Rabid St. Bernard in a Stephen King novel (and the film based on it)		Cujo
Comic–strip dog in the Blondie films		Daisy
Obelix's pet dog, in the Asterix cartoons (Obelix is Asterix's best friend)		Dogmatix
Dennis the Menace's dog		Gnasher
Dog that appeared alongside Clement Freud in the Minced Morsels adverts (fictional because he was actually played by a number of different dogs)		Henry
Dora's dog (David Copperfield)		Jip
William (Brown)'s dog (Just William, etc. – Richmal Crompton)		Jumble
Superman's pet dog		Krypto
The dog in Three men in a boat		Montmorency
Sexton Blake's faithful bloodhound		Pedro
The dog in The Muppet Show		Rowlf
The Simpsons' greyhound		Santa's Little Helper
The dog in the Secret Seven		Scamper
Tintin's dog		Snowy
The dog in the Famous Five		Timmy
Punch & Judy's dog		Toby
Dorothy's dog (The Wizard of Oz)		Toto
Mrs. Pumphrey's pampered pooch in James Herriot's stories		Tricky Woo

Other

From 2016, to comply with the Government's plan to reduce the number of strays, UK dog owners must		Attach microchips
Ruby, Teddy, Offa, Lucy, Sadie, Cosby		David Blunkett's guide dogs
Chinese crested: unusual characteristic		Hairless
Type of dog that includes the akita, chow chow, corgi, husky, malamute, Norwegian elkhound, Pomeranian and samoyed		Spitz
Lhasa Apso: originated in		Tibet
Group used in shows (including Crufts) for breeds that don't fit in to any other category		Utility

© Haydn Thompson 2017–23