IN 1960 there were, according to some estimates, around four million dogs being kept as pets in the UK. Canine training classes, such as this one in Rutherglen, were doing brisk business.
Poodles, it seems, had increased massively in popularity since the war. Or, as Claude Thomson put it in our sister paper, the Evening Times: “From being a rather rare and dandified choice of breed they have soared right to the top of the public-esteem league.
“Formerly almost exclusively a woman’s dog, poodles can now be seen mincing their delicate way down the street accompanied by brawny specimens of manhood.
“Why should this change have happened? It’s difficult, if not impossible, to say for sure, but the reason to a large extent lies in the fact that it is a highly intelligent dog, smart, not too big for modern homes, and it doesn’t need so much exercise as some breeds. It doesn’t moult.
“And no dog gives more reward to those who take a comb-brush-and-clippers pride in their pets.”
Miniature poodles had just topped, for the sixth year in succession, the list of all breeds, with more than 17,000 Kennel Club registrations.
The 1960 Cruft’s Show had seen no less than 14,000 entries, a world record at the time.
Spaniels and Alsatians, together with Pekinese, had all remained popular breeds in the UK. Moreover, more and more owners had been opting for boxers, while the Queen’s well-known fondness for corgis was being reflected in the increasing popularity of that breed, too.
People who choose to have Alsatians, however, were given advice by various experts.
Mr SH Benson, director-secretary of Calderpark Zoo (whose son, Harry, would go on to become a world-renowned photographer), told the Evening Times: “The Alsatian is a powerful, highly intelligent, one-man dog.
“It is a working dog,” he added, “and definitely unsuitable as a family pet – unless there is someone in the family prepared to give it the attention and training it needs.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here