Vintage Show Dogs: Ladies’ Pets

~ YesBiscuit
A pretty Japanese spaniel in the book Dogs
(Melbourne’s Sporting Library)
G.A. Melbourne, editor, 1907

Toy dogs and other small breeds, also called “ladies’ pets” around the turn of the century, were always popular at bench shows. Their stalls would often be adorned with fancy beds, curtains and other items indicative of a pampered home life. Here are some illustrations of the day.

From a dog show article in The Chicago Tribune (Chicago, Illinois) · April 9, 1891
From a show article in The Buffalo Weekly Express (Buffalo, New York) · April 15, 1886
The Philadelphia Times (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) · February 29, 1888
Two sketches from a dog show article in The Sun (New York, New York) · February 25, 1897
The Fanciers’ Journal, May 28, 1892
The Fanciers’ Journal, January 4, 1890
The Fanciers’ Journal, April 19, 1890
Japanese spaniel in Forest and Stream, June 8, 1893
Italian greyhound in Forest and Stream, June 8, 1893
King Charles spaniel in Forest and Stream, June 8, 1893
The Fanciers’ Journal, June 5, 1889

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