Morris & Essex by the numbers

As we all know, the 2015 Morris & Essex show was the largest for the club since Mrs. Dodge's record-breaking show in 1939. Based on available figures from AKC, it's also clear that this was the largest outdoor show held in the U.S. for more than 20 years — possibly much longer. It was also at the time the largest AKC dog show of any kind since 2004, although that record stood for only a couple of months: the AKC/Eukanuba National Championship in Florida on Dec. 12 and 13 attracted an all-time record that had a couple of hundred more dogs in competition than M&EKC.

The fact that Morris & Essex was held on a single day, Thursday, not on a weekend, while the National Championship was AKC's official year-end show and took place over two days makes comparisons a little difficult. The most important thing that we can take away from these big entries is that the interest in dog shows that has declined over the past couple of years may be increasing again — or at least we now have good reason to hope it is.

Here are the figures: Morris & Essex Kennel Club last year had (as per the catalog) 4,152 dogs entered that, thanks to the sweepstakes classes, made 4,667 entries. You have to consult official AKC figures to find out how many dogs were present at the show after absentees were deducted: According to published AKC Events figures, Morris & Essex had a total of 3,554 dogs in competition. In the following, numbers will refer to dogs present and shown, since that's what was published in the AKC Awards in the past. To know how many dogs were entered in a show, you need to have access to the catalog.

The 2015 Morris & Essex total narrowly beat the highest peak reached by the Kennel Club of Palm Springs, whose outdoor show had 3,523 dogs in 2006. It's also higher than Santa Barbara Kennel Club's record of 3,520 dogs in competition in 1987. I can't say for certain whether a couple of other shows that were held in the 1980s and '90s were held outdoors or not, but it's possible that ours was the largest outdoor show held in several decades. (The indoor shows that are held in Louisville during the spring used to be the largest of all: Louisville Kennel Club had 4,662 dogs in competition at their 1996 show; Evansville KC the same weekend had 4,392. In more recent years, however, these clubs have only reached much lower figures.)

Size alone, of course, is not what Morris & Essex Kennel Club is about. Tradition, hospitality and a concern for genuine dog know-how are more important — but it must be satisfying to everyone involved that the support the fancy shows for Morris & Essex is reflected in the large entry figures. It's also a wonderful gesture that shows genuine respect for the past that the annual meeting in February voted to limit entries at future Morris & Essex Kennel Club shows to 4,455 — one less than Mrs. Dodge's remarkable 1939 show had!

Below are entry figures from the past Morris & Essex Kennel Club shows. All these figures, judging by the show reports at the time, indicate number of dogs entered; number of dogs present was not published by AKC in the early years.

1927 - 595 dogs entered

1928 - 920 dogs entered

1929 - 1,150 dogs entered

1930 - 1,507 dogs entered

1931 - 1,922 dogs entered

1932 - 1,517 dogs entered

1933 - 2,346 dogs entered

1934 - 2,827 dogs entered

1935 - 3,175 dogs entered

1936 - 3,751 dogs entered

1937 - 4,104 dogs entered

1938 - 4,213 dogs entered

1939 - 4,456 dogs entered

1940 - 4,027 dogs entered

1941 - 3,883 dogs entered

1942-1945 - no shows held

1946 - 2,086 dogs entered

1947 - 2,372 dogs entered

1948 - 2,664 dogs entered

1949 - 2,637 dogs entered

1950 - 2,587 dogs entered

1951 - 2,568 dogs entered

1952 - 2,851 dogs entered

1953 - 2,612 dogs entered

1955 - 2,397 dogs entered

1956 - 2,304 dogs entered

1957 - 2,548 dogs entered

1958-1999 - no shows held

2000 - 3,223 dogs entered

2005 - 3,194 dogs entered

2010 - 3,416 dogs entered

2015 - 4,152 dogs entered