Ruff trade: A crisis for Crufts
Crufts returns next week – but there will be no TV coverage, no big-money sponsorship, and no support from the RSPCA. After six months of scandal that has left pedigree breeds branded genetic freaks, John Walsh asks if we can save our love affair with man's best friend
Digg
del.icio.us
Facebook
Reddit
Google
Stumble Upon
Fark
Newsvine
YahooBuzz
Bebo
Twitter
Independent Minds
Getty
Pugs: Their flat faces mean that pugs are unable to pant properly and thus control their body temperature. Their abnormally large eyes predispose them to dislocation and infection
In Pictures: The breeds most at risk
Crufts Dog Show starts next week, on 5 March. "Crufts" – it could almost be the name of one of those aristocratic-looking dogs that win rosettes every year. Heel, Crufts. Roll over, sir. Go to your basket. If Crufts were a dog, it would be a dignified English mastiff with a noble pedigree, standing four-square and alert in the judging arena, its coat glossy, its perfect muzzle trembling with intelligence. How proud Charles Cruft, who founded the world's most important dog show in 1891, would be to see the high reputation in which his brainchild is held...
Except that, unfortunately, it's not. In the past six months, Crufts and all it stands for has suffered a series of blows. Its international reputation as a showcase of British dog-breeding genius has been holed below the waterline. Its owners since 1942, the Kennel Club of Great Britain, have become so beleaguered by the dog-loving public, the RSPCA and even its own members, it now resembles The Stag at Bay being savaged by (non-pedigree) dogs in Landseer's etching. And in the wider world of dog-pampering, professional breeders are struggling to live down the accusation that they're a race of cruel and thoughtless Nazis presiding over a genetic freak show of dumb animals.
What happened to the British reputation as a nation of fond, doting dog-lovers? What has made some breeders turn round and savage the face of their presiding body? And can any combination of bone, Winalot and walkies make everyone Best Friends again?
***
The first blow was struck last August when Pedigree Dogs Exposed, a harrowing BBC documentary by Jemima Harrison, was broadcast. It revealed in graphic detail how selective breeding – in search of physical canine perfection – was bringing into the world a generation of dogs with health problems: dogs that had trouble walking, breathing, mating or reproducing because of the exaggerated quality of their small legs, or large heads, or flat noses, or wrinkled skin. Viewers watched a Cavalier King Charles spaniel writhing in agony because of the permanent pain in its head: it was afflicted by syringomyelia, the result of being bred with a skull too small for its brain. "A Cavalier's brain," remarked a veterinary neurologist Clare Rusbridge, "is like a size-10 foot that has been shoved into a size-6 shoe – it doesn't fit." Viewers saw a two-year-old boxer called Zak having an epileptic fit, and learned that some members of the breed are 20 times as likely as humans to suffer from the condition. They saw pugs and pekineses "bred to have no face", who suffered from poor airways and risked damaging their eyes if they walked into anything; and bulldogs that had been bred to such an odd body shape that they couldn't mate or give birth without help. It was an hour of ghastliness for any pooch-lover.
The documentary also brought up the contentious subject of canine incest. The more that breeders sought to mate dogs with close family members – brothers with sisters, fathers with daughters, mothers with sons – to produce little clones, the more likely they were to inherit genetic illness, and the less likely they would be to reproduce in future. To hammer a final nail in the Kennel Club's coffin, the programme revealed that the club's origins lay in eugenics, the science of pure breeding that so impressed the Nazis. "It's all about maintaining the purity of these blood lines," said a "canine academic" called James Serpell, "these pure breeds, these pure races of dogs, and making damn sure that they don't cross with anything else because a cross-bred animal was considered a mongrel and therefore inferior."
There was an instant outcry. Steve Jones, the UK's top geneticist, said: "People are carrying out breeding which would, first of all, be entirely illegal in humans, and secondly is absolutely insane from the point of view of the health of the animals... In some breeds, they are paying a terrible, terrible price in genetic disease." At the RSPCA, Mark Evans, the chief vet, didn't muck about. "The show world is about an obsession," he said, "about beauty, and there is a ridiculous concept that this is how we should judge dogs... It takes no account of [their] temperament, or fitness for purpose potentially as a pet animal... and that, to me, makes absolutely no sense at all." His prognosis: if breeders keep up their policy of inbreeding dogs, their genes will come to a dead stop.
Fairly or unfairly, much of the blame for the stricken dogs was laid, like a dead bird, at the feet of the Kennel Club. It was suggested that, because of the Club's "breed standards" – its guidelines that pedigree dogs should look a certain way and have certain salient characteristics in order to win show prizes – that some breeders put the dogs' appearance before their health, breeding freaks in the hope of winning a rosette.
The club was also held indirectly responsible for inbreeding by refusing to condemn it. Viewers reacted with alarm to the moment when the Kennel Club chairman Ronnie Irving was asked if he approved of mother-son matings. That, said Irving breezily, depends on the dogs. Would he consider fathering a child with his own daughter? Irving retorted that he wasn't going to be advised about breeding by a bunch of scientists.
The Kennel Club accused the BBC of biased reporting, although they had co-operated with Harrison for the two years it took to make her film. They pointed out its Accredited Breeder Scheme, which outlines a code of conduct for breeders and encourages them to use health-screening initiatives to ensure they didn't mate their dog with one afflicted by some genetic blemish. That showed them in a good light, surely?
Not according to Dogs Today magazine, a Guildford-based monthly published and edited by Beverley Cuddy. A former employee of the Kennel Club, she has been a thorn in its side for years, conducting a campaign to demand that the Kennel Club tests be made mandatory for any registered breeder. "The dog-show world is like Strictly Come Dancing," she said. "It may seem frivolous and fun, but people's need to have a fashionable look has terrible consequences in the long run." She believes the Club's Accredited Breeder Scheme is merely "a knee-jerk response to stop Defra from implementing stringent European legislation that tries to improve the health of dogs by stopping inbreeding".
Things speeded up. In October, the RSPCA announced it would boycott Crufts 2009 because of its concerns for the welfare of certain dogs. The Pedigree pet-food company, makers of Chum, withdrew its sponsorship. Stung, the Kennel Club promised to review all 209 pedigree breeds in the UK to determine their susceptibility to disease, and publish its findings in 2009.
Unimpressed, the BBC threatened to pull the plug on its coverage of Crufts unless the Club agreed to ban certain "at-risk" breeds from being shown. They were: basset hounds, Clumber spaniels, Dogues de Bordeaux, mastiffs, Neapolitan mastiffs, pekes, bloodhounds, shar peis, St Bernards, chows, German shepherds, bulldogs and Rhodesian ridgebacks. Irving flatly refused, "as it would compromise both contractual obligations and our general responsibility to dog exhibitors and our audience". The BBC retaliated by announcing, on 11 December, that they wouldn't televise Crufts this year, even though their present contract runs to 2010.
Press coverage was phenomenal. Newspapers whose interest in dog-breeding lore had hitherto been confined to the charming resemblance between the Best-in-Show saluki and his lissom blonde owner, saw they had a fight on their hands between two British institutions: the national broadcaster and the world of whippet and weimaraner.
But what are dog breeders like? Are they sinister Royston Vasey figures, performing unspeakable experiments on hapless mutts in makeshift operating theatres? Not really.
***
Carol Page and her husband Chris have been breeding Clumber spaniels for 25 years at their kennels in Swanwick, near Southampton. Their light, airy sitting-room was swarming with dogs: five of them, though it seems more like 20, as they milled about under my legs. If your knowledge of spaniels extends to cockers and King Charleses, you'd be amazed to meet George, Jezabel, Blanchflower, Busy Lizzie and Belvedere: they're big, off-white brutes with terribly sad pink eyes and elaborate ruffles on their chests, like 1970s cabaret singers. "They're handsome dogs," said Carol, "but it's the huge personality that counts. They're a determined breed, strong-willed but biddable. We train them to work, because they're best when they're given something to do. They're game dogs, a hunting breed, and we work them on the beating line at shoots, flushing the game forward."
Clumbers are not without drawbacks: according to the breed rulebook, they're given to excessive snoring, drooling, shoe-stealing and shedding. "You'll never be house-proud with a Clumber," said Carol. "When they have seasonal moult it comes out in handfuls. I reckon in a week I could knit another one out of what they all shed." Possibly to compensate, they're also immensely affectionate, constantly nuzzling up to their owners for hugs and head-scratchings. Only George has been shown at Crufts, where he is qualified permanently for the "field trials" class.
Carol watched the BBC documentary and felt that "it was very biased, though what it showed was horrendous. Just one case like that spaniel is too many. But although it exposed a few shocking examples, it's not typical of the wider dog world. The vast majority of pedigrees are happy, healthy dogs. I don't have any concerns about any of the breeders that I know."
When it comes to the health of breeding dogs, Carol is a little ambivalent. Clumber spaniels tend to be affected by a genetic deficiency called PDP1, which can retard the body's metabolism and make the dogs too exhausted to exercise. Many dogs carry the PDP1 gene and lead long happy lives without being affected. But should they be used for breeding? It's a question at the heart of the Kennel Club controversy. "If they were affected with the disease, you wouldn't breed with them," said Carol. "But you can use a carrier for mating purposes, provided it's mated with a clear dog, so you can breed it out."
She is a fan of the Kennel Club, who gave her a £4,500 grant in 2004 to test 100 dogs for the virus. "None of the Club's breed standards actually require a dog to be unhealthy or extreme in any way," she said vehemently. "The original standards were set down just to define dogs as they were, not as they should be. Most people look to produce a good, healthy example of the breed, not something deformed."
But what about the tragic spaniel in Pedigree Dogs Exposed? "At the end of the day," said Carol darkly, "it comes down to the breeder's interpretation." Why doesn't the Kennel Club insist that all breeders have their animals tested? "The Club's always encouraged breeders to use those schemes," she said. "There's more urgency now in telling breeders, you should be doing this, but there's a proportion that refuses. But when the Kennel Club in America tried to become more stringent, they found a lot of breeders just walked away."
***
On 12 January, the Kennel Club announced that its independent breed review would be chaired by Professor Sir Patrick Bateson of Cambridge University and the Zoological Society, so its bona fides were assured. Two days later, as though to pre-empt its own findings, the Club said that it had already revised the "breed standard" of 78 dogs. No more would it insist that, to win at Crufts, certain dogs needed to have a huge head, a long coat, a flat nose or excessively loose folds of skin on its neck. "The breed standards," declared the Club, "have been revised so they will not include anything that could in any way be interpreted as encouraging features that might prevent a dog breathing, walking and seeing freely."
So that was all right then, wasn't it? The Kennel Club had come to heel, so to speak, and put its kennel in order. Alas, it wasn't that simple. "The Kennel Club are like a lot of lazy schoolkids," snorted Cuddy, "rushing about in order to be seen to be doing something. But they've missed the point. All they've come up with are some words on the page, carefully diluting their previous hard-line prescriptions about how breeds should look. But they're giving the judges the power to interpret their words, which is absurd – the judges are breeders too. It's like putting a lot of shoplifters in charge of a tribunal about theft."
Some breeders were horrified by the new "breed standards," which seemed to be trying to produce a non-standard race of animals. In the case of the bulldog, the Club changed no fewer than 58 specifications about how the dog should look. Future bulldogs, to be judged perfect specimens, will need to have a shrunken face, a sunken nose, longer legs and a lean body. But if the British bulldog of the future doesn't look like a classic British bulldog, what's the point of breeding it at all?
It's a question that's bothering Vicky Collins-Nattrass, a Derbyshire-born, Lincoln-based dog-lover who, with her husband John, has been breeding pedigree bulldogs for 17 years. They have eight adult dogs, a breeding bitch, a shi-tzu, a chihuahua and a parrot in a large cage. The animals waddled about their small TV room, crammed with prize cups and cute ceramic dogs, occasionally peeing forgetfully on the floor. A certain awestruck dignity descended on the room with the arrival of Artemis and Preston, the enormous show dogs. You look at their huge heads, outraged expressions, massive wide shoulders, Davenport legs and high-ridged bottoms, and it's hard not to think them amazingly beautiful. Can they really be suffering inner deformities that will shorten their lives? Is this what a mutant freak show looks like?
"All bulldog breeders are fanatical about the breed standard, because the bulldog's was the first in the world," said Collins-Nattrass. "It's older than the Kennel Club itself, so you can imagine how shocking is the idea of anyone trying to alter it." The bulldog breeders got together with the Kennel Club back in 2004, when bulldogs had been identified as having "health issues". They discussed what might be done to curb "exaggerations" by over-enthusiastic breeders – such as having too much "skin-fold" on the dogs' Churchillian, jowly face.
"My first thought, when we had the Club's new interim breed standard thrust upon us – with 58 changes in the wording, one of the biggest changes in breeding history – was, 'My God, it's not going to look remotely like a bulldog any more'. I was very upset. I looked at other breeds that had been criticised in the BBC film, like the King Charles spaniel – there was just one alteration, saying 'The white of the eye shouldn't be shown'. Not a word about altering the size of its head."
The 18 member groups of the British Bulldog Breed Council held an emergency meeting. "Initially we said NO, we were not going to accept these drastic changes just like that. We want the dogs to look like bulldogs, not like boxers or cross-breeds. Then, of course, we agreed to talk to the Kennel Club, who said it was 'only an interim'."
So what about Crufts? The dog show faces a conundrum: how can you judge breeds of dog according to brand-new criteria, when the actual dogs have been bred to old, outdated, criteria? "All the dogs going to Crufts have qualified under the old standard," said Collins-Nattrass. "You can't change the standard of a dog overnight. It takes 15 to 20 years to change physical characteristics by selective breeding. I've a got a dog, Artemis, that I can enter because he's qualified. But he can't possibly win."
Collins-Nattrass doesn't blame the Kennel Club entirely; she concedes that bulldogs have become an "at risk" breed. But she laid the blame on the Crufts judges. "The breed has become more exaggerated, and it's the fault of the judges who pick dogs with exaggerated features. When they do, people look at the winners and think that's what the breed should look like now – and so it's perpetuated." Crufts judges, she pointed out, have a lot of power. Only one judge is allocated per breed, and since they're invariably breeders themselves, their personal, subjective notions of breed perfection carries the day.
Collins-Nattrass will go to Crufts next week, but reluctantly. "I'll take Artemis, to support the Crufts mechanism – and to remind people that this is how bulldogs used to look. Rather naughtily, I suggested we should all go and stand in the ring with our dogs just to make a point, but nobody was very keen on that idea."
***
The 118th Crufts show will go ahead as planned on 5 March. About 28,000 dogs will feature over the four days. Despite the BBC boycott, the Kennel Club has arranged for the proceedings to be broadcast online. The former Blue Peter presenter Peter Purves will talk viewers through the events from "Heelwork" and "Music and Agility" right through to "Best in Show". But the events of the past six months have left a nasty taste in the dog-lover's mouth. Breeders are blaming the Kennel Club for the adverse publicity. Some blame the breeders, some blame the judges. An anti-cruelty demo by a vegetarian pressure group is planned outside the NEC, Birmingham, where the show is held. Breeders will glare at each other more suspiciously than before. Judges will try to select winners from dogs that barely resemble the new judging criteria. Bulldog owners will attend, if only to express their disapproval of how the Kennel Club has mucked about with their dog. "We're running a gauntlet of nastiness and comment," said Collins-Nattrass. "In all the years I've taken bulldogs out for walks, I've never had anyone say anything derogatory to me before. Now everybody comments. A woman in the vet's said one of my bulldogs was breathing noisily. She was just panting. Lots of people have had nasty things said to them in the street about 'mutant freaks'..."
Wherever you look, it's a tough time for canophiles, and it's been a long time coming. "It's simply been brought home to pedigree dog owners," said Cuddy, "that the pursuit of perfection is destroying what they love."
Bad blood: The breeds most at risk
Bulldog
Today's bulldog is almost unrecognisable from the fighting dog of the 19th century. Bred for their abnormally sized heads, small faces and short muzzles, they suffer from breathing problems and most have to be born by Caesarean because their massive skulls and narrow hips mean that bitches cannot give birth naturally.
Basset hound
Bred to have huge floppy ears and a heavy body on unnaturally short legs, basset hounds are known to suffer from bone and joint problems, limited leg motion and problems in communication with other dogs. Their heavy flaps of skin can easily become infected.
Pugs
Their flat faces mean that pugs are unable to pant properly and thus control their body temperature. Their abnormally large eyes predispose them to dislocation and infection.
Cavalier King Charles spaniel
Selected for their baby-like facial features, these long-eared dogs suffer from syringomyelia, a painful condition caused by the animal's skull being too small for its brain.
Pekinese
Pekinese are bred to possess perfectly flat and shortened faces but some – including the dog anointed Crufts Best in Show 2003 – have needed soft palate resection surgery to enable them to breathe properly. They also have difficulty controlling their body temperature.
Neapolitan mastiff
Like the basset hound, the Neapolitan mastiff is intentionally bred to have an excessive amount of folded, wrinkled skin, which predisposes them to eye problems, skin infections and problems communicating. Like other overly large pedigree dogs, they suffer from painful joint problems.
Dachshund
With its elongated body perched on tiny legs, the dachshund can suffer from serious back problems and tissue breakdown due to excessive physical stress on the vertebrae. They can suffer from inherited epilepsy and deafness. Jamie Merrill
View all comments that have been posted about this article.
Offensive or abusive comments will be removed and your IP logged and may be used to prevent further submission. In submitting a comment to the site, you agree to be bound by the Independent Minds Terms of Service.
- Print Article
- Email Article
-
Click here for copyright permissions
Copyright 2009 Independent News and Media Limited
Comments
There seems to have been little chance for the HUGE majority of responsible dog breeders and owners to have their say.
After all there is no dog more in-bred than the estate mongrel and the calls to have a dog from a pound may seem like the responsible thing to do however, these dogs have unknown backgrounds and unknown breeding. It is not known what their temperament is like or will become or if they are carrying any inherited genetic defects but, hey why let the facts get in the way of a good story?
- "People are carrying out breeding which would, first of all, be entirely illegal in humans, and secondly is absolutely insane from the point of view of the health of the animals... In some breeds, they are paying a terrible, terrible price in genetic disease."
-"The show world is about an obsession," he said, "about beauty, and there is a ridiculous concept that this is how we should judge dogs... It takes no account of [their] temperament, or fitness for purpose potentially as a pet animal... and that, to me, makes absolutely no sense at all." His prognosis: if breeders keep up their policy of inbreeding dogs, their genes will come to a dead stop.''
Can you deny these points?
I'm sure you love your dogs but theres the bigger picture to take in.
For your second point, to say that the show world takes no account of temperament, fitness or pet potential is ridiculous. Temperament is one of the most important factors in what it takes to be successful in the show ring, and temperament is one of the most clearly obvious characteristics to judge by watching the dogs outside the ring. Surely if you have been to a dog show you cannot say that the dogs you have seen are aggressive, nervous or unreliable. There is 40 years of Crufts coverage to confirm that view. Fitness and health are not only crucial ingredients in a successful show dog, they the two of the most important traits we seek out as breeders when contemplating a mating.
Most of our dogs are sold into loving pet homes, where we maintain contact with their owners throughout their lives. In a litter of 6, perhaps one or 2 will become show dogs. To suggest that we could possibly find homes for our puppies if they were not suitable for lives as pet dogs implies that you have allowed sensational headlines to educate you on what you think you know about the world of purebred dogs and dogs shows.
The domesticated dog almost certainly comes from the wolf. The wolf like other wild dogs is a perfect all rounder - strength,endurance,agility,intelligence,
The breed that I show does not fall into any of these categories. In my breed temperament, endurance, strength, stamina and an ability to perform the task they were bred to do are PARAMOUNT. Beauty comes very much down the list. My breed has remained virtually unchanged and is very like its ancestors in both appearance and form.
The big picture is that in the UK is that a sizable minority of people buy dogs from puppy farmers or breeders who have little knowledge of the dogs background and with very little thought for the dogs breeding or potential heath problems. This programme will serve to push more responsible dog owners to buy from them.
As for these new "21st Century breeds" who knows what health outcomes they will have in future years? Will it double up existing breed problems?
I agree that certain breeds maybe 8 from more than 200 dog breeds have some genetic problems. The VAST majority of pedigree dogs are happy, healthy and fit for purpose. Why is this majority not being heard? I would suggest that the reason is, there is another agenda being peddled by the BBC and its so called animal rights minions. Why wouldn't the BBC work with the kennel club? I would suggest that their agenda had been set and minds firmly made up long before the programme was researched and aired.
If the changes to the Bulldog come in, it will resemble more the recent addition to the Bulldog family, the Dorset Old Tyme Bulldog rather than the English Bulldog, in fact it is highly likely that within generations if breeders started breeding out characteristics that make the English Bulldog what it is, it will look like a very large Staffordshire in my view.
It is cruel though that a breed cannot mate or deliver pups normally, this is overbreeding gone too far and the animals quality of life cannot be what it should be as intended if it cannot do two natural things without assistance, it takes a few generations to see new changes and what is round the corner for these assisted animals I wonder, certainly from my understanding, a lot of these breeds deliver a high amount of dead pups at delivery which indicates that genetics have been so tampered with that life is getting less viable for some.
The only alternative is to legislate an authority into place, it is a monumental task.
Also weren't Dogues, certain breeds of Mastiffs and Rhodesian Ridgebacks classed as dangerous dogs? I was forced to destroy my Ridgeback in the eighties being told it was a banned breed, why is it allowed in Crufts?
WHat a shame that the BBC, which was once considered a reputable and unbiased medium as fallen so easily into the hands of the propaganda of ARA's. how DARE the BBC try to dictate what breeds should be alloowed to be shown at the World's most prestigious and largest dog show?
If the BBC think this is good moral ground, why then does the BBC not refuse to show all Football matches if ONE footballer is accused of rape or violence???
I wonder.....
WHat a pity this one-sided programme and the RSPCA and the BBC are fai.ling to show the public the real harm of puppy farms, and to educate the public that by buying puppies from irresponsible sources is perpetuating bad breeding practices and that responsible breeders undertake to health screen ALL their breeding stock. Perhaps a programme to discover just how much is done in that repsect ; how much is involved in health and genetic screening by responsible breeders as opposed to those puppy farmers, would be a better approach to preserving the welfare of all dogs.
but while,as you say, some inbreeding is frowned upon for humans, that in no way leaves the human genome free from grotesque manipulation for show points- think of the effects of all the different female features so prized by men seeking trophy wives over the centuries: today's skinny pseudo boys with hips so slim that caesarian birth would be a must even if it wasn't fashionable, and breasts unable to produce milk without hormonal supplements- let alone the sheer inability to ovulate and/or conceive at all which has resulted in the multimillion dollar assisted schemes- yet nobody questions the obvious long term effects of those difficulties being passed on down the generations of those crippled women's female offspring...?
mvd (mitral Valve Disease)
h/d (hip Dysplasia)
Luxating patellas
Hip Dysplasia has been eradicated from the breed over the last ten years or more, as for Luxating Patellas, I have not witnessed one in 5 years of being involved in showing but have found it to be in many rescued puppy farmed cavaliers, that I have taken on, helped to get better and rehomed as well as mvd.
It is the puppy farmers and inexperienced people, who are the ones doing the damage, by either not caring or by sheer ignorance. I meet them every day.... when walking mine... and they say..oh. I would like to breed her to fred blogs down the road.. oh nooooooooo I think... pleaseeee nooooo.. but will they be told? Noooooo they know nothing about the genetics, the lines healthy or unhealthy behind their dog or fred blogs dog down the road.... they know nothing about what can go wrong, and what you should be testing your dog for before you even consider breeding from.. but do they care...? Nooooo
Is called sheer ignorance.. and you cannot assume that everyone that who owns or shows a cavalier is tarnished with the same brush.. I can honestly say.. that I am not..and I know nobody who is...
and as for SM, MRI testing will only show whether a dog has it at that time, not if it is even a carrier.. so come on... oh not to mention about all the work the cavalier clubs in uk have done over the years to try to raise awareness about all of the above issues.. but is is like banging your head against a brick wall... I love my dogs, they come first in our home.. and in our home is where they are.. not in a concrete puppy farmed block.
Might we NOT consider a raft of NEW Breeds? Call them 21st Century Dogs? Using the best of the old but breeding OUT the health problems?
The present breeds [Including our old friend the bulldog] could re-appear 'Invigorated' & [Using modern knowledge of genetics] Free of health problems.
Many of the present ills are historic to an era when less was understood about these matters, Sadly many breeders & the fancy seem to have 'Closed Minds', When they realise that the public are ahead of them, those with a more flexible mind will resume the lead in breeding, this time using modern approaches & Vetinary guidance.
What was true for British Leyland is true for British Dogs, The 'Credit Crunch' offers an opportunity to take stock.
Arthur Wright.
Another of the fantastic hybrids seen in the last week was an American / British bulldog. Wider hips, longer legs, far better breathing but still stocky. By far one of the best looking, best temped most intelligent dogs i have seen for a long time.
I completly agree with the idea of dog shows as it gives an oppertunity for our pets to push themselves interlectually and enables them to develope and socialise but i do feel that it is about time that there are further guidlines to. Its about time that so called dog "lovers" started to appresiate canines for what they really are. As far as i am concerned "breeders" who choose to give puppies away for free as they are now good enough to sell simply because they do not have a ridged back (rodhesian ridgebacks) often do not care for the husbandary of ther dogs as much as they should. Ridgeback actually have a ridged back as a form of spinebifida. It is in my opinion that further research should be done and that breeding should be monitored far better.
Bring back the hybrid!
L Pitcher.
Did anyone note the Clumber Spaniel breeder's comment regarding a 2004 initiative from the Kennel Club to help isolate a specific medical issue within the Clumber breed? Why is no news outlet reporting about the funding and grants the Kennel Club has offered and supported YEARS before this recent 'discovery' that yes, some dogs have health problems, and some of them are purebred!?!?!?!
The mainstream media is doing the UK a major disservice by allowing the views of PETA, the RSPCA, and independent documentary makers who profit from making sensational pieces to be plastered across their front covers. Shame on the Independent for allowing itself to be swept up in this effort to not only end dog shows , but to end the keeping of pet dogs as we know it.
http://www.consumerfreedom.com/news_det
I agree that there are some irresponsible breeders out there HOWEVER it must be noted that only the highest of quality dogs qualify for shows. If anyone who had written this article had bothered to research and contact the KC and Crufts they would see the locve and affection these owners give to their dogs, they are not bred to perfection, MANY breeders breed for good healthty animals above perfection.
I am fairly new to the showing world, but even I can see what a wonderful community it is, and how well btoh the Kennel Club adn individual breed councils are in ensuring healthy dogs are produced and irresponsible breeders are punished.
This bitch, although she did suffer from health problems, was bred to another pet shepherd belonging to someone they knew, and you guessed it.....no health testing. Imagine their surprise when the bitch they kept from this litter also had health problems!! No doubt this bitch will also be bred from to make some money, no doubt they will use any old geman shepherd they come across, and so it continues.....as it does in 1000's of back yards with 100's of breeds and combinations of breeds around the country. In several generations of back yard breeding, with no health testing and no knowledge of pedigrees, a whole raft of unhealthy dogs were produced with not a dog show, show breeder or the KC in sight!!
This irresponsible breeding is what gives people like me, who breeds once every two years at the most, who spend a fortune on health testing, who only breeds healthy dogs, has the puppies also tested and vet screened before sale, who gives a money back guarentee if the new owners vet finds anything wrong with the puppy that my vet might have missed (never happened yet), who insists on having the puppy/adult dog back if the owners circumstances change and they can no longer look after the dog, who is being eaten out of house and home by failed show dogs, rescues and those who are too old to show any more because they are also my pets and I care about them too much to pass them on just because they can no longer breed or show. There are 1000's of breeders out there like me, but the media are not interested in us, not enough of a big story in covering breeders who do care and do have the future and the health of their breed foremost in their minds is there Independent????? If the RSPCA and the individuals involved in dragging this lifestyle through the mud put this much effort into cracking down on the biggest source of sick and cripled dogs in this country, imports of pups from puppy farms in Ireland who are sold in sickly states and very often do not survive, or the puppy farms in this country who breed bitches to death and sell sick puppies too young to people silly enough to go there in the first place who then spend a fortune on treatment to try and keep the poor creatures alive, then we might get somewhere with animal welfare in the UK!!
As we don't have predominantly white dachsies in the UK, unlike the piebald in the US which is also white with other colours added, these dogs are not as a result of mating dapple to dapple and therefore do not have the sight and hearing problems. Breeders in the US have tried to pass off double dapples as piebalds because they know it is harder to sell double dapples.
There are many more pedigree dogs than dachsies which have major problems brought about by selective breeding. I was disgusted by the programme shown on the BBC, but it was very one sided as no follow up has been done showing the breeders side of things and the DNA testing we are doing before a mating takes place to prevent ugly conditions coming to the fore such as PRA cord1 in the mini longhaired dachshund.
Any one making comments in a newspaper should do their homework first or otherwise they come over as ignorant of the subject they are reporting.
Rhodach
Dachshunds are not one of the so-called “at risk” breeds.
Dachshunds do not have elongated bodies; they have short legs. They are a chondrodystrophic breed, which means the long bones of the body tend to be affected the most and this results in short limbs. It is “genetically programmed” in dwarf breeds such as Dachshunds. Discs degenerate with age in all animals – they lose water, become more fibrous and sometimes mineralised (calcified). The fibrous annulus can also rupture. Degeneration takes place earlier in chondrodystrophic breeds compared with non-chondrodystrophic breeds. As a consequence, Dachshunds can be more prone to back problems at a younger age than other dogs. Keeping them well-exercised, not over-weight and avoiding risks such as climbing stairs, all helps prevent problems. There are a variety of treatments available and most dogs can live pain-free, happy lives should they suffer a back injury.
A particular type of inherited epilepsy – Lafora's Disease – is present in a small number of Miniature Wirehaired Dachshunds. This condition also affects humans (typically teenagers between 12 and 17) and most human sufferers die within 10 years of onset. Miniature Wirehaired Dachshund breeders have contributed blood samples to aid the research into this distressing condition and this has resulted in the development of a pre-natal DNA screening test. We hope that MW Dachshund breeders will also soon be able to make use of this DNA test in order to be able to eradicate this disease. This is a superb example of the contribution pedigree dog breeders are making to the improvement of health and welfare.
Dachshunds do not suffer from hereditary deafness. The only case where this might occur would be the result of the mating of two dogs carrying the Dapple (merle) gene. However, this is not permitted in the UK Dachshund Breed Standard because of the health risks associated with “Double Dapple” matings. Dachshunds are notoriously strong-willed, however, and it it is entirely possible for them to “go deaf” when it suits them. This is usually a temporary condition and the sound of a dinner dish being filled soon restores normal hearing.
Ian Seath
Chairman, Dachshund Breed Council
the Lafora's gene, I know the gene is patented and if breeders would like
to take up the offer a test they need to get in touch with our colleague Dr Minassian in Toronto.
It is a misconception to think that the downturn for the AKC is somehow a result of more stringent standards. If anything, it is the opposite - a realization that registration with AKC doesn't mean very much. AKC and show breeders have a kind of schizophrenic relationship - show breeders want to discourage back yard breeders and puppy mills, while AKC depends on them for it's life blood of revenue. AKC is way behind the KC when it comes to responsible and pro-active concern for breed health.
Out of the entire UK, the people who breed pedigree dogs care more about their welfare and health than anyone else. Sadly, the general public will go and buy a Bull, Cavalier, Pug etc off the internet or out of a local paper and there WILL be problems, because these sort of breeders are only in it for the money.
If we all bought pups of 'responsible' breeders then it would be far less likely to happen.
Unfortunately, these articles and programmes have scewed people's beliefs and actually made things a hell of a lot worse.
Come to Crufts, talk to people who care, and urge the RSPCA - andf the BBC for that matter - to target the REAL villains, for goodness sake...
We have owned this breed since 1970 and shown at Crufts nearly every year since, its difficult for me to attend for health reasons being able to watch on TV at home did help not only for me but countless others who are unable to get there, not just for showing.
Mastiffs are not cheap to keep but worth every penny if you are a dedicated owner for any breed, they come first. Now we see support given to all the mongrela with fancy name flooding the market, do they have any health tests, no something wrong send them to rescue. When we were breeding we got the purchasers to sign that if they had to part with the mastiff they would come back to us, the oldest was 10 years old, can you imagine they parted with this dog as they had got a dobe bitch from a rescue and she was in season.
I hope to get to the show this year as I want it to have our support. If you buy a pedigree you have some idea what you are getting, but then you are stopping a backyard breeder homing their mongrel.
There are few breeders who don't care, our puppies are born in the house and spend the first 3 weeks of their precious lives with one of us. We never bred unless we had guaranteed homes and they have been a very important part of our lives
My dogs are not inbred, nor deformed and are not mutants in any shape or form.
It is detestable how much damage false journalism and scaremongering tv programmes can do.
Never mind the double standards of the BBC, who will not televise Crufts but are quite happy to have a Show Dog (St Bernard) on one of their award winning programmes (Eastenders)
As for Pedigree, they have made a vast fortune out of breeders like myself, they give us nice little trinkets with their logos all over them, and we give them the names of our new puppy owners, so they can get to them first, and sell their food.They have just made a marketing decision to move to the pet and rescue market because they think pedigree dogs are about to have a down turn in popularity, thats all, Maybe they should change their name to mutts mate, and go the whole hog!.
Its a decision I think they will live to regret, but hey ho, there are plenty more dog food manifactures makeing food that your dog was never ment to eat, and that many vets are now finding responcible for alsorts of illnesses in dogs.If the media RSPCA and others had anything constructive realistic and workable to say, Im sure dog breeders would be more than happy to listen, as it is, we have nutters telling us that no more dogs should be bred for the next 10 years, till all the strays are homed, if all pedigree dog breeders listend to that what would happen is ALL dogs would die out, because everything including puppies born today, would be to old to bred from in 10 years time!, but they dont think things through, and they dont know dogs, they just like to bump their gums and look important.
Some people (some careless, short-sighted, mean people, should I say) breed popular dogs and hybrid dogs, (such as labradoodles, cocka-poos, chiyorkies, whatever-poo's) for money. They're called 'backyard breeders'. Now, the rest of the showers, who actually care for their dogs, and their breed's welfare, show their dogs so they can keep to the standard (which is why they're there- no point breeding purebred dogs if you breed bad-types? Another point against the back-yard breeders), make sure their dogs can work (or do whatever the breed was originally intended for), and so they can HELP their breed recover from what people made it all those years ago.
These breeds above ("The bad breeds- breeds most at risk") are't exactly modern? it's not crufts's 'fault' they exist? These breeds were bred aeons ago by farmers, hunters, whatever- all with features that benfit their original purposes. Over time, people have let these breeds become a part of their family, and in return, bred their own line, for whatever reason. Some do it for money, some do it because they care, some work them etc. The breeds have changed dramatically, even greatly visible over the last century, mainly because of personal preference (often by breeders that don't put their dogs welfare in both short-term and long-term). It's just evolution, but I guess with human interference.
Are you suggesting that we all scrap the purebreeds, that some of us that really care about and have dedicated thier lives to producing healthy, loyal, companions? Don't you think there are enough mixed breeds in shelters already? If breeds were diminshed, how would anyone know which dog would suit their lifestyle? Or which personality their new puppy would have? A family more suited to a Lab could be supplied with a Boxer type dog, how would they cope with its energy? People would just start again with breeds, getting rid of pedigrees could easily be the end of dogs as pets altogether, no-one would know what they were getting into. And what was it?
"What happened to the British reputation as a nation of fond, doting dog-lovers? What has made some breeders turn round and savage the face of their presiding body? And can any combination of bone, Winalot and walkies make everyone Best Friends again? " (Ruff Trade- a crisis for Crufts)
Really, go and tell someone that loves their breed, and loves dogs, that they have to scrap their purebreeds and go with mutts forever. You'd be lucky to ever see a dog again if that were to happen, and those who did breed them, if not creating more breeds, could only be backyard breeders. Do you think its's right to breed mongrels? Why would you do it? Its basically designers dogs, just with no aim. Breeding for the hell of it. What makes a mixie any healthier than a purebreed anyway? Cross a GSD with hip problems to a Boxer with epilepsy, if you think you'll get a litter of healthy dogs then your living in a dream world. There can never be an end to pedigree dogs as long as there are humans, unless everyone were to put their dogs to sleep. Surely that's more like the Holocaust?
If you don't want a 'pedigree', then go to the shelter and rescue a mixie. And if you decide to breed it, then your as low as the people you hate, right? You can't make people that care give up that easily. I'm genuinely shocked that people think they have the right to categories the entire population of dog-owners like that, I don't suppose you bothered to look outside of the circle? Responsible breeders and Backyard breeders are on 2 totally different wavelengths. Maybe make that clear next time you jump on dog-owners? Ever heard the expression 'think before you speak'?
Having had in our family Dachshund / Sussex/West highland/Welsh springer/Clumbers and Pugs, we have had none of the problems mentioned in the BBC programme, but as accredited breeders have rarely breed and thought carefully prior to bringing puppies into the world.Breed standards are designed and meant to be in the best of interests of dogs but unfortunately are open to misinterpretations and there should be more rules in place before you were able to register a litter.
Dogs have health problems, period. How much healthier is a mixed-breed dog than a purebred? First off, purebreds are more predictable, because we know whats in them. Vets know what they should defend against. However, breeders don't just let these health problems ravage the populations of their breed. A reputable breeder will NOT breed a dog who has a hereditary disease or defect, so as not to pass it on to their posterity.
I also love mixed-breed and shelter dogs as much as, and possibly more than purebreds. There really should be no distinction between the two.
If all the supporters of this article and all of this nature truly want to HELP dogs, they shouldn't be attacking those who love them the most. Work with reputable breeders and dog people, and shelters and rescue, and attack the irresponsible breeders and puppy mills. Just think, if we take away all reputable dog breeders, and shelters are therefore emptied substantially, where will people buy dogs? Pet stores, backyard breeders? It's scary to think about, and it should not, and will not ever happen. Let's work together, and not fight.
Why this problem is in dog is the same in human. Maybe people should stop worrying about breeding dogs and worry more about the human race. The number of over weight people, back problem, skin problem, the list goes on diseases in human. Yes i show dogs and i breed reasonable hunting dog. Oh ya I'm only 14 years old and i love my dogs.
1) I thought that the British should understand what is "tradition" and "culture". Pure bred dogs are the legacy of past generations, results of dedicated work of breeders who are gone long time ago. They bred dogs to certain purposes, making them suitable to work they were to do. Maybe this work is no longer necessary (same as horse's work is not longer necessary), but does it mean pure breeds should be forgotten, more... eradicated from te Earth? Generations of clever people left their legacy in different forms: painting, music, pure bred animals... Baroque opera is no less "freaky" than some dog breeds. Requires special voices and techniques. Should we forget this art just because it is so "exaggerated"?
2) No breed standard was meant to "exaggerate" certain features. Breed standards are functional and describe dogs most fit to fulfill their original work, be it giving company, pleasure etc. Yes, breeders have gone too far, and some breeds are at bigger risk of certain conditions. But it is enough to take several steps back, and NOT sentence pure breeds into vanishing.
3) Inbreed in pure bred dogs. Do you think that wild animals breed at random? Wolf packs are probably more inbred that any breed, for their members breed close for generations. Populations of pure bred dogs mix through importations and the level of inbreeding (if you calculate it, and not just write what you may think!) is pretty low, if any.
4) Horses, poultry, farm animals - are they going to be next?
5) KC and other canine organisations are easy targets. Do you think that dog mills and puppy farm will stop their production the moment KC gives in?
Something you really must appreciate here, is that there is a multitude of people out there breeding dogs regularly. They do not Kennel club register their puppies, They do not pay tax, they do not attend dog shows and they do not even have to pretend to be concerned with any kind of health testing. Do you think that the Kennel club will be able to get them to jump through hoops? Will Jemima Harrison... Don't be silly. Will the pedigree dog be much improved after you've trashed the people that actually give a toss? What you have here, are people targeting one section of dog production in this country. It's easier to take on a collective group then tackle a national problem. It's also easier to get a reaction from people who do actually care about what they're doing and who are not primarily motivated by making money.
Overall i was ok with the documentary. I'd be happy to see many many changes take place. However i found the nazis/eugenics comparison extremely weird. Infact, it is so bizarre and out of left field that i believe it was chosen very deliberately to turn the British people against dog shows. Of course it also made this documentary look like it was dealing with something far more sinister and dangerous then it really was, thus making it seem far more important and serious. It made the dog show community as a whole, seem like evil villains trying to engineer a sinister master race!
Which brings me neatly to the comments by James Serpell. I do not know who James is, but my guess is that he was fresh off a Discovery channel nazi weekend when he made his contribution! If i may quote this man "it's all about maintaining the purity of these blood lines" he also said ""these pure breeds, these pure races of dogs, and making damn sure that they don't cross with anything else because a cross-bred animal was considered a mongrel and therefore inferior." Again, program makers trying to conjure up images of concentration camps and nazi officers. The use of the word "race" is not one i would usually associate with dog fancy, but hey. Let me just explain something here. If you want a labrador retreiver, you have to mate two labrador retreivers together. It's really not rocket science James! If you cross in something else, you will no longer have labrador retreivers, it's that simple. I take it that the breeders of horses (lets see you take on the racing world.. tee hee) cats, cattle, pigs, sheep etc are also practicing eugenics? Only, they keep pedigrees also!
People choose pedigree breeds of dog because they like the looks or characteristics of a particular breed. You know when you buy a puppy how it will turn out. With a cross bred you cannot be sure how big it will be or anything else. If a dog is a dog is a dog, then why do Guide dogs for the blind, the police the armed services have preferences for particular breeds? Ohhhh but no, it is far more sinister then that according to these docu makers. People stand around at dog shows talking about protecting "ze purity of ze poodle at all costs!"
These people had a point to make, but they could have done it without absolutely demonising a bunch of ordinary and diverse people who are doing something that they have never believed to be evil or connected to nazism, concentration camps and Uber races. I think the documentary makers should feel some shame for that inference.
I'm a dog show person. I grew up in a council house, never "made good", don't drive a 4x4, don't wear green wellies. Subscribe to The league against cruel sports and volunteer at the RSPCA. I love my dogs, i'd never part with them for anyone, i'd never do anything that wasn't in their best interest. I'll be at Crufts with my little dog, i'm chuffed to bits to have qualified. We'll have a decent day out and at when we get home he and his little brother will be sleeping on the bed with us. Yep, that's right, it will be one big ol' incestuous nazi sleepfest!
Its ok to show a st Bernard on Eastenders, its even ok to have actors point out that it is a show dog, and they could get money for stud fees, but not to show its brothers compeating at a dog show.
Will any of these veggies, and PETA, be at ascot? grayhound race tracks?, bird show, or races, cat shows, ferret shows, horse shows, will they ask farmers to stop inbreeding their cows sheep and pigs?, and as you have said puppypusher, were were the BBCs morals last year when crufts was shown?.
Abunch of sheep, who dont have to brain cells to rub together, squakking about no dogs bred for 10 years, till all the strays are homed, yes an every dog is then too old to breed from, end of dogs!
And PETA think my show dogs would rather be dead, killed by a car on the M42, after they
"libberate" them from my van, than here at home with me getting the best food money can buy, sleeping on big thick beds, and having 4 acres to free run in, the "price" they pay?, they stand still and let someone gently run their hands over them, and then move around a ring to show the world how beautifuly put together and fit and healthy they are, once or twice a month.
Get a life, and if you want to stop dogs suffering, take on the puppy farmers, dog fighters and grayhound breeders and trainers who knock healthy dogs on the head if the dont win them money.
Why on earth would breeders choose to breed unhealthy dogs what point would there be to that?
Bassets are not in-bred as Beverly Cuddy and all the other people who have been 'basset bashing' claim them to be. Its quite obvious no real research has been about the breed at all, most hounds in this country have Int'l pedigree's. Basset in French means 'low set' they have been long and low for hundreds of years and certainly in the last 100 years have barely changed at all? Why dont these people pick on breeds that do actually have health problems, such as bulldogs, pugs but to name a few. If they want to bang on about dogs with too much loose skin why havent they picked on Shar pei's and Neopolitan Mastiffs these breeds do have quite obvious problems such as skin disorders and eye problems but NO not a word has been said about these breeds have they?
As for the bassets not being able to be read by other dogs. What rot!! In my experiance dogs like Malamutes have more problems because there body posture comes off looking aggressive to other dogs whether they are or not. Once again not trying to upset the Mal people. I am more getting at the point they they are more like the "natural" dog and other dog CAN have problems reading them.
I see alot of dogs and cats go through shelters and I would say that there would be Lucky to be 5% were purebred dogs. To me that says one that people know what they are getting out of a purebreed and two that the breeder cares alittle more and will help with the rehoming rather than them just being dumped. I have to say I am a dog lover and I care for alot of the mutt variety. I know the purebreed world is not perfect but who and what is. So rather than condem every dog breeder how about grow up and see where you can help.