"....Parade of mutants" - RSPCA Chief vet, NEWS24 this morning..

[R1Geezer]

The chief Vet of the RSPCA says that dog breeding for Crufts etc is getting completely out of hand. Certain inbred features are creating "perfect" dogs whose bodies are flawed and they live miserable lives of ill health. He talks of 90% of bull dogs born by cesarian because the heads are too big, a desirable feature apparently! Are these people really animal lovers or personal seekers of vanity via their dogs? Why is this animal cruelty allowed to continue?

[VHG]

>Are these people really animal lovers or personal seekers of vanity via their dogs?

The latter.

These people define what makes a "good" dog (bone structure etc) and then inbreed dogs to improve that feature.

This then makes the dogs life hell by not being able to breath, or their backs cannot cope with their weight.

This is animal cruelty of the worst kind (and I bet many of them think of themselves as animal lovers).

This is part of the reason why the BBC refused to show it on TV last year.

[rov1200]

The true pedigree of a dog is the wolf. You don't see too many of them there.

[fredpuli47]

It continues because breeders have convinced themselves that they aren't doing anything wrong:. "It's always been done that way". What started out as a quest for desirable characteristics; every breed was bred, sometimes with a bit of inbreeding to a bloodline, for a purpose,from cuddly lapdog, to protective Dobermann,to swimming Newfoundland to all the rest; and most of them were first bred in the last 250 years, many more recently; has degenerated to breeding for a look and, worse, for whatever look wins prizes in the show ring. The fashionable shape for several breeds has changed in my lifetime, according to the prevailing whim of the current judges (all breeders themselves and all with an interest in promoting whatever their own dogs' bloodline is currently producing).You want a GSD or bulldog which looks like the original ? Or a golden retriever that's not best described as a white retriever ? Keep hoping !
It's not as simple a battle as stopping docking of tails for all manner of breeds, including such as poodles, and, goodness, that was hard enough.

[youngmafbog]

Ah yes, the good old BBC that did an 'expose' then had to issue an appology the other day foeced by OFCOM.
The problem is, where do you draw the line? This is the same problem with the Dangerous Dog definition.
Not all pedigree dogs are inbred. I have two and neither has any inbreeding going back 5 generations. They are fine, however they would not be considered show dogs as they dont have enough white in them, but I know others rfom the litter did have and they were used for shows.
Two of the breeds really suffering are King Charles spanials whose brain does not fit in the skull and Bull dogs as mentioned. But again there are many of this breed that are fine and live a happy life to a ripe old age.
Although it cannot be denied it happens I would like to see some stats, in fures, no manipulated %'s. I suspect much of this is coming from the likes of those that love foxywoxy and dont really look further than their own tiny view on life.

[tigerlily11]

I love dogs no matter how they look and I don't agree in breeding a certain pedigree for attributes that will lead to health problems. These breeders must be aware of the problems these dogs will have but don't seem to care because all they want to see is a large price tag.
Many more dogs have problems not just the two pointed out. Alsatians have bone and hip problems because of selective breeding. Poodles suffer diabeties due to selective breeding.Shar Pei dogs get skin problems due to selective breeding to create more wrinkles. Pekingese and pugs also suffer breathing problems because the flatness of the face is considered good breeding.
How about all the other things these so called dog lovers do to dogs because it looks good. Tail docking and cutting certain tendons to make ears stand up right.
This is not loving your dog. This is making money.

[R1Geezer]

Not having a go at pedigree generally YMB. It's the deliberate interbreeding for specific features I'm referring to.

Not sure how much dosh they earn tiger, I know there's prize money for competition etc but I doubt you could live on it. Still I don't really know I guess.

[R1Geezer]

well that's a first! I agree with Ahms 100%, well said!

[fredpuli47]

youngmafbog, what's wrong with loving foxywoxy ? Are you breeding wild rabbits on your estate and want a lot more? LOL
Yes, enforcement may be a problem. What do you do to someone who's mated a [female dog: we can't use the right word on here] with its uncle or great uncle or its half-brother? Or do we allow one of those?
An incidental problem is that some breeds have a very shallow gene pool. Years ago Hungarian Pulik here were all from stock which was closely related, in purely genetic terms, sharing the same good and bad genes. That must be true of some breeds now.We may have to demand more imports from the breed's country of origin or somewhere further afield !

[fredpuli47]

RIG, few breeders of KC registered pedigree dogs make any, or much, money from it. [Puppy farms do,from their mass-produced puppies]The prize money's not worth having ! ( Best in Show at Cruft's :£100, Best in Breed £25). But they create a self-imposed restriction, in that someone with a female dog who wishes to breed will go to a show-winning dog,preferably a champion. And someone with an 'ordinary' dog won't get takers when they offer it at stud.So the system is self-perpetuating. The same genes are being employed, inevitably.And you'll see the same names cropping up surprisingly often at big shows, even in very popular breeds.