Best of Breed or Deformity for Human Pleasure.

[LEE]

I posted this in the BONG..Not News Thread a couple of days ago but it appears that Crufts have decided to provide a perfect example of my concerns.

BONG!......

Dog is crowned "Best dog in world".

I'm keen to know the best of other species now.  Best Mouse?  Best Monkey?

Crufts is one hell of a strange spectacle isn't it?  Even the reasons for it aren't that clear.  They seem to be trying to preserve the integrity of certain breeds whilst, at the same time, conveniently ignoring that these "pure-breeds" were bred from other breeds in the first place, sometimes at the expense of the dog's health for merely aesthetic reasons (a practice perpetuated by this weird beauty pageant).

Congenital deformities of face, back, legs ...etc., bred for, and prized for, some fashionable aesthetic in Doggy World, can lead to some horrible medical conditions.

Today ..

The RSPCA said it was "shocked and appalled" to see a German shepherd with "such poor conformation that it could not move freely winning Best of Breed".

I know a fair bit about German Shepherds, we've had a few in the family because we like the breed. 
However even a German Shepherd not considered "good enough" to show will now generally have rear legs too short and hips too narrow to give it a problem-free old age.  Usually their hips give out and they have problems getting in/out of cars.

The "Best of breed" German Shepherd looked positively disabled as it walked around.

The dog's sloped back of show-line dogs is different to the work-line dog backs, which generally have straighter backs.


How utterly bizarre is it that the so-called home of Dogs, Crufts, helps perpetuate this practice of breeding animals purely for an aesthetic, whether that aesthetic is damaging to the dog or not?

It's clear that a working German Shepherd needs a straighter back and longer legs (and presumably wider hips) for mobility.  How can a "crippled" version of the working animal be deemed "Best of Breed"?

Don't get me started on the fashion for Pug-faced lapdogs that have breathing difficulties due to our quest for the flattest face possible.  These one-time vermin hunters would have difficulty hunting down a Tortoise now.

[Clare]

I was glad to see that Chuckles the hairy slug didn't win.

[pcolbeck]

The KC are a bunch of idiots who don't seem to really care about animal welfare, they also spread disinformation and lies.

They were on the TV last week complaining about Labradoodles saying that they were a bad thing as they were crosses without KC documentation of there family tree so they were more likely to have inherited health issues ! Really, and of course KC approved British Buldogs, German Shepards, Pugs, Labradors etc etc have no inherited heath issues at all. What a crock.
At the same time they are taking views on making Labradoodles a recognised breed. Most UK Labradoodle owners and seem against this as a standard would of course make half of them "wrong" as they come out pretty random (and that's part of the attraction).
The UK Jack Russel society is also up in arms about the KC unilateral deciding it wants to recognise teh JR Terrier and "standardise" the breed to "protect it and ensure there are no inherited heath issues". What rot JRs don't in the main have inherited issues mainly because there is a very large genetic base and since they are working dogs they still get genes from other terriers through cross-breeding to improve there working abilities.
Just take a look at a Lab or a Springer Spaniel form a working strain and compare it to the KC approved show dog standard to see the good the KC do (not).

[Clare]

Every year I watch Crufts in the (vain) hope that this year a real dog will win, I didn't see the GSD being judged but did see a discussion about it later with a vet, a KC person, an 'expert' and a presenter. they all seemed to say 'This dog shouldn't have won' but the person judging that group must have been following breed standards and not one of the discussion group said we need to look at the breed standards.
My guess would be that the breed judge will be carefully set aside, the breed winner for the next couple of years will be a more sensible shape and then it will all slide back to the point we are at now.

I also saw the interview where the KC person effectively said that you shouldn't buy a mongrel as you cannot know their breed history and pure breeds are healthier. Hearing this level of crap coming out of the mouth of an 'expert' was shocking.

There is a programme about Scruffts on C4 tomorrow, might be worth a watch but, as Scruffts comes from the Crufts stable, it won't be long before that is full of deformity and disease as well.

[LEE]

My guess would be that the breed judge will be carefully set aside, the breed winner for the next couple of years will be a more sensible shape and then it will all slide back to the point we are at now.

Unfortunately what will happen is that the "deformed" dog will be in great demand for breeding now, and it's stumpy-leg genetics will be spread far and wide.

In 200 years a Best of Breed GSD will most likely have no rear legs whatsoever and live in perpetual fear of being savaged by a Sheep.

[Eccentrica Gallumbits]

I don't watch Crufts but I did see the furore about the German Shepherds, and I was upset and disgusted by that poor bitch struggling to walk because of deliberately engineered deformities. It was like one of the mutts that appear at the cornucopia at the end of The Hunger Games.

[ian]

I was paying no attention, but I just saw a picture of that German Shepherd. What the fuck is wrong with these people?

[Ben T]

I'm also slightly concerned about the rise in sausage dogs that are getting ever longer and as low as possible. They'll need an extra set of legs in the middle soon to stop them dragging along the ground.

[Ashaman42]

Nah just tie a roller skate around the middle

[Ruthie]

The Scruffts family crossbreed dog of the year is a lovely dog 

[Sergeant Pluck]

Unfortunately what will happen is that the "deformed" dog will be in great demand for breeding now
[/quote]

Sadly I think you are right. What a strange bunch the KC is.

Off on a tangent, and I know this is governed by animal welfare law rather than KC rules (the KC is at heart still fully in favour of chopping bits off animals) but I was surprised to see how many dogs had docked tails. Presumably this is at least partly due to Northern Ireland taking 6 years longer than the rest of the UK to ban the practice.

[Dibdib]

(the KC is at heart still fully in favour of chopping bits off animals)

Except their nuts, apparently, which seems pretty ridiculously arbitrary.

[pcolbeck]

Off on a tangent, and I know this is governed by animal welfare law rather than KC rules (the KC is at heart still fully in favour of chopping bits off animals) but I was surprised to see how many dogs had docked tails. Presumably tahis is at least partly due to Northern Ireland taking 6 years longer than the rest of the UK to ban the practice.

It's not banned in the UK for working dogs just for pet and show dogs. Why the practice every transferred from working dogs to the general population in the first lace beats me.
Its worse in the USA where its fairly common to operate on dogs ears as well to get the correct look ...

[Eccentrica Gallumbits]

And to mutilate cats' feet.