Post Christmas Blues

[wildwood]

I know I'll get spifflicated but I have a dislike for dogs that are purposely bred for certain standards that are detrimental to the animal's health or comfort - actually, it's the breeders, not the dogs.

We all know about the back problems of dachshunds and breathing problems of the 'dog that chased a parked car' syndrome.
Am I the only one who thinks it is cruel to breed there types?

I mean, this is a lovely dog but why on earth would anybody want to purposely bred it?
http://i45.tinypic.com/28k3i1s.jpg

[boxtops]

I agree with you, wildwood - same as cats who have squashed-in faces, causes breathing problems.

[silliemillie]

I totally agree Wildwood. Why would anyone want to see their dog suffering for the sake of 'beauty'?

Its bad enough when your dog is ill, you wish you could swap places, but some people think its ok for it to suffer because its a breed trait,

[daisya]

Agree with you completely, definitely cruel IMO no matter how long these breeds have been around..any animal bred for looks in detriment to their health and well being is cruel as far as I'm concerned.

[Iluvspikey]

I totally agree with you, and think the Kennel Club has a lot to answer for. Not only the characteristics that are bred into them, I also disagree with things like tail docking.

[rojash]

I agree too.

[askyourgran]

I agree, but the breeders make a lot of money for those breeds eg. bulldogs, pekinese etc. It should be the kennel club or a recognised body to place a restriction on the breeding of dogs who have known health problems because of their breed.

[FredPuli43]

There was a TV documentary, a few years back, which showed how breeders deliberately bred, and inbred, their dogs to meet a breed standard. These practices produced the defects to which you refer, among others, and perpetuated them. Even worse, the breed standard itself sometimes demanded that the dog have a feature,such as the flattened muzzle of the bulldog, which created difficulty for the animal.

The result was that the BBC refused to broadcast Cruft's Dog Show , organised by the Kennel Club, and sponsors refused to sponsor it. This had the result that the Kennel Club announced that it would raise standards, but it is not very clear what effect their doing so has had.

The fact remains that the modern German Shepherd Dog, and the modern form of several other breeds, are markedly different from the originals, and not one of these changes has been for the better.

[wildwood]

Mmm... seems I am not alone then. Yes, boxy, this goes for cats and birds too.

Unfortunately, often the proud owners of these show animals did the cheapo thing and got their prized possession from an unscrupulous breeder out to make a quick profit, rather then from one who studies the pedigrees and tries to avoid unfavourable genetic traits.

Rant over. Hope all the pets are getting through the festive season ok and haven't been let lose on the goodies all at once.

[TheHangman]

Dachshunds I believe were originally bred for badger baiting. Small enough to get down badger holes and strong enough to pull the badger out. Barbaric I know. Such as the kennel club and crufts have for many years set breeding standards that have been the ruin of many dogs. The British bulldog is a prime example. Unfortunately many of the activities some of these dogs were bred for either no longer exist or are in decline and many breeds have become fashion accessories, meaning they have to be cute or ugly, small or fat. As these dogs are often in limited supply due to high prices inbreeding is also a factor. We love to play god don't we.

[janbee]

I think everyone(apart from the breeders) will agree with you Wildwood. It's cruel to say the least.

[woofgang]

this year the KC had the winners from certain dog breeds vetted by impartial vets after the judging. If the winning animal failed vetting, then they were pulled from group and best in show and that breed was not represented at group or show which is a huge thing in the pedigree dog world.
http://thebark.com/content/crufts-show-dogs-disqualified

It will be interesting to see what happens this year. The owner of the disqualified bulldog, a dutch lady, was very vocal and her supporters threatened legal action but nothing happened.

[woofgang]

sorry not this year, I meant 2012 crufts, this year hasn't happened yet!