Pedigree Dogs Exposed

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romeosangiovese

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Pedigree Dogs Exposed

A very interesting and enlightening documentary. Please don't breed dogs with genetic problems that can be passed on! I have no issues with showing but am appalled that dogs with such terrible problems are allowed to breed and also win titles. I couldn't help but cry at the sight of the poor CKC spaniel whining in pain trying to scratch in hopes it'll make it go away and at the boxer when it had its epileptic fit. I have newfound respect for those with dogs that have epilepsy. I'm not sure I'm strong enough to see my dog go through that once, much less several times or often. :(
 
yeah, I saw this video a while ago, and I remember thinking " I couldnt stand to see my babies like that" when the boxer was having seizures.
 
It seems to me that the primary purpose of conformation showing is to determine a dog's fitness for breeding based on the breed standard. It would makes sense to me if the various registration bodies were to exclude dogs with known genetic problems from conformation. Of course, not all genetically-linked problems are readily apparent, so unscrupulous breeders could still show and win championships with dogs that shouldn't be bred.
 
This is shameful !!

This is irresponsible breeding !! These poor furkids rely on us for care not to make them have diseases that actually are hurting and killing them !! I'm just so sorry for these poor dears that they have to suffer for greed.:cry::mad:I'm ashamed of such irresponsible breeding and I cry for these poor animals that are suffering . I'm so sorry little ones. May your stories be heard and stopped.
 
I've bookmarked this for when I've got an hour to watch it (that is, when I'm not spending on hour or more here! :wink2:)

It certainly looks interesting from the first couple of minutes, but I will reserve judgment until I see the whole thing. I'm cautious about these things as the media has a tendency to over-sensationalize, and doesn't always hold a balanced view.

e.g. I've known mutts with epilipesy and people too. It's not limited to pedigreed dogs.
 
The doco is being shown in Australia in the next month - and there are researchers here that have started undertaking similar research. I think it is good to bring this out in the open.

Interestingly at the time it came out the Kennel Club said it instigated the research itself because it was concerned about breeding practices but found it had no power to do anything.

Did you see the limited heritage of rough collies - they could be considered an endangered breed because all the current dogs show lineage to only 50 dogs - too small a gene pool. Would have been interesting to see what the lineage of Shelties is like. I think that is why its good the US has a wider height range for shelties as it opens up the gene pool.

The report the doco is based on is an interesting read and also on Youtube is a seminar held around the same time in response to the doco.
 
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This was shown in the UK earlier this year and as you can imagine caused quite a stir. The BBC stated the programme, which they produced, as part of the reason why they stopped airing Crufts this year.

While I have nothing against the programme itself (though some would state it is rather one-sided and did not show the people who really cause damage to a breed such as puppy farmers and backyard breeders out for money) I think it was rather beyond a television company's scope when the BBC started dictating to the Kennel Club how they should run Crufts. When the KC refused to give in to the BBC's demands (which included banning a long list of breeds from the show ring) Crufts was axed from the BBC schedule.

Personally, I suspect there was more to it than that. The BBC had reduced coverage over the last few years and I think they wanted to get out of the Crufts contract and the programme was a good excuse. Anyway I watched Crufts online and enjoyed it far better than they heavily edited BBC version.

Since the programme there has been a lot of debate culminating in the KC reviewing all breed standards and correcting them to improve the overall health of a breed. As an example, in the labrador breed where over-weight dogs were being put in the ring because they showed 'substance' the standard now indicates that the dog should actually be able to perform a day's picking up work on a shoot.

Not all breeders and breed clubs are happy with the changes. I was reading the other day that the German Shepherd breed clubs have (I believe) refused to accept the changes to the standard which would prevent dogs from being produced with over-angulated back legs and back problems. They have basically disagreed with the KC over it. The KC has stated that if the changes are not accepted they will withdraw CCs from the breed as of 2010.

The dog scene in the UK is certainly changing, I do think certain changes were needed where breeders had become extreme. I would like to see bulldogs that could breathe easily, pugs with slightly longer snouts, dachshunds with shorter backs so they suffered less from slipped discs, etc, etc.

Whether you agree with Pedigree Dogs Exposed or not, it certainly awoke the general public to the state of certain breeds and has a been a catalyst for changes that probably would have happened gradually anyway, but have now happened faster.

The only downside is that some people took the view that buying a pedigree dog from a breeder who shows was a 'bad thing' so they bought from BYB instead as they thought the dogs would be healthier because the breeder had no intention to show them!!!
 
Yes I'd be interested to see lineage of shelties too. I'll see if googling brings up anything. I'm going to look for that report and seminar! Thanks Caro!

Phebe, I agree. Maybe the answer is to insist on DNA tests, though that is costly and as the kennel club suggested might drive the breeders away. :rolleyes2: I know many breeders who will test for certain things that the breed is predisposed to on their own accord before breeding, which is heartening.

Barb, do watch the show! Even if you take it with a pinch of salt, which I did, there's a message in there that I think breeders should sit up and take note - don't breed dogs you know have problems!

Incidentally, I'm very surprised at the German Shepherds. Their legs (in the show) look much worse than Romeo's!!! They look like they are walking on their hocks. Degenerative myelopathy hits GSDs frequently based on my reading on Romeo's problem.
 
Hi All, It has been a while since I have posted, but I really feel I need to say something here....:smile2:

First of all, I am going to put on my flame suit as what I want to say may not go down too well.. I also consider myself a responsible breeder, in that I not only look at the proposed parents of the litter but also study the family tree of both parents... I endeavor to breed to the best and most suitable dogs and test for those diseases that we have testing for...

I have seen PDE some time ago and it is alarming to see such as what they have shown...BUT.. it is what they have not shown that needs to be seen also.... The many, many dedicated breeders who DO test and who DO put all their love, money and devotion into their dogs and their health and well being..The large percentage of pedigree dogs shown by breeders are living just as the pets they sell, in their homes as part of the family.

The program talks about these problems being caused by breeders breeding close relatives or incestuous breeding..... Well guess what., Humans are the only animals that have a problem with that... How do you think wild animals maintain their type.. lions, apes, elephants etc. they all have a very limited gene pool and go to great length to maintain it or else they would no longer exist... Many people buy a pure (pedigree) dog because they know the pups will look and act like the parents... not so in cross breeds... I know in Aust and I assume the rest of the world, if you walked into an Animal Shelter, Dog Pound or whatever, I bet that the large majority of dogs there would be cross breeds.....why??????

He in Aust. this morning a TV channel had a program for "Mutts" and a Vet that had 3 designer dogs with him claiming that cross breeding makes for sounder dogs. (he did not happen to mention that this dog now has the DNA from both parents and brings with them possibly new genetic defects... He had a Labrador Mix that he said was dog aggressive and that it must come from the Labrador side and a Poodle Mix who he said suffered from separation anxiety which he said came from the Poodle side.... so what will the puppies of these two dogs produce???????....... Please,... do not let this program lead you to believe that placing rapid, hard restrictions on breeding is going to be to the betterment of the dog world or you may find a world WITHOUT DOGS. For whatever we do, nature will always balance things out.... It is my belief that we have to have a certain amount of genetic defects in our gene pools (including Humans).. for no living thing is perfect...
The Powers that be are expecting Dog Breeders to eliminate things that even nature will not play with......( Flame suit well and truly wrapped around me now.!!!!!!:wink2:
 
It was very interesting to me to see the backlash in the US when PDE was first aired in the UK. The US dog magazines were furious, proclaimed the documentary "sensationalist", and accused Jemima Harrison (the doc's producer) of collusion with the animal rights bogeymen in an ongoing campaign to rid the earth of purebred dogs. Remember, at that point, the program wasn't available on YouTube, hadn't been aired in Canada, and hadn't been seen by the (very vast) majority of American fanciers.

Naturally, I was very eager to watch it when it became available online, and the first thing that struck me was Harrison's obvious love for, and appreciation of, purebred dogs. This attitude may be peculiar to the UK (in the US it's not very politic to sing the praises of purebreds), but the tone was plain to me: these are wonderful, beloved breeds, and they have (through whatever mechanisms) become beset by genetic disease and structural unsoundness, and something ought to be done.

It doesn't take an expert to look at a ring full of modern Bulldogs and think, "That doesn't look right." The dogs snort, wheeze, and gasp as they move around the ring. Ditto the sad-looking modern German Shepherd, who walks on his hocks and seems to slink around the ring. A little layman's probing will reveal that Bulldogs, Pugs, and a number of other breeds in their modern incarnations cannot even mate naturally, much less give birth without a C-section - it's physically impossible for them to conceive without human intervention. I think it's fair to say, with all due respect to those breeders who have devoted their lives to these breeds, that exaggeration and extreme forms have been created that are detrimental to the dogs themselves.

This is without even touching upon the preponderance of genetic disease in certain breeds. Many breeders do work hard to reduce the incidence of these diseases, but I think it is all too tempting for many to simply take their chances and breed to that gorgeous, Best-in-Show stud dog who's a carrier.

As an active participant in AKC conformation and as someone who has grown up "in dogs", I honestly do hope that PDE creates dialogue in the US - not just in the UK - about how it is that breed standards, judges, and breeders interact to create the dogs we see today. It's not about blaming anyone, it's about honestly evaluating where we are now and making wise decisions about how we are to move ahead to create dogs that are sound, healthy, and happy companions. At the moment, unfortunately, the American fancy seems to want to keep its fingers firmly in its ears.
 
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