Crufts: Cruel or kind?

I love watching it because I love all things dog... but has it got over the accusations of encouraging breeding cruel and physically limiting factors in some breeds just for the vanity of the owners?

Does it indeed do just that?

Thoughts?

I don't know....

Too Much Water wrote (see)

 although i did follow the cue of all of the dog guests by going out into the hotel carpark for a shit every morning

I've stayed at a hotel near where Crufts were showing and the one thing that amazed me were the temperament of the dogs. They were so "docile". I'm used to happy/chirpy/go lucky things that are trotting around tails wagging etc. I only saw maybe 1 dog like that.

As for the breeding elements - I think some of the them are plain cruel (as has already been said: bulldog)... but if it's not harming the dogs and they enjoy it - why not?

There was a tv programme a while ago about the breeding standards of some breeds causing problems - Cavalier King Charles spaniels were highlighted.

They are very in-bred and many of them suffer from an inherited disorder which means the skull is too small for their brains, which has horrible consequences.

One woman, whose dog won best of breed (I think) was still breeding from her dog despite knowing that it carried the disorder.

The camera crew confronted her about it at a show, and all the other breeders were outraged - that the camera crew would spoil the breeder's winning moment by bringing this up at a show!

Another breeder was disgusted that young vets wouldn't destroy healthy Rhodesian Ridgeback puppies - just because they lacked the ridge on the back (which meant they have no breeding value).  She said you have to find an older, more sympathetic vet who will do it.

Perhaps she should be put down as she didn't look like good breeding stock!

They did an update programme recently, and the Kennel Club have modified some of the breed requirements - by saying things like they are "desirable" rather than "essential", and so on. 

They have also said that healthy puppies should not be killed just because they lack breed characteristics.

As if that's going to stop breeders who don't see any value in feeding animals which won't sell.

One positive thing was that the KC have said that mother/son, father/daughter and brother/sister breeding should stop.  Should you really need to be told this?

They looked at boxers this time, and at the number of dogs which develop juvenile kidney disease which kills them, painfully.

A researcher found that it seemed likely that this was also an inherited trait, and was testing as many dogs as possible and tracing their family trees.  One particular dog had fathered over 800 puppies - many with the trait - but his owner wouldn't have him tested for the trait (a blood test).  

 I'm horrified by all this, and I'm not even much of a dog lover!

I don't have many gripes with the KC or with Crufts.  It's irresponsible breeders who are the problem and they're not breeding for show puppies, they're breeding to make money and that alone.

There are known problems with many breeds but they're not all that common really.  However, some breeders continue to churn out puppies with these traits in their bloodlines.  They really don't care about the health & welfare of the dogs.  The kidney disease is one I know about as we've had several dogs in with this problem and know which bloodline the common denominator is ... as does the breeder but they choose not to believe the scientific evidence as they'd lose their income stream

That said, these people are the exception.  For every one of them which the media focuses on there are 99 very responsible breeders who care about the health and life the puppies are going to have.  They have their breeding animals checked for eye/hip/heart problems and will only take a couple of litters off their bitch as she's a pet not a puppy factory.

The KC does good work trying to preserve British breeds which are in danger of dying out and has good schemes for hip scoring to try to breed out the terrible hip problems which plagued labradors for many years.

The dogs I know who are shown love it, they treat it as a day out and have great fun.  They don't seem to find it stressy at all.  If they did then they'd not do well.

Been to Crufts a couple of times, spent a fortune on stuff I didn't know I needed ...

TP and Goldbeetle have saved me typing - I agree with what both of them have said.

From another thread & can't be arsed to re-type

Nam wrote (see)

Crufts... I really don't know how I feel about Crufts.  I recently shared a link from the RSPCA on my FB which was raising awareness how shows like Crufts promote these irresposible breeding techniques where related dogs are bred too close together, what happens to puppies that don't make the cut, breeding 'features' that are actually really uncomfortable or harmful to the dogs... anything from excessively flat snouts, very short legs or long backs, to extreme skin folds etc etc.  I also think that 'some' people who are into all this extreme pedigree stuff... ("oohhh she is the offspring of Lord Flensburg the Third and Lady Marmelade...") are rather too far up their own arses for my liking... 

So on the balance of it I can't be arsed to watch it and rather take my scruffy mutt for a muddy walk...

I accept that for every irresponsible breeder there will be 10 good ones, and for every dog that suffers from congenital problems from inbreeding there will be 10 happy and healthy ones... but still, for me Crufts represents pretty much everything I dislike about kennel clubs, "showing" dogs, breeding them for looks and the types of weirdos who really get into this sort of thing.  

I get where you're coming from Nam but it's a very very small minority who are obsessed with breeding the 'perfect' dog.  Most of those on show this weekend will have been family pets who go to shows at weekends.  We'd have had about 30+ clients down there and to a one these are cherished family pets who just happen to win the odd prize.  I think you're linked to my work FB page, have a look at one of our winners ... tell me that's not a happy dog who like to get muddy and wet rather than a specimen on a pedastal.

Think of it like runners ... there are some who are completely obsessed with running a better race, doing a faster time, adapting to different styles of running, who can't talk about anything other than what they've done, are going to do etc etc yawn yawn.  They are the equivalent of the weirdos you mention.  Then there are the rest of us who have running in common but who are equally into the social side of it, we train (sometimes), turn up, have fun and then get on with normal life after the race ... that's 99% of the people who show dogs