Trouble at Crufts

When Son #1 was living in London, one of my visits with him coincided with Crufts Dog Show, which truly is the biggest dog show in the world. Just to give you an idea of its size, consider that they have a separate day for each of the divisions. On the day that we visited it was nothing but Herding dogs. By contrast, at Westminster, Herding would be competing with two other divisions on the same day.

Anyway, it was something to see--I don't think I have ever seen so many collies in one place at one time--and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

Which is why I was surprised to read that both the RSPCA (Royal SPCA) and The Dogs Trust, two of England's most prestigious and well respected humanitarian agencies have both pulled their booths out of the upcoming Crufts show in March.

The reason: a recent BBC documentary entitled Pedigree Dogs Exposed in which the question of canine health and welfare was often demonstrated to be in stark opposition to the goals of breeders. "Dog shows using current breed standards as the main judging criteria actively encourage both the intentional breeding of deformed and disabled dogs and the inbreeding of closely related animals,"says RSPCA chief veterinary advisor Mark Evans. "There is compelling scientific evidence that the health and welfare of hundreds of thousands of pedigree dogs is seriously compromised as result."

Evans contends that shows that judge their best of show based on current breed stands are "fundamentally flawed." The RSPCA wants "to see emphasis shifted away from arbitrary appearance so that health, welfare and temperament are considered first and foremost."

Certainly the hip issues that have surfaced over the years in German Shepherds, Goldens and Labs are prime examples of the "deformities" being in-bred to meet breed standards. Who knows if such inbreeding is also partially responsible for the occurrence of cancer in certain breeds like boxers? I know for a fact that in-breeding in collies caused gigantic eye problems within the breed that has taken years to overcome.

So bravo to the RSPCA for putting temperament above appearance and for commissioning an independent review of the science in this field. We all know that beauty is in the eye of the beholder anyway and every dog is beautiful to its owner.