Westminster Rewards Cruelty

Read it and weep. Or puke. Or maybe both.

Eh. While I think it is disgraceful and unethical as all get out if true this is not exactly the most unbiased blog in the world in my opinion ;-) I think that the below post in regards to one of this blogger's past posts about the stud dog in question sums it up pretty well for me:

Robinjn

Posted June 21, 2011 at 7:45 AM


I mostly agree with your article, but begin to diverge when it, and the comments, start a) blaming everything on the AKC and b) begin to blame all show breeders and lump all show breeders into a single class of people who are unethical and interested only in show ribbons.

To Starbreeze, the AKC is a non-profit organization. They have always been a studbook and registry, in fact that was their primary purpose. As such, if a dog is the offspring of two parents who are registered with the AKC, that dog is purebred and may be registered. The AKC does not, and never has, controlled breeders (um, who could??? legally, no one) or set policy for breed clubs. Nor should they. People who like to stab at the AKC love to point out that they are only in it for $$$. Somehow the whole non-profit aspect gets ignored. Yes. AKC makes money off of registrations. And yes, they need money to run. The money they make allows them to support the infrastructure of the thousands of dog shows run under their banner each year (including not just breed but agility, obedience, rally, herding, lure coursing, earthdog, field trials, hunt tests, etc.). The AKC also donates millions of dollars to canine genetic health research. The AKC also donates millions of dollars and a lot of staff expertise to help combat legislative threats from the radical animal rights movement.

So please, let’s separate AKC from crappy breeders, and let’s separate crappy breeders from good ones. Me, I find the MM breedings heinous. I think breed clubs should not allow MM dogs to be shown and should strongly discourage MM breeding in their Code of Ethics. That doesn’t mean they will not be produced, but it should make it more clear that they are not desired.

But having been in dogs for over 25 years now and having competed in a number of areas, I have to say that show/conformation breeders are not alone in making very bad breeding decisions for the sake of the dollar or a win. Purpose breeding mixes to make a faster flyball dog. Breeding extreme drive to extreme drive with no thought of livability (or sanity for that matter) for agility. Breeding dogs with known hip dysplasia, eye problems, and other major health disorders because they are field champions or schutzhund 3.

Way easier to point the finger at someone else rather than looking in your own closet…

Well the winner of the group is inbred to the point that in his pedigree all of his grandparents are half-siblings and the bitches are full-siblings. That surpassed 'line' and moved full on into Deliverance territory for me.

I knew it (being inbreeding) was bad in collies but I hadn't expected it to be that bad. I don't really blame Westminster or the AKC for it. The AKC is a registry, not a court of law and Westminster is a show. They judge the fashion, rather than the standard which is what they have always done and will continue to do. Is it good for the breeds? In most cases no, but that's something to take to the breed clubs who are usually less than inclined to bend to the will of sanity.

http://www.astraean.com/borderwars/2011/07/torture-breeding.html



http://www.astraean.com/borderwars/2011/03/selective-breeding-gone-bad.html

the links at the bottom of the page on westminster change

here are two I caught and was disturbed by......

 Quote: Ingrid Rosenquist

Eh. While I think it is disgraceful and unethical as all get out if true this is not exactly the most unbiased blog in the world in my opinion ;-)

While I agree with that assessment, the facts they point out in that matter are still true. Even more troubling find it very troubling that it seems to be a very acceptable practice in the rough collie show world.

The breeders knowingly produced a dog with serious health issues. And that dog has become the #1 sire of Champions. Wow.

A lesser breeder producing dogs that are most likely to be deaf and blind would be called out and rightly so. It's a shame that one can do so well with such unethical practices. And that's a statement that I'd make across the board regardless of chosen sport or club affiliation.

To the subject of inbreeding/line breeding
Where do people think individual "breeds" come from?

Befoere dog shows existed and travel was limited from tow to town there were "types" of dogs. Herding, hunting, guard, etc.
In small towns there was usually one dominant stud that all the herders,hunters, etc wanted to breed to. There were also roaming dogs that bred anything and anything they came across.
From these dominant sires and roaming dogs it became common to see dogs that looked very much alike.
these dogs soon became recognized by the town they came from, the work they did, and the names stuck. border Terriers were the "type" of terrier found in the border area between Scotland and England. Staffordshire terriers were the local terrier from the Staffordshire region. Collies were herding dogs that became known for the stock they tended (coli sheep).
These dogs were ALL very closely bred simply because travel to other towns/cities was limited and the "breeders" used what worked for the job.
The big problem with todays "breeders" is the unwillingness to cull for only pups that performed. If they were exceptional workers they were used for breeding. If not, they were culled.
The vast majority of breeding today leads to many pups that can't perform and they also carry carry genetic problems. Genetic problems were delt with in the same way that non performing dogs were.
I applaud the show breeders that include performance in their breeding. I hunted every show terrier I ever owned. Some were crap in the field, some were excellent. Rarely did even the Champions fit the standards as they were written but they certainly did fit what the fad of the moment was in the show ring. That had absolutely nothing to do with performance either! I had CH titles on four different terrier breeds. I had many opportunities to breed but didn't because I didn't want the responsibilities of placing puppies.

The AKC is not blameless. They sanction breed clubs and allow these breed clubs to dictate how dogs are to be bred.

The dalmatian is riddled with severe genetic issues such as High Uric Acid (HUA). In the 1970's someone started breeding pointers to dalmatians and basically solved the issue. What can lead to a male dalmatian having to have his penis amputated and urethra surgically altered so that he's urinating out of the base of his sheath, or severe bladder stones in females that is caused by an actual sludge of acidic properties building up in the organ, was virtually extinct in the pointer/dalmatian crosses. They effectively created a Low Uric Acid (LUA) dalmatian, and generations later genetics tests prove that these 'cross breeds' are 99.9% pure bred. It only took one out-cross to bring in new blood to erase some of the damage caused by insane inbreeding.

What did the Dalmatian Club, sanctioned by the AKC do? They BANNED people, BANNED dogs, refused to even speak about HUA dals and that they were basically torturing their animals. They were much more interested in burying their heads in the sand and raking in the money despite the heartache that many families were suffering from putting down beloved pets who were in extreme pain and suffering. As long as their dogs had pretty spot patterns, they didn't care about anything else. Many of these LUA dalmatians are alive today within the UKC (who is taking proactive steps to stop inbreeding and deplorable breeding practices). Many of these 99.9% genetically pure bred dalmatians are BANNED from ever being registered with the AKC because of a vote that the Dalmatian Club, sanctioned by the AKC, made in an attempt to deny everything.
I personally have seen two dalmatian handlers at an AKC conformation event have to be interrupted by police when one handler called the other handler's dog 'trash that should be dead. I can see the pointer head a mile away!' Both of them were disqualified, but it's obvious that the AKC supports blind hate and stupidity.

Actually the LUA Dals are fully registrable now. It happened last summer (July I think). It passed (albeit barely) because of some holdouts though I think rumor has it majority of the non-seat holding club had long since said "They're Dals, stop bitching" but some of the old guard still tossed around 'mutts' etc.

Trying to put primary blame on the AKC is a little absurd as they are a registry. Sure they sanction the breed clubs but it's easier to blame one big organization rather than the breeders who make the daily bad decisions in regard to their breeds for the sake of fashion. The breeders and their breed clubs can change more than the AKC can. Are they responsible? Sure, but in my opinion considerably less so than that breeder who chooses to do that double-merle breeding, or the breeder who breeds two dogs with bad hips because their freak conformation allows for nicer movement.

The big name breeders put incorrect dogs/not so perfect dogs out with big handlers. The judges,(getting paid by the number of dogs they judge)don't have the nads to pass on something they know is incorrect. If they pass on these big breeders/handlers then they wont get future judging assignments.
I wont say it's all the judges but enough of the important ones to make a difference.
At the class level it's not so apparent but once a dog is specialed the games really begin.

I never have understood why all breeds don't get out-crossing when needed. At one time the retrievers were all one breed...then they separated into goldens (long and yellow coated), flat-coated (black or liver, long coat), labrador (short coated all 3 colors) and then the curly coat....there was no huge difference in "type" in fact there were no barrel chested goldens or lumbering labs back then. No breed divide existed for any breed...bench and working were the same stock.