Exactly! When we see the Best of Breed winners at Crufts, or the pedigree breed agility champions, we have no way of knowing if they were sold with endorsements or not. And I bet you, a lot of them were!

It's a safeguard. It's extremely common in the cat fancy as well, when I bred cats I never sold any on the Active register, not because they weren't good enough to breed from, but I wanted to make sure the buyers who might later ask for it to be lifted for breeding, were knowledgeable enough and had the best intentions before bringing more cats into the world. Owners were free to show them however. They didn't do well at shows but that was because their breeding was very valuable as an outcross line for future breeders, not because I bred them for showing. There's more than one reason for breeding, and keeping valuable outcross lines going is but one.

I just saw the programme and managed to somehow stay strong throughout. I can feel my eyes misting over as i write this, but it needs to be done so i can get it all off my chest.
I felt so bad for all of the dogs in the rescue and working in a rescuye myself i have experienced first hand the shocking increase in bullterriers coming through the doors every week. Thankfully where I work we have a very strong no-kill policy unless the dog is showing severe forms of dog aggression or people aggression and in which case it is assessed by two seperate people to ensure that the best decision is made.
It was heart breaking to see Brandy put through the dog test and fail it, I did notice the dog was tense, but on the contrary i did not see it lunge or snap. In a given situation how do they not know if this dog would be better off lead with another dog? Also they only tried it with one dog. Some dogs show different reactions to different breeds of dogs. This can be to a variety of different factors including history and bad experiences, size and intimidation, reactions from other dogs, etc etc. Also the stress of being put in a room and assessed under those strict conditions is enough to cause dogs to react in a different light than they may do in the park or the street.
It was horrid to watch, and i just feel maybe brandy should have been given a better chance as in a personal opinion i have seen dogs rehomed and successfully rehabilitated. If the aggression would have been any worse, then by all means i would say PTS may be acceptable as these dogs do need very special homes with special owners like most of you guys.

The Pitbull scenes also really got to me, these really did make my eyes sting for a bit. I couldn't help but shout at the TV when the guy came round with his clipboard and could "Identify" a pitbull in those kennels just by size, or appearance. I could never in my life do that job, I know his just doing his job, but how cruel he must hurt a little bit knowing that those dogs he is choosing are most likely just as dangerous as the labrador up the road. Pitbulls are not something to be scared of, these dogs are truly big lovely staffords. They just need to be given a chance.

BAN AND CLAMP DOWN ON THE POOR OWNERS NOT THE BREED!

I think instead of having a dog license, we should have a tax on un-neutered dogs. So any person owning a dog which has not been neutered needs to hold a license to ensure that they are bred from in appropriate conditions. I suppose accessing females which need to be spayed may be a problem, And also actually getting the money and co-operation from these people who own the dogs. This would however hopefully result in people neutering their dogs to avoid the "tax" and would promote good breeders who are genuine and breed acceptably.
Just a weird wacky idea that came into my head, I thought I would share it.
In all realities it would never work, Even I know that. But.. I just wish something could be done to help these poor dogs. They should not need to face being PTS. So sad...

I watched it again this morning as i was too upset to take it all in last night BUT I will say, they did say that it was only one of a lot of tests Brandy had had over the week. Perhaps they had already decided and what they showed was just for the cameras.

I've seen people on other forums mulling this over today, post-Panorama. And yes it would be a problem with females, as it's often difficult nay impossible to know if a bitch has been spayed or not. I guess they could be chipped, and a note added to the chip details to prove it?

Yes they said that he had been showing signs of being aggressive before the tests even started to. I totally understand why a rescue shelter would have to let the aggressive dogs go. Yes its harsh, but imo its the right, responsible thing to do.

i dont think there is a solution that would hold TBH

Compulsory neutering wouldnt work either. I for one wouldnt neuter because i should, it doesnt solve aggression problems, it can enhance that problem.
i will only neuter on health grounds.

Many of the GP couldnt cope with an aggressive dog, its only the very savvy that could and how many of us can call ourselves that!

Its a very sad situation for dogs these days and no one knows what to do for the best.

I just saw the programme today on catch up, and of all the dogs I have had, half of them would not pass the tests. I know for a fact if anything ever happened to me and for some reason Maddy ended up in rescue (although provisions have been made but you never do know) then I know she would be PTS pretty much immediately, she does not cope well with strangers and new situations and she hates strange dogs. In our family (and when she gets to know you) she is the most loving and loyal dog you could wish for but no one would ever realise that, she simply wouldn't last long enough, she would mouth off at everyone (although she wouldn't hurt anyone I doubt many would get close enough to find that out would they?), I doubt she'd last the week. It's incredibly sad as I know in my heart she is a wonderful and loyal dog and once settled she would be with someone else too, but I also understand that rescues now do not have the time, space and/or money to find that out, why should a perfectly friendly and happy go lucky dog be pts to save one that needs so much work and rehabilitation? If they could save them all they would, but the can't and so the 'worst' cases go, sadly the 'worst' vary from truly aggressive ex fighting dogs to perfectly fine and friendly dogs who are simply just older than their 'competition'.

It is very sad and it's no one's fault but the irresponsible owners and breeders, dogs are not valued members of society anymore, they are commodities, they are things that come and go, if you don't want it anymore stick it on freecycle with all the old bookcases and worn out sofas.

Registration for specific breeders and neutering for everyone else, I don't agree with needless neutering personally but even for me, it's certainly the lesser of two evils, i'm sorry but your dog loosing his plums, his coat turning crap and him being humped in the park cuz other dogs think he's a bitch, well if it saves the life of another dog in rescue, that's worth it to me.

JMO

Great post, i also know for a fact that one of mine would be PTS if she neded up in any other rescue except NESSR, but even we, who have gone out of our way to try and help all dogs are having to admit now that there is just too much of a problem and we CAN'T save them all, and for us it breaks our hearts, but its the reality of rescue in 2010

I'm not sure how Woody would have done, because I don't recall them temperament testing for vet checks and handling when the dog is in pain but I do know that he would have failed if we had him re-homed between 7 and 10 months.

I sincerely hope no one is blaming the rescues for this? Lizzy is right, it is a harsh reality of animal welfare and it's just getting worse. That is what this programme wanted to show.

In terms of breeding I think in summary everyone who breeds has a responsibility to consider temperament and health above all else. It's not just about looks and standards these days. Don't get me wrong, I agree a springer needs to look like a springer etc but there are more important things to me then how long a dogs ears are.

On the flip side, is this really about breeding as long as it's done ethically? Probably not really as above everything else it comes down the the way the animal is handled and reared as a pup. That is why it is so important to educate at a young age the benefits of animals to humans and the correct way to train a dog.