ahhh but we both know its not always about the dog, more of whats on the other end of the lead....

I can see i have opened a can of worms here

Ok i get what you are saying above, but did she not highlight a dog that was kc registered, he was being filmed secretly at a show if i remember correctly and was being used at stud many many times who was diagnosed with sm. Thats the bit i can remember being disgusted about ..... if thats true that is awful. It seemed from the viewers point that other show people and breeders where well aware also and nobody seemed to have an issue with it. I am glad she highlighted this behaviour if i have got this correct....if not that was the impression i had.

Just for the record i have no cav connections, i am a pet owner who is friendly with breeders and show people from another breed. I have seen very high up breeders use dogs that have very high hip scores and it seems to be fine....i just don't get it. I have also heard of accidental matings between brothers and sisters and these people have let them continue and sell as pets. I sit here shaking my head...why do dog lovers/show people ignore these things. I have seen a champion who i was told not to go near as he has a dodgy temperment. How is that ok.

The reason i feel very passionate about this is because i purchased a newfie several years ago, i wanted to show her. Did my homework, travelled many many hours to pick this pup up. Her parents where show dogs, hip scores where brilliant and heart test clear.

I ended up with a dog who at a year old had arthritus, hd, undershot jaw, ruptured cruciate and entropia. It cost me £8000 in vets fees the first 2 years and i cannot tell you how many tears. You cannot imagine watching a one year old dog cry in pain trying to get up, i did several times. I took her to be pts 1 occassion. It was 3am on a sunday morning, she was in so much pain, i thought enough is enough, i put her in the car in the silence of the night and drove 20mins to the emergency vet crying all the way. I rang the bell on the door and when the women looked through the glass my dog wagged her tail at her......i just couldnt do it...... that night will haunt me for many years...she was patched up and i bought her home again. This dog was pts at just under 3yrs old.

Like i said i know breeders and a good friend of mine is absolutely brilliant and does everything to the best of hers and the dogs wellbeing. So i know not all show people are the same, But i have also seen many times friends of judges winning shows and it is definately if your face fits on some occassions. My friend the breeder also judges and can remember her telling me before a show she was judging how everyone came out of the wood work pretending to be best mates just because they knew she was judging....thankfully she has morals and judges the dogs and not the owners...but i do know that others don't.

That's what many pet people don't realise isn't it

But she painted all exhibitors with the same brush & inferred(again quite deliberately)that all KC reg dogs were unsound, plagued with genetic conditions that cripple them etc etc

Her classic was showing two GSD dogs bred in Germany & inferring that the puppy with the loose hind movement was typical of the breed & due to a genetic condition. She made sure the puppy resembled Zamp(the Germany dog resident in Germany & therefore not a KC registered dog)& thus the misleading link was produced. The number of pet GSD owners who told me they were shocked at seeing the BOB at Crufts(who BTW was also a World Champion)moving so badly, they would not believe that the puppy was not Zamp BTW.

JH is very anti KC, the KC are NOT responsible for people who choose to breed dogs that do not match the breed standard(especially if like the BITCH Cavalier & the Boxer they are not KC registered). She set out to prove that the KC promote bad breeding etc. The KC is just an open registry & unlike the ISDS cannot insist that dogs are health tested & be genetically normal/carrier before being bred without the support of the various breed clubs. You don't have to be a KC member to register dogs with them, you do with the ISDS & therefore the ISDS can force breeders to health test their dogs as a condition of registration of thei puppies.

As I go to a GSD training club I see a lot of young GSDs & I am always shocked at the conformation, coat type, unsoundness etc. However very few if any are KC registered dogs & are from pet breeders who neither health test nor even understand the importance of the blue print for the breed. When I ask why they didn't go for a KC registered puppy, the answer is always the same-KC dogs are all cripples, unhealthy, more expensive & the puppy was bred by a breeder & the litter was a one off ! Anyone whose bitch has a litter is a breeder & if yoiu don't health test how do you know the parents are healthy ???

The KC COULD insist on the testing , they COULD be more careful about their 'accredited' breeders, they COULD have made sure that unhealthy dogs didn't win their flagship show.

They chose not to as they would lose revenue, they closed their eyes for many years to the carnage that was occouring in SOME breeds.

It was high time they were exposed.

rune

and no one that 'loves' their breed or dogs altogether - will feel any different Rune!
and all you have said above is in place/coming into place. The programme highlighted certain 'issues' I am glad it did, just thought there was a serve lack of balance within the programme - as well as a few back hand ways of them proving their point about the showing world.

Certainly - but then people are well known for jumping to conclusions before knowing the facts - let them get on with it - I wont bother wasting my breath any longer on them that dont want to hear anything other than what they already have stuck fast

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Grooming, makes it look nice, no different than when you take a bath, wash your hair , put your make up on.

Generally , if you go around old dirty clothes without washing or brushing your hair on a daily basis, you look a scruff, the same applies to showing your dogs,

You make them look nice and well kept.

Who wants to see filthy smelly dogs in the ring.

Same as out pets, we keep them smelling nice , make sure their teeth are clean, nails clipped and coats free from nasties.

No different to the show dog, its just grooming.

I think it makes total sense to only allow fit and healthy dogs the honour of being placed. Positive step forward I think.

If the KC insisted-without the backing of the breed clubs-for all dogs to be health tested before their offspring being KC registered-they would fall foul of the "Restriction of Trade"law. This has been proved in the courts.

This is especially true for health conditions not proven to be genetic or for which there is no way of assessing the carrier status without test matings(which means deliberately breeding from a dog/bitch with a genetic condition to a bitch/dog that doesn't show symptoms of the condition-what happens to the offspring ???)

You are clearly anti KC-can you point me to non KC health schemes run by the people who breed from mongrels, "designer"dogs & unregistered dogs please ?

Can you point out to me some breeders who do not register their dogs who do health tests that they have paid for developing ??

I am very interested in your knowledge of these dogs that are bred from that are not registered that are health tested outside any scheme run by the BVA/KC/ISDS & for which the research has not been funded by breeders of KC/ISDS dogs & the KC.

All breeders of any type of dogs are the ones responsible for the testing of their dogs prior to breedeing & of their offspring. They are the ones who choose the sire & dam & the destinations of the offspring. It doesn't matter whether the puppies are KC registered or not-no dog should be bred unless it is to improve on the parents in some way.

This applies not just to dog breeding but to anyone breeding non food animals(Rabbits, cats etc etc etc)& unless everyone whose animals produce offspring has to be tested & licensed before the offspring can change hands, then there will always be "breeders"who are in it solely for the monetary gain & to h*ll with the "goods"they produce.

I'm pro health testing & have invested an awful lot of time & money in my preparation to breeding a litter of Border Collies. I am only breeding to imrpove the breed & preserve some very important bloodlines & abilities that are in my dogs. I have the knowledge, time, money & facilities to do this with the added bonus of a lot of experience both of the breed & of breeding.

For a Vet to "pass" a show dog as"fit for function"they have to have a good knowledge of the breed & access to it's health status-unless of course the Vet is blessed with X ray eyes & the pyschic ability to know the DNA make up of the dog ! Will they have it-Er nope !