Sunday, August 31, 2008
Friday, August 29, 2008
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Pedigree dogs... the real truth
Most of you who know me understand that I am not a big fan of show dogs and bench shows in general. Dogs were bred to do specific jobs... they have a purpose, a focus that is driven by genetics. Show dogs do not. With respect to the red setter, the gene pool of red setters who are from working stock (those of the National Red Setter Field Trial Club and the AKC registered red setters, plus some isolated others) are bred to do the job of the red setter... and that job is to hunt, find, point and retrieve gamebirds for the handler. With few notable exceptions, the show stock red setters can not do this and have not been able to do this for over half a century.
Show dogs are bred for reasons that I am unable to fathom. Looks, money, personal ego, winning in the show ring, I'm not sure exactly what drives such an illogical passion. It has been my premise for years that this inappropriate breeding of dogs for the bench has been a huge factor in the rocketing proliferation of canine diseases that are found across the various breeds. While the working dogs of this world certainly are not immune to disease, the incidence of genetic diseases pales in comparison to those of the show dogs. I have always been a vocal critic of the AKC and other show-dominated registries for similar reasons. The AKC supports and promotes dog shows. They make a lot of money doing so. They are a closed registry, demanding continuous linebreeding generation after generation, with no hope for a breed to re-invigorate itself by going outside its limited genepool. They tacitly support "backyard" breeding because anyone who breeds as such can advertise their puppies as "AKC registered" (I would run the other direction if that were the sole qualifier for purchasing a puppy). The truth is, show dominated registries such as the AKC have no foundation in contemporary population genetics. They just don't get it.
Now, it turns out, that some folks over in Great Britain do get it. They have aired a very interesting (and sometimes disturbing) show on what's really going on with our supposed "pure bred" dogs. Don't miss this show... its an eye-opener.
Special thanks to the BBC for airing this informative documentary and to the Terrierman blogsite for posting the episodes.
The series is in 6 parts... I will post all 6 over the next few days.
Show dogs are bred for reasons that I am unable to fathom. Looks, money, personal ego, winning in the show ring, I'm not sure exactly what drives such an illogical passion. It has been my premise for years that this inappropriate breeding of dogs for the bench has been a huge factor in the rocketing proliferation of canine diseases that are found across the various breeds. While the working dogs of this world certainly are not immune to disease, the incidence of genetic diseases pales in comparison to those of the show dogs. I have always been a vocal critic of the AKC and other show-dominated registries for similar reasons. The AKC supports and promotes dog shows. They make a lot of money doing so. They are a closed registry, demanding continuous linebreeding generation after generation, with no hope for a breed to re-invigorate itself by going outside its limited genepool. They tacitly support "backyard" breeding because anyone who breeds as such can advertise their puppies as "AKC registered" (I would run the other direction if that were the sole qualifier for purchasing a puppy). The truth is, show dominated registries such as the AKC have no foundation in contemporary population genetics. They just don't get it.
Now, it turns out, that some folks over in Great Britain do get it. They have aired a very interesting (and sometimes disturbing) show on what's really going on with our supposed "pure bred" dogs. Don't miss this show... its an eye-opener.
Special thanks to the BBC for airing this informative documentary and to the Terrierman blogsite for posting the episodes.
The series is in 6 parts... I will post all 6 over the next few days.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Tethering Dogs...
A news article posted today in the Raliegh News & Observer indicates that Durham County commissioners will hold a public hearing tonight on a proposed amendment that would make dog tethering illegal. If the proposed amendment passes, violators would face fines and possible loss of their animals. Acccording to the news article, a county-appointed committee has been researching the issue of dog chaining for the past two years. "Of the 1,500 animal cruelty complaints Durham animal control officers receive annually, a majority of the cases show abuse or neglect related to improper tethering," said Cindy Bailey, director of Durham's animal control department.
For additional info, see the Raleigh News and Observer at http://www.newsobserver.com/
For additional info, see the Raleigh News and Observer at http://www.newsobserver.com/
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Friday, August 15, 2008
The REAL story about show dog pedigrees...
From the Terrierman blogsite (a great blogsite devoted to the pursuit of working dogs)...
About 18 months ago, or a little more, I got an email from Jemima Harrison a television producer in the U.K. who first came across my name when she was forwarded a copy of Inbred Thinking, a post from this (The Terrierman) blog.We shot some emails back and forth, and talked some on the phone about the rise of the Enclosure Movement, Robert Bakewell, Charles Darwin, Francis Galton, John Henry Walsh (Stonehenge), and the rise of genetic loads.She then went on and chased down some good examples of bad outcomes and some smarter people to talk to (no shortage of those!) and has produced a one-hour documentary for BBC One called Pedigree Dogs Exposed.I have not see this special yet, but I have been promised a CD in the mail, and the squib is dead-on perfect:
An in-depth investigation into the health of pedigree dogs. This programme reveals the surprising historical reasons that have contributed to problems in some breeds and explores what might be done to tackle these serious and debilitating health issues.The first showing is Tuesday, August 19th from 9:00 pm - 10:00 pm.UK and other readers with an international reach would do well to tune in and put out the early word on list-servs, etc.I think this piece may be an eye-opener for some! The Kennel Club already has its knickers in a knot, and it has not even seen it yet. Of course, their cry is that it is all bias! Never mind the list of dog diseases by breed. Never mind the working dogs that no longer work. Forget the shortened faces that cannot breathe, the congential heart defects, the four-legged cancer bombs. Let's not talk about the dysplasia, the cataracts, and the Cushing's disease. That would be bias. It's also prejudiced to talk about the rise of skin allergies, the broken hind quarters of the German Shepherd, and the Yorkshire Terriers with teeth popping sideways out of their too-small jaws. Let's not talk about deafness in Dalmations and Harlequin Great Danes, the advent of "Scottie Cramp" or the rise of "Springer Rage Syndrome."Oh No!! All that is prejudice.What is not prejudice is believing that coat color is more important than working abilities. What is not prejudice is a standard for a border terrier that gives more points to the shape of its head than the size of its chest. What is not prejudice is the notion that dogs should be judged on looks rather than on health; on a scrap of paper that says it is of "pure blood" rather than its ability to do it job from youth into old age.That's not prejudice, you see. That's the founding mantra of the The Kennel Club! It's all about paper and ribbons. It's not about the dogs. It's never been about them.
Check out the complete posting at Terrierman... http://terriermandotcom.blogspot.com/
Irish setter from bench stock
...a product of the the Purest Challenge
Which dog would you hunt over??
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