How anyone could be proud to show such a dog is beyond me.... Good thing is that it's given more publicity to the horrible confirmation that passes as a GSD these days. If they all looked like Inspector Rex there wouldn't be a problem.
I just mentioned this to OH - he said that he knew all about it. It was in the Daily Mail. I wasn't sure what to be more shocked by, that he reads the Daily Mail or he knew something about Crufts. Anyway, I said "how can this happen?". He said "because there is a load of corruption and brown envelopes changing hands". Well. It got me wondering....
Not a great lover of the paper but at least they have given this outrage some coverage. Neither the KC or their vets come out well. One has to wonder why they felt it necessary to take the coverage off YouTube ....... http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...s-German-Shepherd-sloped-wins-best-breed.html
Who was the vet that signed the certificate "is the dog suffering from any visible condition which adversely affects its health and welfare" and ticked NO? This breed is a category 3 breed with the warnings: German Shepherd Dog - Category 3 Particular points of concern for individual breeds may include features not specifically highlighted in the breed standard including current issues. In some breeds, features may be listed which, if exaggerated, might potentially affect the breed in the future. Prior to 2014 the features listed below derived from a combination of health surveys, veterinary advice, a meeting of Kennel Club Group judges, feedback from judges at shows or consultation with individual breed club(s)/councils via the breed health coordinators. From 2014 the structure of Breed Watch will allow for a greater involvement by judges in the reporting on and monitoring of the points of concern. Points of concern for special attention by judges Cow hocks Excessive turn of stifle Nervous temperament Sickle hock Weak hindquarters - See more at: http://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/ser.../display.aspx?breed=5106#sthash.nIF9xNMw.dpuf
Unfortunately it's not just one vet hat has signed this dog off as healthy but numerous vets at different stages of her show career. One statement I read from the Secretary of the KC was that Judges don't always judge against the breed standard. To me kg begs the question as to why they are not abiding by the standard and why the KC is not taking action! Although not one to say that things wee better year ago, this is definitely a case of GSDs looking much better a hundred years ago.
These judges need sacking then. That's the whole point. The breed standard. Not what random ideas any old tom, dick or harry has about what a dog should look like.
Despite the anger I feel about what has been done to GSDs, I actually feel sorry for the owner, she has had her worldview confirmed by dozens of show judges over the last couple of years, and fully expected to be feted from one end of the country to the other after winning the most amazing accolade in dog showing - BOB at crufts. Instead she is being vilified on social media and the national press. It must be devastating. And utterly confusing. I agree with Julie, in this case, the cause of this problem is not the breed standard but the wilful ignoring of the breed standard by the KC's show judges. And ultimately, the KC must be responsible for this. They need to bring their judges into line.
I have to say there is not spark of sympathy in me for the owner. Nor do i feel sorry for her. It should be clear for everybody including the owner that this dog is not healthy and doesn't feel comfortable at all in that ring. It's a shame to see a GSD,which was once a strong and powerful breed, crawl around on those tiny, weak and deformed back legs.
Give yourself a slap - apparently you are hysterical http://thehappypuppysite.com/german-shepherd-dog-league-accuse-world-hysteria/
Slapped myself. Still feel the same. As you said in the article: "a staggering frog, that scrabbles its way around a show ring on its hocks"... That pretty much sums it up.... This is the stuff that makes a laughing stock of dog showing and pure breeds. People should be impressed when they see dogs competing at the highest level, not turned off or disgusted. People value the wide variety of pure breeds that we have today. Breeders have a responsibility to maintain the vitality of these breeds that others have worked so hard to create. And that's before saying anything about the health and welfare of the dogs.
Gave myself a slap but hasn't changed how I feel. Thank you for such a well argued article and it's only right that people can and should speak out. I hate to think it but perhaps the only way forward is for the breed to be banned until they meet the designated breed standard. None of us have the right to start changing a standard when it directly affects the confirmation of a dog and makes them unfit for purpose. The judges of course must also shoulder much of the blame as they have been awarding these dogs at shows even though they should be heavily faulted according to the breed standard. Perhaps those judges should also be banned.
From what the Crufts commentators had to say on Sunday, I think the judge that put that poor GSD through maywell have had his last Crufts and quite rightly so. I tend to agree with Julie's OH, back handers and corruption at Crufts the same in politics and sports. An absolute lack of morals on all levels for the poor dog and towards the good breeders that meet the standards and the welfare of their dogs. Makes me so
I don't know about back handers or corruption. I think the root of the problem lies in the belief system. These people genuinely think that GSDs look great with a massive hump on their backs. They don't see this in the same way we do. I can't explain it, but I don't think this is about deceit or cheating. It's about breed blindness. And I don't know what can be done about it.
I'm amazed by the outpouring of disgust from the general public on this. Thousands upon thousands of people demanding change. Say what you like about social media, it has the power to create a united voice that is hard to ignore. I just hope that the bodies that can orchestrate that change keep the momentum. If welfare issues such as this, and last year's handling controversy, continue to overshadow the event then people will lose any interest they do have in Crufts. There's a huge financial implication to that so hopefully that will shake the KC and organisers up enough to push for a transformation of procedures.
Well as a foreigner (i didn't know about cruft) when i saw the video i kinda felt weird for the dog. Here in Italy i heard a lot of bad stories about the whole beauty competition (i don't know how to call them in english sorry) ranging from mafia making win dogs like the gsd in the video or good looking dog but with a bad temperament or worse genetics disease.... I don't know what's the state in other countries, tell me about it. P.S Forgot to mention that i find sad that dogs such as gsd labrador and many others suffered from the division between show line and working line. As a non expert (i might be wrong ofcourse) i think that a dog should be both beautiful and healthy on the physical aspect but also possess those traits typical of the breed to be able to work
I don't think so judging by the general publics response and anger towards this breeder and judge. You don't have to be an expert or breeder to see how absolutely sad and awful that poor dog looked There's SO much money to be made out of dogs and puppies I really struggle to believe that there aren't back handers at Crufts somewhere along the line.
I don't know whether the show world is corrupt or not - I hope not. But other, more surprising competitions have turned out to have been...but I don't know either way. It's so hard for breeders to change, isn't it? The people with the successful dogs have invested so very much, and to now ask them to accept that what they have done is wrong, to stop breeding those dogs and start again, with (in the case of GSDs) probably fresh dogs, to wipe out years of work - it's too much to ask people to volunteer to do. So while I feel very sorry for the people who find themselves facing this reality (I feel sorry for the judge too, I read in the paper that he has been taken ill, and he is probably just a breeder that got appointed as a judge), I think the most effective thing now is to force change and the self regulatory, encouraging the right direction of travel etc. approach accepted as having failed. We (as dog owners, dog enthusiasts) need a healthy show world. We need people breeding dogs to a breed standard, so the breeds we want to own and love are available. Without a breed standard for pedigree dogs, where would we be? It's a necessary part of a defined breed. Maybe, what the Kennel Club and Crufts need, is a competitor. Another organisation to emerge and build up a following that is more in tune with insisting on recognising the kind of dogs that (sensible) people want to buy...
but the public response doesn't tell you how the breeder or judge feels. It only tells you how the public feels. It doesn't reflect the breeder's worldview at all.
