Its all happening today

Well I wasn't planning on posting everyday, but since PDE:Three Years On there seems to be a lot happening.
So I've worked closely with several people during my time at university, during research projects, and like to think I've made good friends with all of them. Which is why I was so surprised when I received a very direct email telling me I should watch PDE:2 and take something from it. Now this person knows I love dogs, she also knows that I haven't bred dogs, but that I want to do so the right way in the future. She also knows my opinion on certain dog practises. So why did she send me an emailing including quotes such as "No need to breed a specific breed." and "There is no other explanation( than being selfish) for dog/cat breeding….mix is as cute as pure" ending with she just thought she should say this to me and I need to "keep my eyes open."
I'm sorry. I was under the impression I was keeping my eyes open, and that you agreed with a lot of the things I had spoken about on the topic when we were working together. I don't think I need to say I was a little taken aback and quite frankly angered by the email.
I have no responded to the email, not wanting to get into a huge debate that could last a lifetime. Instead I leave with the opinion that, not once did PDE2 say that pedigree dogs should not exists (except those that are past saving due to 100% of the population suffering) and was trying to emphasise the point that we can go back to what the breeds used to look like and move away from disorders and diseases. So I am confused as to why this person has said "No need to breed a specific breed."

Personally I think it is good that we have dog breeds. Knowing a breed is useful as we know relatively how large the animal will get, their temperament, their grooming needs, their exercise needs etc. And we still use certain breeds for very specific jobs. I love a mix breed, and think they are very cute! I have just ended up with pedigree dogs over the years. Yes Elliot was a choice, but for the exact reason I just mentioned. I liked how big he got and his exercise tolerance matched well with what I am capable of. Buying a breed is excellent and good but for those with very distinct needs and requirements or in certain situations have the benefit with pedigree dogs in that they can choose a dog well suited to them. So no I think we should have specific breeds but that should never be taken in a way that means I think we shouldn't have mix breeds. Mix breeds are lovely but you don't always know what your going to get, especially with size, shape and coat type. The amount of labradoodles I have seen in a grooming parlour with matted coats because the breeders assumed the next batch of puppies would have coarse coats and not the soft downy coat that can sometimes occur.

Finally if there should be no specific breeds then you should be willing to argue the same point in regards to every domesticated animal in the world today. Cows, horses, sheep, pigs, cats etc. Breeds were created for a reason and I don't believe we should get rid of them.

Me with a rosette winning Holstein Friesian. A lovely breed of cow bred for robustness, milk yield and reliability in the dairy farming industry.

Breed Standard

So, today I was simply getting on with my dissertation and during a moment of procrastination (i.e spending my time on facebook) I discovered that the Kooikerhondje breed standard in the UK is due to change in April.

For my 16th birthday I was told I could pick any breed of dog I like and get a puppy. Moving to our new house in the countryside and finishing secondary school was a great time. I chose the Kooikerhondje and 6 months later Elliot joined the family. The Kooikerhondje is a small/medium sized dog, with beautiful markings and an alert happy nature. Every morning Elliot does what we call "roly polys" to greet us and he actually looks as though he is grinning. Everyday with him I wake up happy.

Originally I wanted to do obedience or agility with my dog, but good grades doesn't come naturally to me so I didn't have time to do my A-levels well and keep up with the dog training effectivly. So we decided that showing would be the next best thing to do with him, as it did not require intensive training/time. I quickly became swept up in the show world and Elliot won himself a respectable number of colourful rosettes.

When I started university we went to shows less. My mum has a full time job, and I am in London most of the year. We also began to notice that as Elliot got older he did not enjoy shows as much and was very quiet a reserved compared to his excitable barking and ten to a dozen tail when I messed about with freestyle tricks. (Freestyle is also known as doggy dancing). So we decided to only go to shows that were close to home, and to go to Crufts every year. It certainly did Elliot some good as the few times a year we do go to shows now, he does appear more interested and excited.

But as we went less and less to the show ring, we noticed that Elliot won less and less. People were forgetting who he was and rather than "judging the dog on the day" nobody seemed to notice us or him. What also suprised me was the number of new dogs that were appearing, (mostly bitches) all seeming to come from a common sire or dam and all beginning to show smaller foxier snouts compared to the square heads that I was always under the impression was desirable in the breed. I began to become suspicious of the dog world more and more and question the judges themselves. It was becoming apparent to me that its not what you know/what you have but who you know.

It is not all about the winning. I genuinly enjoy the day out with my dog. I love walking around the stalls, grooming him before a show so he is lovely and white and having some proper bonding time. Not to mention getting him used to big crowds and areas with lots of other dogs. I won't lie it is a lovely bonus to walk away with a rosette, but it isn't the priority for me. And more so now, I find myself wanting to go to observe what is happening the the breed in the short 5 years I have been showing Elliot.

I have not seen the new breed standard for the Kooikerhondje, I have just heard that it is happening. I only hope it doesn't stray too far from the original, which was based on the Dutch Breed Standard. The home of origin of the Kooikerhondje. Although it would not surprise me if it does. I can remember clearly being told at a show one day "Oh we want to change the breed standard. We want to create a British Kooikerhondje and move away from those dogs selected in the European countries."

We've all seen what can happen when someone decides to produce their own version of a breed for the UK showring.

Three years on...

So tonight I watched Pedigree Dogs Exposed: Three Years On. And I was inspired to start writing down my take on the dog world, in an attempt to gather my thoughts, opinions and notes to ultimately help me in the future.

Pedigree Dogs Exposed shook the dog world to the core and was a massive "sit up and listen!" to everyone who loves dogs including myself. I'll be honest, I knew dog inbreeding was bad and caused some problems but not to that degree. For anyone interested in the original programme you can find it here;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhXHFOrBbEc

Three years on looked at what had happened after the outcry. After Pedigree Chum refused to be involved in dog shows. After the BBC axed the showing of Crufts. And personally I felt it was a very balanced representation of the dog world as it is today. Some may argue that there wasn't much on the good that the Kennel Club are doing, but there was; They praised the donation of funding towards the Animal Health Trust DNA Test centre, they acknowledged the decision to register the dalmation "mongrel" as a dalmation, they confirmed that the Kennel Club has now banned brother-sister, mother-son matings etc. All of which were also echoed in the Kennels Clubs film "Dogs, A Healthy Future" which I also watched.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrWjVFKuAg8

I don't want this to turn into a which is better, I think this, the kennel club is bad, the kennel club os good debate. But a chance to gather my observations and thoughts on all these publications of what is happening within the dog world.

Watching programmes such as PDE and Dogs-AHF is there does appear to be a reoccurring theme. The individuals feeling of attack/competition.
Lets take a step back and look at something which was said in PDE:Three Years On.
"The Kennel Club doesn't even suggest a level of inbreeding. Unlike the Swedish Kennel Club, and there it works."
This reminded me of something I was once told in a lecture at University. The topic was Foot and Mouth disease and how UK managed the outbreak and how the UK manages herd health as a general rule. I remember out lecturer telling us how Sweden was incredibly successfull in controlling disease within their country and remaining free of most diseases. He continually praised how efficient and quick they are at settling most situations which are a cause of concern. So that is two examples now where Sweden is better than the UK. So why can Sweden do it and not us? My answer: Community.

Sweden has an incredible sense of community. Everyone communicates with one another, whether that be the farmers with eachover and the government, the dog breeders and advisory councils, business' etc. They are a community who can listen and adapt opinions to find an overall solution that works. Something that Britain cannot do.

Britain has completely lost its sense of community, and we see it in almost every aspect. Business, banks, family breakdowns, farmers not communicating with the government or advisory bodies like Defra (the reason for the 2001 Foot and Mouth outbreak) and not to mention the tragic scenes of the rioting last summer. Britain doesn't want to work together, Britain wants to be the best. Britain thrives on competition. Most people want to be the best, know the most, achieve the most, be the popular kid, win the most awards, be the stongest or most shocking. I have even heard people arguing over who raised the most money for charity. It all links to the good old "story topper."

You know the one. If I say "I fell off my horse while riding today." they reply with "I fell off a horse 5 years ago. It was terrible. I had to go to hospital." with not so much as a "Oh are you ok?" beforehand. They are the kind of people who managed to swing any situation back onto themselves. And this is what I am seeing throughout all these programmes.
I was very excited when PDE first aired and couldn't wait to discuss it at a dog show I had the following weekend. I was shocked when rather than talking about the matter at hand (the dogs) I was answered with "Oh its so bad! It labelled all of us with the same brush. I'm going to get people thinking I'm a bad breeder." When the breed club responses to the Kennel Clubs proposed changes to breed standards began they were full of quotes such as "We've been breeding for hundreds of years. We know what our club wants for our breed. Its awful that the Kennel Club is trying the change the way we have been doing things for years." The Kennel Club itself has said "We are slowly making changes but we can't change everything. We don't want to drive our breeders away."

An awful lot of opinions regarding the individual or the club being attacked and not being taken seriously. A perfect example of how each individual is feeling personally attacked and thus is having the harder time, or dealing with the most pressure, or facing a threat or a change for the worse. Typicaly story topping and an act of competition but very little being mentioned about the whole reason for this debate..... The dogs.