Just before Christmas I was watching a re-run of the film Genevieve. Kay Kendall turns up with a large dog - and it took me quite a while to realise it was a St Bernard. No sore eyes, no slobber, skin that seemed to fit the dog......and this film was made in 1953. Sixty years of 'breeding' - or rather 'wrecking' - these dogs.
Swiss mountain dogs are one of those collections of breeds that were split from a common landrace ancestor. What Bernese mountain dogs need is to be allowed to interbreed once again with the Greater Swiss Mountain Dog, Appenzeller Sennenhund, Entlebucher Mountain Dog, and St. Bernard to get some heterozygosity going again.
Good to see your blog is back. I would love you to highlight the plight of Irish Water Spaniels. It is a breed I love but after watching my last two suffer from a catalogue of problems followed by an early death from cancer aged 7 and 9 I can't go through the heart break again. This fabulous breed doesn't deserve what inbreeding is throwing at them. On the IWS Association website, nowhere does it warn people that 90% of IWSs die of cancer before they reach 9yrs (data drawn from their own survey if you look hard enough). Nor does it recommend people check the inbreeding co-efficiency percentage... too scary a prospect I guess.
I wish a forward looking breeder out there would outcross and save the breed.
We had one in the vet practice where I work during the week, a really sweet tempered dog. Suddenly off his hindlegs. We did an MRI, hoping for a disc problem that would be surgically fixable. Nope, spinal tumour. Xrayed chest too - lungs had tumours in. He was 5 years old.
Even besides it being a Berner,they make it like you need to conform to the breed standard and participate in conformation shows to be a good breeder. I disliked it for that than anything else.
Yes, they need to elaborate on that glancing reference to health testing...
ReplyDeleteSad, just terribly terribly sad. Not the only breed with longevity issues, either.
ReplyDeleteNot just (although chiefly) tragic for the dogs it's also pathetic that the breeder has put so much misplaced effort and care into the dogs' breeding.
Welcome back. I've missed your though-provoking blogs.
Just before Christmas I was watching a re-run of the film Genevieve. Kay Kendall turns up with a large dog - and it took me quite a while to realise it was a St Bernard. No sore eyes, no slobber, skin that seemed to fit the dog......and this film was made in 1953. Sixty years of 'breeding' - or rather 'wrecking' - these dogs.
ReplyDeleteChris.
This piqued my curiosity and I found a clip on youtube. FF to 1:30.
Deletehttp://youtu.be/alI2zi887NE
Swiss mountain dogs are one of those collections of breeds that were split from a common landrace ancestor. What Bernese mountain dogs need is to be allowed to interbreed once again with the Greater Swiss Mountain Dog, Appenzeller Sennenhund, Entlebucher Mountain Dog, and St. Bernard to get some heterozygosity going again.
ReplyDeleteYes!! All the other berner people look at me as though i'm mad when i want a berner/entlebucher or appenzeller cross
DeleteGood to see your blog is back. I would love you to highlight the plight of Irish Water Spaniels. It is a breed I love but after watching my last two suffer from a catalogue of problems followed by an early death from cancer aged 7 and 9 I can't go through the heart break again. This fabulous breed doesn't deserve what inbreeding is throwing at them. On the IWS Association website, nowhere does it warn people that 90% of IWSs die of cancer before they reach 9yrs (data drawn from their own survey if you look hard enough). Nor does it recommend people check the inbreeding co-efficiency percentage... too scary a prospect I guess.
ReplyDeleteI wish a forward looking breeder out there would outcross and save the breed.
I have an outcrossed IWS as it happens - three quarters IWS and a quarter collie.She is fabulous.
DeleteJemima
7 years on average, shocking.
ReplyDeleteThe BMD I occasionally see here in Sydney, Australia are also always panting, hulking masses. Shame.
We had one in the vet practice where I work during the week, a really sweet tempered dog. Suddenly off his hindlegs. We did an MRI, hoping for a disc problem that would be surgically fixable. Nope, spinal tumour. Xrayed chest too - lungs had tumours in. He was 5 years old.
ReplyDeleteYah, I cringed when I saw they'd picked a Berner for that. There are other breeds that it would have been much more correct for!
ReplyDeleteEven besides it being a Berner,they make it like you need to conform to the breed standard and participate in conformation shows to be a good breeder. I disliked it for that than anything else.
ReplyDelete