tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1183957703077342201.post5423553960243032421..comments2024-03-20T17:32:35.238+00:00Comments on Pedigree Dogs Exposed - The Blog: UKC leads the way in the US with breed standard revisionsJemima Harrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05092892697145388048noreply@blogger.comBlogger55125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1183957703077342201.post-56285666884012631632012-04-09T15:09:50.250+01:002012-04-09T15:09:50.250+01:00I do have to admit that I do have mixed feelings a...I do have to admit that I do have mixed feelings about the UKC approach. Not because the idea in itself appears bad or unreasonable. I am simply worried that they will take a turn similar to the very, very strict German breedings regulations (which are - to my knowledge - amongst the strictest there are regarding conformation and character testing but somehow not necessarily for all breeds health) because their regulations have effectively severely limited the gene pool. Every year there are many more bitches who receive their breeding certification than there are males. <br />I have even met breeders who said they would not import dogs from abroad because within their breed club they could not get breeding permission for an imported dog and have or intend to found a new breed club (I think by now they have done that). Their "breeding commissions" that preapprove all matings to ensure health and genetic diversity are as much the root as they are the solution of the problem.<br />While I support adjustment of standards care should be taken that this does not create so far unforeseen problems. As long as they regulate by standards I see no problems but I am always concerned where they will end. Especially at the point of determining breed use. <br />If I have a doberman pinscher/rottweiler/giant schnauzer/Boxer, is it a protection dog, a family pet, a guide dog, an assistance dog, an SAR dog, a police dog? And how could a standard adequately represent all these uses? Still a worse example: the dalmatian is - what? The guardian of the borders of Dalmatia? The coach dog who was a pretty effective and assertive guardian of horse, stable and carriage? SAR dogs? Family pets? How would a standard in the long run affect these things? <br />I have seen Rottweilers complimented by one judge for their "open and friendly temperament" and criticized by others for "lacking aloofness with strangers". This is my real (and basically only) concern with this adjustment of standards. The UKC says putting emphasis on the breed purpose will guarantee healthier breeds (and with the Basset Hound, GSD and Pekingese I can see how it does with the adjustments they made). If they draw the line at an appropriate point I am all for it. But after having been to Germany and seeing what happened there and how they refine a breed I have become more of a libertarian regarding dog breeding than I ever thought possible before...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1183957703077342201.post-66243935064475098722012-04-07T19:57:54.840+01:002012-04-07T19:57:54.840+01:00Anonymous in the USA here. I'm extremely turn...Anonymous in the USA here. I'm extremely turned off by AR activists who often have unrealistic and extreme views, but would really like to see the dog show industry kicked in the nuts. I *am* a breeder and I *do* occasionally show, but I'm also a Biologist and believe the status quo elitism and misguided snobbery are extremely harmful to pedigree dogs. The idea that only dog show champions from an increasingly narrow part of the genepool should be bred and that quality, health and function can be determined by running a dog around in a circle and being selected by somebody who may have never seen the breed at work or in a home environment is ludicrous. And yet this is exactly the kind of ignorance that the dog show culture promotes and the human desire to be popular or win a prize most definitely trumps animal welfare and integrity in many cases. So, I'm with ya'll on this cause and hope it eventually comes across the pond to bite the AKC in the butt too.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1183957703077342201.post-37110056552187962012012-04-06T18:40:47.225+01:002012-04-06T18:40:47.225+01:00Well if America taks over 100 years to stop ear ...Well if America taks over 100 years to stop ear cropping what do you expect!!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1183957703077342201.post-24999126352133728292012-04-06T02:35:56.812+01:002012-04-06T02:35:56.812+01:00Maybe you should visit a few high kill shelters. ...Maybe you should visit a few high kill shelters. Not all BREEDS have overpopulation problems but pit bull types, Labs and lab types and mutts of every discription certainly DO. There are not enough homes for all these dogs (who of course produce large litters that rapidly outpace the demand for them). Also about 25% of all dogs in shelters are purebreds. Some are there for a reason and some are there because of bad luck on their part.<br />summerhorseAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1183957703077342201.post-61860333433072555892012-04-05T23:13:53.742+01:002012-04-05T23:13:53.742+01:00Yeah, well, both Wayne and UKC talk a big game in ...Yeah, well, both Wayne and UKC talk a big game in public.<br /><br />And then do whatever the hell they want.<br /><br />The very best thing about UKC is that when Wayne bought it and attempted an alpha roll on my breed's club, that was the catalyst for the ESC to part with them entirely and found a modern, member-owned, non-profit single-breed registry that supports breed conservation. Buh-bye.<br /><br />Wayne's master plan to make fluffy show dogs out of our hideously unimproved working farm dogs has not panned out so good.<br /><br />Dog breeders might reflect that an entity that can summarily rewrite a standard for "good" reasons can do so for less-savory motivations as well. Wait until you read a standard written for a breed you own and treasure, by an office drone who has never <i>seen</i> an example of the breed. Good times.<br /><br />UKC's "standard" for my breed, written by godknowswho, begins with the phrase "According to legend..." You can't make this shit up. (Although, apparently, they <i>can</i><br /><br />Not that anyone who matters gives a rat's ass what it says. Except the curious statement that the breed is "rather free with its teeth." That seems to be an invitation to BSL. I look forward to the day when I explain that it is only the remnant "UKC-registered" English shepherds who bite willy-nilly.Heather Houlahanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13891198124130533198noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1183957703077342201.post-78848326071861665172012-04-04T16:44:54.848+01:002012-04-04T16:44:54.848+01:00Any sport/hobby that has anything to do with exhib...Any sport/hobby that has anything to do with exhibition of animals/livestock has the same element, the prestige for the owner/exhibitor. This is the same for dog shows, agriculktural shows, cat shows etc. Not that I have heard anyone on this site discuss the wider issues of animal breeding/husbandry etc, whilst you are tucking into your steak dinner, procured from an animal that has it's ration of fat to muscle genetically altered or exaggerated to increase volume of muscle as in Belgian Blue cattle<br /><br />Perhaps it is the wronful, but understandable, "humanisation" of the dog that warrants this reaction. The same as the revulsion that invokes disgust that certain cultures see nothing wrong with eating dogs, yet it is socially acceptable , in some cultures to eat beef, pork, chicken etc, all of which have been selectively bred for a purpose and/or function.<br /><br />You seem to constantly generalise and perpetuate that the aim of everyone in dog breeding is the same.....to sell puppies....not everyone does that. It is easy to tar everyone with the same brush, rather than trying to get a balanced view from both perspectives - changes in breeding types will take many years, and as a geneticist, diversity, although good, can still create problems as more is learned about tenets of certain genes and gene combinations. You must allow breeders to embrace change and cbreed for a reductionin extreme or exaggerated characteristics that are deemed to be to be detrimental - this will not happen overnight.<br /><br />Your comments regarding the shape of etc of exhibitors is offensive and not relevant.<br /><br />Your title of "Chatham Hill Gang" says it all - mob rule is alive and well - perhaps you need to reflect and consider reviewing the kind of holier than thou, know all zealots attitude, that you have become, as it is just the same belief that you state, incorrectly, I may add, that you accuse dog breeders to be.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1183957703077342201.post-42489966630106437152012-04-04T13:25:01.467+01:002012-04-04T13:25:01.467+01:00White Shepherds are a separate breed in UKC.White Shepherds are a separate breed in UKC.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1183957703077342201.post-24152085069356706182012-04-04T04:41:56.159+01:002012-04-04T04:41:56.159+01:00Yeah, but no. There is actually no "pet over...Yeah, but no. There is actually no "pet overpopulation" problem in the US. The UKC has more emphasis on working dogs than the AKC and follows the closed registry + competitive show model that reduces genetic diversity while simultaneously promoting fads and extremes, rather than actual soundness. This of course comes at the expense of health and working ability. <br /><br />Revising the standards is good, but unless you get the judges to actually adhere to the standards, it will do nothing to slow the structural deterioration of show stock. <br /><br />On paper, it would be hard to get better than the SV selection process for breeding stock: dogs must have working and conformation titles and health clearances in order to produce litters that can be registered. But look what happened to the GSD. <br /><br />So yeah, UKC is less bad than AKC, but that's about as far as it goes.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1183957703077342201.post-43850942737735868452012-04-04T04:31:02.597+01:002012-04-04T04:31:02.597+01:00Thanks, Kittenz. I guess what I need is some sort ...Thanks, Kittenz. I guess what I need is some sort of literature search, to turn up when and in what country liver first appeared. Your black and silver was a common and accepted color. Your BYB, unregistered dog was probably better bred and certainly sounder than the dogs that are winning prizes today.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1183957703077342201.post-4782059341946147382012-04-04T00:07:23.193+01:002012-04-04T00:07:23.193+01:00Anon,
Here's another link with better photos:...Anon,<br /><br />Here's another link with better photos: http://www.4gsd.net/colours.htmlkittenznoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1183957703077342201.post-24274347217285565832012-04-03T23:56:38.620+01:002012-04-03T23:56:38.620+01:00* My reply to retrieverman should have said "...* My reply to retrieverman should have said "(level-backed)" instead of (lever-backed), sorrykittenznoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1183957703077342201.post-84022575636656798982012-04-03T23:46:15.115+01:002012-04-03T23:46:15.115+01:00I do believe that the day is coming - soon - when ...I do believe that the day is coming - soon - when ear-cropping will be banned in many states. It will take state bans to force the hand of the 800-lb gorillas (the AKC and the AVMA). But the day is coming. If more videos were shown on youtube, of puppies waking up from the ear-crop - they ALWAYS wake up screaming. Always. - and of the ear-crop "failures" from which the dogs' appearance is ruined for life, maybe that day would come sooner. <br /><br />Tail docks done soon after birth are not quite so invasive. It'll take a lot longer for those to be eliminated.<br /><br />I believe that education is the key, just as education in the form of such terrific journalism as <i>Pedigree Dogs Exposed</i> has been instrumental in getting the UKC (for instance) to begin revising its breed standards.<br /><br />Now if education could only get the AKC to revise its GREED standards...kittenznoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1183957703077342201.post-59717555940985258432012-04-03T23:36:52.286+01:002012-04-03T23:36:52.286+01:00Yes, Anon, liver-colored purebred shepherds do exi...Yes, Anon, liver-colored purebred shepherds do exist. You can google and find tons of photos. There are also red or tawny colored shepherds that have no black markings, or just minimal black markings such as mask & ears. Here is a link to a website with good, clear photos of various allowed and disallowed shepherd colors: http://www.jmadesign.com/Frankenhaus/colorgen01.shtmlkittenznoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1183957703077342201.post-65485013492642327402012-04-03T22:10:06.496+01:002012-04-03T22:10:06.496+01:00That red GSD raises more questions than it answers...That red GSD raises more questions than it answers. I doubt that that really is a shepherd. Betcha dollars to donuts it's a cross. It also has long hair, another flaw, but not so serious. Point is not that liver is a flaw, but that I doubt that that color even exists in that breed. Do you have more info?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1183957703077342201.post-45713006856032823482012-04-03T21:28:38.271+01:002012-04-03T21:28:38.271+01:00The AKC's board of directors pull down 6-figur...The AKC's board of directors pull down 6-figure salaries. And everyone involved in the organization is paid nicely. Not to mention that many judges and handlers receive exorbitant fees, and are making tons of money breeding too. Some are even invested in the commercial breeding operations that the AKC pretends to despise. It's like those sham charities we're always advised to avoid. OF COURSE it's the money.<br /><br />The UKC is honest about it and does not pretend to be a non-profit. I've always had respect for the UKC and more so now. The AKC has been a big factor in the extreme pet overpopulation problem in this country and the extreme decline in the quality of dogs, too. I have no respect for the AKC; they are a phony as the "papers" on many of the puppies they register no-questions-asked-just-fork-over-the-dough.kittenznoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1183957703077342201.post-91706857778164089062012-04-03T21:16:45.275+01:002012-04-03T21:16:45.275+01:00You're right, Scottie. The disqualification fo...You're right, Scottie. The disqualification for "nose other color than black" effectively eliminates dilutes such as blues and livers. I have yet to see any documented research proving that blue or liver GSDs - or dark-skinned whites, for that matter - are prone to any of the "metabolic disorders" so ominously hinted at in the AKC literature. Obviously the UKC took this stipulation from the AKC standard (although to be fair, the standards of many other countries, including Germany, disallow these colors too). <br />"A good dog cannot be a bad color". That has always been a GSD mantra. And almost all GSDs, even the horribly disfigured ones that are so common in both Schutzhund and shows, are good dogs. <br />I want all this AKC-inspired craziness to stop! I want to see GSDs return to the reliable, long-lived, beautiful dogs I grew up with. My brothers and I ran these good old Eastern Kentucky hills from daylight til dark when I was growing up in the 1960s and 70s, and my mother never worried - because we had our (backyard-bred)(non-registered)(lever-backed)(black-and-silver) absolutely wonderful GSD with us.kittenznoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1183957703077342201.post-54426377446906053792012-04-03T20:52:56.873+01:002012-04-03T20:52:56.873+01:00Nope. They disqualify the black nose to effectivel...Nope. They disqualify the black nose to effectively disqualify livers and blues. Ironically, though, plenty of WHITE GSDs have black noses. And they're not albinos. So does that mean that white GSDs are now eligible for conformation competition at UKC shows?kittenznoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1183957703077342201.post-29001537188800256152012-04-03T16:46:10.193+01:002012-04-03T16:46:10.193+01:00The last UKC show I was at had an undocked Standar...The last UKC show I was at had an undocked Standard Poodle, and an undocked German Pincher.Rachaelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1183957703077342201.post-46001533723152720052012-04-03T16:44:34.913+01:002012-04-03T16:44:34.913+01:00Albinism is a DQ in I believe ALL UKC breeds.Albinism is a DQ in I believe ALL UKC breeds.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1183957703077342201.post-58864551981284488042012-04-03T16:43:39.691+01:002012-04-03T16:43:39.691+01:00Wrong on GSP's....AKC is the only registry in ...Wrong on GSP's....AKC is the only registry in the US that disqualifies black GSP's (which have black noses). UKC and the various hunting organization/registries such as NAVHDA all allow blacks. In fact many black GSP's are shown in UKC. AKC disqualifies them from the ring but they can be registered and entered in AKC events.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1183957703077342201.post-73707242746743784852012-04-03T16:40:55.984+01:002012-04-03T16:40:55.984+01:00UKC allows cropped OR natural ears in breeds that ...UKC allows cropped OR natural ears in breeds that have traditionally cropped ears.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1183957703077342201.post-58088538565976904192012-04-03T13:25:59.005+01:002012-04-03T13:25:59.005+01:00What was wrong with the Lovely Level Toplined GSD ...What was wrong with the Lovely Level Toplined GSD ??? We had one when I was young. He would run for Hours. I would love to Put a level Toplined GSD up against the " New Sloped Ones and see who can out work who. I would bet the Level Topline would win anytime !Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1183957703077342201.post-52169057938256040442012-04-03T13:23:56.689+01:002012-04-03T13:23:56.689+01:00A dog who's nose is not black is more vulnerab...A dog who's nose is not black is more vulnerable to cancer causing sun damage.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1183957703077342201.post-35350521762673575592012-04-03T00:08:21.138+01:002012-04-03T00:08:21.138+01:00Hey Jemima, glad to hear that you support the Unit...Hey Jemima, glad to hear that you support the United Kennel Club in America.....an organisation that condones the cropping of ears and docking of tails........way to go......your stance on health of pedigree dogs seems to support ...let's not bother with trying to breed out issues....just let's cut them off and throw them in the bin!!<br /><br />Talk about shooting yourself in the foot......well done, you have done tour campaign no end of good, Jemimna....you have just lost my support and I hope others see through your campaign of being selective with information and promoting your own, biased propaganda.<br /><br />I am sure you can just cut out this post...hey, that would kind of line with you promoting the UKC and cropped ears...scissors,clamps,scalpels at the ready!!!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1183957703077342201.post-31943490398983282852012-04-02T19:15:54.979+01:002012-04-02T19:15:54.979+01:00On second thought, that dog isn't a true albin...On second thought, that dog isn't a true albino. Its eyes are brown.Retrievermanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15780519136583108632noreply@blogger.com