Hot Dogues

There were a lot of hot Dogues at Crufts on the Saturday - at least on the benches -  as the following pictures show.

Now it was warm in the NEC (and I hear that one steward refused to open a door to increase airflow as he was trying to prevent dogs and owners leaving before the permitted 4pm). But as you can see, several have stenotic nares - and although some are better than others, none here has the truly wide-open pipes one would like to see.  This is not a fault currently highlighted on the KC's Breedwatch but I think it should be. These are big, heavy dogs with short faces and skin folds. They need open airways to help them keep cool. And we know it's possible in a dog with this conformation - most of the Neopolitan Mastiffs are fine in this respect.

The Neos at Crufts 2012 - Pt 2

Well how about that...?  It turns out there was one genuinely nice, unexaggerated young Mastino bitch at Crufts. Her name? Nukualofa's Viola. Owner? Kim Slater, the UK Club's health rep.

Nukualofa's Viola won Junior Bitch and Reserve Best Bitch.  Now, she is only 16 months old - too young for her to be fully-wrinkled yet - and most of the others in the class were shockers. But I'm not going to publish them because this dog gives us some hope for the future and deserves some unadulterated celebration.

I was genuinely delighted to have these pictures drop into my inbox this morning.

This is what I have meant all along... a dog that I hope the breed stalwarts will consider typey enough, without burdening the poor beast with life-compromising excess flesh.

Well done. Really. Well done.

The Neos at Crufts 2012 - Pt 1

Here are the males - bitches to follow later. (Click to expand the pictures. Class and placing printed bottom right on every pic.)

On the plus-side, most of the Neos have wide open nostrils (which is more than can be said for the Dogues de Bordeaux - pix to follow) and they have gleaming coats.  And, no,  one can't expect miracles overnight. But I will continue highlighting this breed until the dogs born into it have a reasonable chance of a long, comfortable and unnecessarily-encumbered life. 

I see UK Neo health rep Kim Slater on the new Exhibitor Choice + Voice Facebook site is arguing that it will be impossible to ever get tight eyes in the breed because the breed standard demands loose skin.

In other words, it wouldn't be a Neo without ectropion. And we're hearing much the same from the Clumber and Basset denialists, too. Depressing.

Also to come... why are SO many breeds now cutting or shaving off whiskers (or vibrissae as they are more correctly known) - especially, as is evident on some of these Neos, on muzzles that are already prone to soreness? 

The view from Clarges St

So... after the wierdest Crufts ever and a fair proportion of the show world up in arms and talking of revolution and overthrow (a Clarges St spring, perhaps...) what does the Kennel Club do? It puts out a press release entitled: "Nine of fifteen breeds pass veterinary checks at Crufts".

Next week: "Bless! Dog can still wag tail despite head falling off"

The British Veterinary Association, meanwhile, has released a strong message in support of both the Kennel Club for embracing the principle of independent vet checks, and the vets themselves.

“This initiative by the Kennel Club is to be applauded," says the BVA's Harvey Locke. "It is a huge step forward in tackling the health problems in pedigree dogs as a result of their exaggerated conformation. The KC deserves the support of the veterinary profession and dog welfare organisations at this time.

“We also pay tribute to the two BVA members who were chosen to carry out the veterinary checks after responding to our open letter in Veterinary Record asking for volunteers.

“They have performed their duties in a highly professional manner and have certainly set an example to the show vets who will be carrying out these checks at future championship shows."

The KC press release is not online yet - will provide a link when it is.

Bulldog Breed Council statement

The Bulldog Breed Council yesterday issued a statement (a real one...) regarding the disqualification of Ch Mellowmood One in a Million at Crufts following a vet check last Thursday.

It  says that "Jenny" had an old and minor eye injury - incurred when she was a puppy. It has caused the dog no lasting irritation or damage.

It is obviously important to tread a little carefully here as I do not have the benefit of the vet report which has not been released. But if this is the case, and if there was no other reason for the dog's DQ, then her disqualification would seem unfair.

Overall, Jenny is a less exaggerated Bulldog; she was not panting in the ring and having seen some footage of her at Crufts uploaded to YouTube, she did, indeed, move freely enough. So did the dog CC, incidentally - Birmingham Prince at Midlandbulls - although this dog's right nostril looks stenotic which will not help his breathing and, as others have noted before, Bulldog teeth do not seem a big priority in the ring (perhaps because of the difficulty of achieving good teeth in a brachycephalic head).

The dog CC - Birmingham Prince at Midlandbulls

Of course, as was made ultra clear by the Kennel Club, it was not the independent vet's job to rule on exaggeration - or even stenotic nares - so the fact that Jenny is better than some is not the issue here. The vet's job was to pick up lameness, obvious respiratory problems; skin issues and debilitating eye problems.  Does an old, healed eye injury fit this bill? No, it doesn't. But what's needed now is not litigation (after all, everyone entered knowing the vet decision was final and referees in every sport from cricket to tennis to football get it wrong from time to time - you just have to take it on the chin).

What's needed is a sensible discussion about how to make independent scrutiny work.  The decision to make the checks independent was last-minute - prompted in part I believe by the widespread scepticism that if they weren't it would be a whitewash. After all, the Chief Vet at Crufts is a former breeder/exhibitor of pugs who is on the record saying he doesn't believe that hemivertebrae in the breed has anything to do with a breed standard that says that a double curl in the tail is desirable or that having a ridiculously flat face causes breathing problems.

Below are a couple of other pix from the Bulldogs at Crufts, showing that this breed has a long way to go, overall, particularly regarding the very short muzzle. But there has been some progress made regarding leg-length/athleticism, and there's no doubt that gasping waddlers are much less likely to be rewarded in the ring today. And, yes, the Bulldog Breed Council was working on this before Pedigree Dogs Exposed.

It was unfortunate for them, really, that PDE - Three Years On was able to show a dog with obvious eye and skin-fold problems (not entered at Crufts, I note, despite having qualified) winning at Newbury last year (BOB and Group 1).  It is evidence, though, of why we need vet checks. If they had been up and running last summer, the Newbury champ would not have won.

Bulldogs at Crufts 2012

Post Crufts: statement from the KC

(well, the one I think they should be making, anyways...)

WE ARE BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE -

 AND WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT

"Three and a half years ago, our world was shaken by the BBC documentary Pedigree Dogs Exposed and the fall-out that followed. Many of us felt the film was unfair, and it certainly didn't highlight the many excellent, health-focused breeders whose dogs we are proud to register.  But there was enough truth in it to ensure that it could not be ignored - especially when the veterinary profession, scientists and animal welfare charities backed the film's message and also demanded that the Kennel Club and dog breeders act to resolve problems.

"The fact is that we had taken our eye off the ball. Inbreeding and selection for the show-ring has caused damage in some breeds. We have not taken enough genetic care of the old breeds we treasure or the new breeds coming on to the register.  And the breed clubs are, sometimes, a law unto themselves to the detriment of the dogs. And although this is by no means the whole story, these issues are serious enough to warrant action.

"For several years, and particularly in the last three, the Kennel Club has worked hard to try to address problems while endeavouring to keep breeders on board. We haven't always got it right. But we believe there is no point in wishing for a return where we conducted our hobby away from the glare of public scrutiny; or in believing that the critics will go away if we don't do everything we can to ensure we are producing - and rewarding - happy, healthy dogs.

"After a tumultous Crufts that we know was difficult for some of you, the Kennel Club is at a crossroads. One path leads to a world where our hobby is increasingly conducted behind closed doors, where we try to hide from scrutiny. It is, we believe, the path to oblivion.  The other path affords a real opportunity for us and UK dog breeders to lead the world as we did when the Kennel Club - the first of them all - was founded in 1873.

"We believe the expertise, talent and commitment to dogs that define many Kennel Club breeders gives us the potential to do something special for dogs - to reconsider some breeds (and re-write their breed standards) where necessary; to open the door to judicious outcrossing where it is needed (and not just in those breeds that are already on their genetic knees); to be transparent on health issues and welcome outside input; to acknowledge that dog shows do need to find a way to reward good health as much as good looks; to give breeders and the public more tools to help them make better choices; to embrace science and history, and to not be too proud to learn from other Kennel Clubs where they are doing it better.

"To do this, we need your support. Please pledge that support  - and tell us what you think and what you'd like to see - by emailing Kennel Club Chairman Steve Dean on steve.dean@thekennelclub.org.uk

Buzzed Lightyear... the DQ'd Basset

And the final dog in the 15 highlighted breeds to not be awarded its BOB at Crufts 2012 was the Basset Hound Ch Buzz Lightyear at Dereheath.

Pictures of the dog - revealing a typical show Basset - can be found here. Again, I think the most likely reason was ectropion. I actually didn't see a Basset at Crufts today without it.


The Bloodhound BOB, however, passed - Ch Marksbury Serious of Maplemead. I was ringside to see her win and had a chance to say hello to her afterwards. She's a lovely, friendly, unexaggerated bitch with better-than-average eyes for a Bloohound (and there were some shockers there). Everyone was convinced ringside that the Bloodhound BOB would fail, whichever dog won, so I imagine that they were pleased.

There's a picture of Marsbury Serious of Maplemead here (third pic down, winning BIS at the Association of Bloodhound Breeders Champ Show last September). She looks pretty good, doesn't she?

Post mortem on what will surely go down as one of the most extraordinary Crufts ever to come...   plus some pix I haven't yet had a chance to upload...

Edit 15/3: an anonymous comment to the blog today (15/3) maintains that ectropion was not the reason for the dog's DQ so I have tweaked the copy above. Although without further, non-anon evidence, it is impossible to say either way for sure.