Stop brachycephalism, now!

That's the title of a hard-hitting article in the Canadian Veterinary Journal by veterinary dentist Dr Fraser Hale in which he says that breeding brachycephalic dogs is unethical. 

Critics of Pugs, Bulldogs, Pekes, Boston Terriers and other short-faced breeds often focus on the dogs' inability to breathe - but as Dr Hale spells out, in pursuit of "cute" we have created dogs with hideously deformed mouths that often condemn the dogs to a lifetime of pain.

A typical pug mouth

"... the maxilla is too short compared to the mandibles. The upper incisors are in traumatic contact with the floor of the mouth and lower canine teeth. The maxillary premolars are so crowded that there may be no gingiva between and little or no bone support and the teeth may be rotated 90° or more.  

"Some teeth may be under-erupted due to crowding and impaction against adjacent or opposing teeth. The result is that the animal effectively bites itself every time it closes its mouth and there is an extreme predisposition to early onset and rapid progression of periodontal disease.  

"The traumatic contact between the maxillary incisors and the mandibular structures will often lead to traumatic pulpitis and pulp necrosis in the maxillary incisors. There is also often severe bunching-up of the palatal rugae with entrapment of hair, food, and bacteria leading to chronic, painful palatitis hidden from view at the bottom of the deep, closed folds.  

"Some of the dental/oral liabilities associated with brachycephalism can be mitigated by proactive surgery (selective extraction), but many animals do not get to benefit from these procedures and so live with chronic dental pain and infection." 

Dr Fraser points out how illogical it is that veterinarians have campaigned for and, in many cases, achieved bans for cosmetic procedures such as ear-cropping, tail-docking and removal of dew claws which cause only temporary pain and yet have remained silent on this issue. He concludes:

I believe that as protectors of animal welfare, veterinarians should start a public awareness campaign to inform people of the serious, life-long negative impacts of brachycephalism. I believe we must stop referring to these conditions as “normal for the breed” and refer to them as “grossly abnormal in accordance with breed standards” because there is nothing remotely normal or desirable from the animal’s perspective. I believe we must stop using photographs of these deformed but comical breeds in advertising and promotional materials as this just increases public demand because they are “so cute.”

"I am sure these words are going to stimulate some lively, possibly acrimonious response. I am effectively saying that it is unethical to purposely reproduce animals that are specifically designed to have serious structural deformities. The extension of this thinking would be to ban a great number of breeds. Oh, the backlash! My word! But when one looks at it strictly from the animal’s perspective, there is no valid, logical justification for brachycephalism. Its only positive is that many people find brachycephalic breeds esthetically pleasing (cute) and that is not a valid excuse for wilful perpetuation of these mutations." 

Read the whole article here:

Dr Hale, 54, runs a small-animal dental and oral practice in Guelph, Ontario (www.toothvet.ca). I emailed him some questions:

• was there a specific incident that prompted you to write the article?      

This is something that has been bothering me for some years, and I always half joked that after I retire, when I do not care what people think of me (because it would not hurt my business), I would launch this campaign. I do not plan to retire for another 5-6 years at the earliest but I just could not keep silent any longer. The tipping point came when the newsletter of the Ontario Veterinary Medical Association bore this cover. 

On the one hand the cover talked about preventative care and on the other featured a montage of photos of a bulldog pup. The irony was too much to bear. So I wrote the editor a letter [which then formed the basis for the CVJ article]

• what response have you had to the article?

I have had no response and seen no replies to the piece in the CVJ. The Focus letter did spark some replies, most in support and a few taking a defensive stance. The Focus printed one positive and one negative letter. The negative letter was so full of logical holes that I did not bother responding to it. I have also mentioned this issue at a number of conferences and on an internet discussion board and I get lots of positive and supportive feedback from veterinarians. Aside from the one letter in the Focus, I cannot think of a single incident in which a veterinarian has given me any negative feedback so those that disagree with me are just keeping quiet about it.

• what do you think prevents veterinarians from speaking out more often?

Veterinarians are in a tough spot here. Imagine a new client shows up with their brand new pug puppy for first examination and vaccines. They have never had a dog before, have no idea what they have gotten themselves into and are just so happy and proud of their new bundle of joy. The veterinarian wants to keep this new client rather than scaring them away, so they are going to avoid all the negative and scary talk about all the problems that their pup is going to have with its mouth, its breathing, its eyes because it is a hideously deformed genetic mutation. So, they oh and ah over the cute little puppy and give it hugs and treats and send the owners home none-the-wiser about all the problems that are just around the corner. It is a bit of a conflict of interest. I am guilty of this too. I am concerned that if I get the reputation of being a brachy-hater, all of those clients with brachycephalics will go elsewhere and I lose 50% of my business. But if I am not part of the solution, I am part of the problem and I am getting tired of treating so much pathology that could be prevented simply by not creating deformed dogs and cats.

• do you share your frustration with the owners of the brachycephalic breeds you treat?

I try as diplomatically as I can to let them know that the reason their pet has so much pathology in the mouth is because of a serious craniofacial deformity. I have to judge each clients ability/willingness to hear this message and tailor my approach to that assessment. Some have said “If I had only known, I would never have gotten this breed”. I just wish people would research a breed thoroughly before they get their pet.

• which breeds are your main brachy clients?  

There could easily be a geographic bias with this, some breeds being more popular in one area than another, but I see all sorts. Pugs, Boston terriers, French Bulldogs, shih tzus, boxers, lhasa apsos and all sorts of mixed breeds. Then as well as brachycephalic dogs, highly miniaturized ones also have terrible mouths, so add Yorkies, toy and teacup poodles, Chihuahuas, Maltese, Havanese, Bichons… and any crosses of these breeds. And that is just a partial list. Of course, the small brachycephalics are the worst of the bunch. Oh yes, add CKCSs to the list.

• which breed/s in your view are the worst affected?

That is like asking which ocean is the wettest. All brachycephalic breeds are a mess and there is no valid rational or medical justification for the perpetuation of any of them.

Dr Hale with his mixed-breed adoptee Molly

All hail Dr Hale!

Stick an ice cube up his bum

This week's Dog World reports that the Kennel Club has approved the use of ramps in the Bulldog rings to assist with the judging of this blighted British breed.

The reasoning?

"As the Bulldog is one of the 14 Kennel Club high profile breeds, there is a particular emphasis on judges to look for any visible signs of exaggerations that may be causing the dogs pain or discomfort. It was agreed that the ramps allowed for a clearer examination of the dogs’ eyes and skin and would therefore assist judges in their assessment of the dogs.”

Tsk. Why not just make 'em run 10 times round the ring without stopping and exclude the ones that keel over?

I went searching for an official view - but am afraid got sidetracked by this piece of advice on the Bulldog Breed Council's website:

Click to enlarge

Now, the Breed Council has built their website so that you can't copy and paste from it (can't think why not) and the above is a near-unreadable screen-grab. So I hope you'll appreciate that I have gone to the considerable effort to re-type the whole thing for you (and, moreover, resisted the strong temptation to improve the grammar/syntax/sentence construction/punctuation/mistakes).

BREED COUNCIL ADVICE 

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR THE SUMER TIME. 

During hot weather make sure you folow these simple rules - it could save your bulldogs life. 

DON'T take your dog outside during the day! Shut him in a room with a cool floor and draw the curtains to keep the sunlight out, if you do this early enough it will prevent the room from becoming warm as the sun comes into the room. Have an electric fan running in the room to keep the air circulating and make sure there is fresh water available at all times, put a dribble of apple cider vinegar in the water, it will kelp keep the phlegm levels down. 

If he needs to go outside - GO WITH HIM, don't ket him lay out in the sun and bring him straight back in again when he's been tot the toilet. Spray him with cold water if necessary to keep his skin cool. 

If you are not home DON'T let him have free access to the garden, he WILL sun bathe and you will not be there to see when he's been out for too long. 

DON'T walk your dog in this weather, it's still very hot at 8 or 9pm, wait until its very late or walk very early in the morning - remember that tarmac also takes a while to cool off and even after the sun has gone down the roads can be very hot still. 

DON'T force an overheating dog to drink water, offer water, but if refused don't force this issue. HE WILL DRINK IF HE WANTS TO - the worst thing you can do is force him to drink, he could vomit and choke. You can make some ice cubes with glucose powder in the water to feed to him so he takes in fluid without guzzling too much water at once. 

MAKE sure NOW that you have in your cupboard a squizy Jiff lemon, use this FIRST if your dog is overheating, squirt it into the back of the dogs throat - it will break up the foam/phlegm in the throat. (Your dog will hate it but who cares) 

LISTEN to your dog, panting is fine, this is the only way your dog can lose body heat, but listen for a roar - best described as sounding like an asthma attack. If your dog start to roar IMMEDIATELY stand him in cold water, dogs only sweat through the pads of their feet and standing him in cold water has the same effect as putting a cold flannel on your head when you are hot. 

IF HE'S ALREADY TOO HOT - Keep him stook in a bath of cold water, pour water over his head and especially around his neck, you need to cool the bloom going to the brain, in several cases of o verheating there is a risk of brain damage from hot blood going to the brain. (Don't turn the hose pipe on him, it may panic him and make him worse). 

Place ice under his tail (Just inside his bottom if you can), keep pouring cold water over him and KEEP CALM, if you panic your dog will panic - if you suffer from asthma you will understan what I mean. 

Your dog will go very pale as the circulation system struggles to cope. 

Keep going with the water - don't take him out of the bath unit the breathing has calmed down, talk calmly to your dog - you will be soaked, your bathroom will be soaked, but you will save his life!!!!! 

Once the breathing is calmer, remove him from the bath but don't dry him, he will shape up your walls and over you WHO CARES!!!! He will still be very pale (Inside mouth, gums and inner eyes). 

Don't let him wander, don't make a fuss of him, your fussing may panic him and it could start over again. Still don't force him to drink, but make up a rehydration mix and place it in a bowl for him to drink from if he wants to. You can make up your own rehydration mix. 

• 500ml of water
• 2 1/2 teaspoons of glucose powder
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt
• a pinch of bicarbonate of soda 

The mixture will keep in the fridge for 24 hours, or make into ice cubes to use as needed. 

If you cannot calm the dog int he bath GO STRAIGHT TO THE VET!!! Soak a towel in cold water and lay the dog on top of it for the journey, take packets of frozen veggies and lay them on the back of his neck and on each side of his body. If the dog will lay upside down it will help him cool faster through his belly which has less fur on it but bakes sure that someone is with him to ensure he doesn't swallow his tongue! 

If you have air conditioning in the car blast it full cold at the dog, this cool air will help start the cooling process. Remember if you have air conditioning you must keep your car windows SHUT. 

IF YOU ARE AWAY FROM HOME: Find a river, pond, cow trough or knock a door, 7UP will do the same as lemon juice in an emergency. Get in the river with your dog if necessary (many bulldogs cannot swim). but don't take him out until the breathing is calmer, unless his is obviously passing out in which case risk a speeking ticket and get to the nearest vet. 

BE SAFE!!!! Your bulldog won't mind if he doesn't get a walk for a few days!!!!

Hat-tip to Joe Inglis at Vets Klinic in Swindon for this video.

A topline to die for?

Best in Show at the National Working & Pastoral Breeds Association Show at the Malvern Show Ground in Worcestershire last weekend was Veneze Ellie, owned by John and Pauline Cullen.

Best in Show judge Ferelith Somerfield noted in her critique: "nothing exaggerated".

The 2009-born bitch is a daughter of "the great" Zamp vom Thermados who won the lot before he died prematurely of undisclosed causes (the word, though, is that it was bloat) at the age of eight.

She looks like her dad - as do most of the huge number of Zamp offspring populating the UK show-ring. This includes her half-brother, the top-winning Elmo vom Huhnegrab, owned by the same kennel, who is in great demand as a stud himself. According to the Kennel Club's Mate Select, he has now sired 159 puppies from 29 litters. 

More info/pix on Ellie here.

Tell me what you see.

New kid on the blog...

Well this is just fab... a new journal dedicated to canine genetics and epidemiology, with a genuinely unique feature: every piece of new research published by Canine Genetics + Epidemiology (CGE) will be accompanied by an extensive lay summary "so non-scientists can capture key messages for the research."

The new journal is open access which means it's free.. anyone can download and read all the articles, no subscription required.

And the venture is being supported by the Kennel Club Educational Trust, which will fund 50 per cent of the manuscript-processing costs.  This is a great use of the KC charity's funds and I wish it every success.

“I am hugely enthusiastic about the new journal, Canine Genetics and Epidemiology, " says the Animal Health Trust's Cathryn Mellersh who is on the editorial board. "The current field of canine genetics and epidemiology is an extremely dynamic and exciting discipline to be a part of, but it is vitally important that all canine stakeholders, and not just scientists, can access, understand and ultimately implement the findings from all this research. 

"A key, and unique, feature of CGE is its aim to make research findings accessible to veterinarians, dog breeders and owners, as well scientists, and to facilitate this aim each published article will include an extended lay summary plus key “take home messages” for non-specialists and an educated lay readership.  I believe this aim will set CGE apart from other similar journals in the sector, and means CGE will play a central role in disseminating the research riches that the dog provides.”

Joint Editors-in-Chief are Bill Ollier, Professor of Immunogenetics at Manchester Univeristy, and my old foe, Jeff Sampson, former genetics advisor to the Kennel Club. 

Managing Editor is Lorna Kennedy who works alongside Bill Ollier at the University of Manchester with a special interest in the MHC - the area of the genome that codes for immune function.

An international and mostly-impressive editorial board includes many well-known names in canine genetics (and one or two rather notable absences such as Åke Hedhammer and epidemiologist Brenda Bonnett... perhaps just too busy?)

Editors-in-Chief

• Prof Bill Ollier, University of Manchester, UK
• Prof Jeff Sampson, The Kennel Club, UK

Managing Editor

• Dr Lorna Kennedy, University of Manchester, UK

Editorial Board

• Jerold Bell, Tufts University, USA
• Matthew Breen, North Carolina State University, USA
• David Brodbelt, Royal Veterinary College, UK
• Brian Catchpole, Royal Veterinary College, UK
• Dylan Clements, University of Edinburgh, UK
• Lluis Ferrer, Tufts University, USA
• Merete Fredholm, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
• Francis Galibert, Université de Rennes 1, France
• Urs Giger, University of Pennsylvania, USA
• Sergey Knyazev, Novosibirsk State University, Russia
• Aimee Llewellyn, The Kennel Club, UK
• Hannes Lohi, University of Helsinki, Finland
• Cathryn Mellersh, Animal Health Trust, UK
• Kenton Morgan, University of Liverpool, UK
• Mark Neff, Van Andel Research Institute, USA
• Clare Rusbridge, Stone Lion Veterinary Hospital, UK
• David Sargan, University of Cambridge, UK
• Peter Savolainen, Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden
• Jennifer M Seddon, University of Queensland, Australia
• Robert Shiel, Murdoch University, Australia
• Andrea Short, University of Manchester, UK
• Armando Sánchez, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain
• Claire Wade, University of Sydney, Australia
• Matthew Webster, Uppsala University, Sweden

Can't really think of a single bad thing to say about this and I look forward to reading it.

Hopefully, this journal will become the repository for research that we are still waiting for from the Animal Health Trust/KC - such as the long-promised effective population size data on UK dogs; research that was completed ages ago but has still not been released.  

You can read more about the new journal here where, inexplicably, there is a picture of a rather bemused Labrador surrounded by bubbles. 

You can sign up to receive the journal's articles - for free - here.

Wolves and dogs and dogs and wolves

When we were making Pedigree Dogs Exposed, we filmed at the UK Wolf Conservancy Trust near Newbury. We were privileged to be able to film in one pack's enclosure  - under close supervision and with strict instructions on how to act in the wolves' company.

It was a beautiful, frosty early morning -  before the centre opened to the public. Having a young wolf lick your face is an electrifying experience. Every fibre of your body bows in acknowledgment that this is not a dog. Definitely not a dog.

Filming in Feb 2008 - close encounter with wolves

But of course wolves and dogs share a common ancestor and are so close genetically that they can mate and produce fertile offspring.  Every revelation about wolves is of interest to canine genetics buffs because it helps inform our knowledge of/relationship with dogs. And wolves have been in the news this week.

Nature reports a spat between the different teams trying to nail the timing, place and manner of the split that led to the grey wolf on one branch of the evolutionary tree and the dog on the other.

"In recent months, three international teams have published papers comparing the genomes of dogs and wolves. On some matters — such as the types of genetic changes that make the two differ — the researchers are more or less in agreement. Yet the teams have all arrived at wildly different conclusions about the timing, location and basis for the reinvention of ferocious wolves as placid pooches. “It’s a sexy field,” says Greger Larson, an archaeogeneticist at the University of Durham, UK. He has won a £950,000 (US$1.5-million) grant to study dog domestication starting in October. “You’ve got a lot of big personalities, a lot of money, and people who want to get their Nature paper first.” 

The upshot? Hopefully the competition will provide some answers. At the moment, depending on whom you believe, the domestication of the dog happened anywhere between 10,000 and 32,000 years ago.

Also this week, Christopher Landauer who runs the Border Wars blog has written about the Isle Royale wolves - once held up as an example of how inbred populations could thrive; now facing extinction.  Today, this once-proud population sits, cub-less, waiting to die - unless the decision is taken to intervene. It's nature (the wolves have become geographically isolated due in part to an ice-bridge failing to form) but still achingly sad.

A stillborn litter of Isle-Royale wolves

"Inbreeding apologists in the dog world love invoking the notion that wolves inbreed all the time and are just fine and not harmed.  As is clear from the scientific evidence, this once common refrain is nothing more than an unsupported meme that is not backed up by empirical or observational evidence. 

"Scientists are fighting against this misconception because it has major implications on the structure and success of wildlife conservancy programs.  Dog breeders should take note as these same principles are vital for the maintenance and rejuvenation of our breeds as well."

Well written, well researched and well-referenced. Read it here.

Jilly's Jolly Fraud - an update

Click to enlarge

The above image has not been posted on the official Jilly's Jolly Jaunt Facebook page. And we now know that Jilly did not walk "more than 140 miles".  Up to half of the walk was actually done by another Petit Basset Griffon Vendeen called Daisy.

The image is up on Best in Show Daily in the US, though - a scrolling banner at the top of the page here.  My first draft of this post suggested that the Event's organisers sent the image over to BISD before the hullabaloo started here - after all, it looks like official artwork. But it turns out that I was wrong.

According to the comment below, BISD claim to have created the image independently of the Event's organisers. They say they weren't aware that Jilly hadn't walked the full 140 miles - but that it doesn't matter because everyone had a jolly time and lots of money was raised for charity.

I've taken a bit of stick in the past 24 hours for daring to highlight the fact that Crufts Champion Jilly (Soletrade Peek A Boo) did not walk the whole route of her epic walk.

Several people have pointed me to a filmed DogWorld interview from April in which Jilly's owner talks  about alternating dogs.  It is up on YouTube and you can watch it here  (and the relevant bit is between 4 and 5 minutes in). Until it was mentioned in the comment section on my last post (the first I'd heard of it), it had attracted only a handful of views.

But I stand by the story.

All the written publicity/press releases/statements/tweets suggested that it was Jilly herself doing the walking and the walk was sold on this.

The official press release, put out by the Kennel Club in conjunction with Jilly's Jolly Jaunt, was entitled "...Crufts champion walks 130 miles for charity".

In this release, which post-dates the DogWorld video by some weeks, owner Gavin Robertson specifically says: "...Outside of the show ring Jilly is such an active dog, so I know that she'll have no problems walking 130 miles."

And here's DogWorld's front page take on the walk, from April 26th - which uses Gavin's quote from the press release and also very specifically says that pointer Flo will be "completing the entire 130 miles". As we now know, she didn't. In fact, I understand that Flo and Jilly walked about half the trip each in the end. This is still a substantial feat, of course; just not the one advertised.

The official Twitter feed for the event also refers to: "Approx. 130 miles to be walked by crufts Best in Show winner to raise funds for GOSH, Doglost and the KC Charitable Trust".

And here's a more recent DogWorld interview, posted just a week ago, which focuses entirely on just Jilly.

Meanwhile the wording on the official website is entirely unambiguous. It even says:

"...Jilly will be wearing a GPS collar from http:/www.retrievatracking.co.uk/. You'll be able to see where she is and how well she's doing if you use JJJ as the username and password."

In reality, they were taking it off Jilly and putting it on another dog and pretending it was Jilly.

Finally, here's a radio interview done by Gavin on the first day of the walk (download link). The presenter introduces the piece by saying that Jilly is walking 130 miles along the canal to raise money for charity. Gavin does nothing in the interview to disabuse him - or the listeners - of this. He also mentions that Jilly is pulling his arms out during the interview. This is no great surprise - he was photographed with the other dog just a few miles earlier, so Jilly had not been walking for long at that point.

I am sure that at least some people who joined them for the walk knew it wasn't Jilly all-the-way, but everyone else thought it was Jilly doing the whole thing and the walk was sold on it. It is impossible (because I've tried) to find anything anywhere published or printed or written about it on the internet prior to the event starting that says otherwise - apart from that one rather obscure video interview.

The stupid thing is if they'd been more upfront about it, no one would have minded at all. It is a lot of miles. And I genuinely thought it was a great idea. I was delighted to see a functional and characterful dog win Crufts this year. And from everything that everyone says, Gavin is a genuinely nice guy. I recognise, too, that everyone had a good time and lots of money was raised for good causes.

For all the above reasons, I did think twice about blogging the story. But, at the end of the day, the walk was billed as proof that a a pedigree dog was  capable of walking 130 miles and it was wrong to suggest that Jilly was doing the whole walk when she wasn't.  

Can you imagine, too, the derision if it had been me doing the walk to show that crossbreeds could do such a walk and I'd slipped in a Jake lookalike? (That said... if anyone's got one...)

 In truth, I suspect that JJJ will get more donations as a result of my blog - sympathy money from those who will hate me for highlighting it and of course donations from those supporting me on my walk which I will do for the same charities.  Just a few more pledges to go and I will be committed to it...

In the meantime, you can donate to Jilly's Jolly Jaunt here.

Edit 14:58 17 June 2013: the banner image has now been removed from Best in Show Daily.
Edit 20:02 19 June 2013: add of DogWorld article dated April 26th and information received that Jilly and Flo walked about 70 miles each - half the walk.

Jilly's Jolly Fraud

Jilly... and not Jilly... Click to enlarge

Four days ago, the 2013 Crufts Winner Jilly (Ch Soletrader Peek A Boo) set off from the NEC at Birmingham on a 130 mile walk to the Kennel Club in London. This afternoon, owner Gavin and the three-year-old Petit Basset Griffon Vendeen arrived at their destination to much applause.

"Jilly's Jolly Jaunt" is being hailed as a triumph for pedigree dogs... proof positive that they are more than just a pretty face. The event is also raising money for charity with £27,000 raised so far.

But I can reveal that they have cheated.

Owner Gavin Robertson has walked the whole walk and has the blisters to prove it. All credit to him for that.

But Crufts' winner Jilly has not.

For much of the walk, they've used a ringer, while precious Jilly has been quietly transported in a van.

The event has trumpeted the fact that a showdog is capable of walking the distance.

Jilly's owner Gavin Robertson told the Kennel Club recently: "I am so proud of Jilly for winning Crufts and wanted to use the profile that her win gave us to do something for deserving causes. Outside of the show ring Jilly is such an active dog, so I know she'll have no problem walking 130 miles."

The Kennel Club too has sung the event's praises: "We are so proud of Gavin and Jilly for undertaking this challenge and for raising money for good causes, including the Kennel Club Charitable Trust.The dogs that compete at Crufts have to be in great shape so she will be well-prepared for this challenge." 

The fraud was spotted by a photographer on the Stoke Hammond leg of the walk.

"Everyone was waiting for Gavin and the team to arrive at the Three Locks Pub at Stoke Hammond," he says. "They were all waiting outside the pub. But I had parked in the canal car park on the other side of the road and as I walked out of it I saw a blue van parked up the road. The door was open and outside on the blind side of the van there was a dog on a lead that I thought looked like Jilly.

"To be honest, I didn't think much of it. It was only later when I looked at the pictures that I and others had taken along the route that I realised they were using a ringer. The dog Gavin Robertson is walking in many of the photographs is clearly not Jilly.

"I think it's a real shame. No one would really have minded if they'd been more upfront about it - the walk is in aid of three worthy charities and over 30 miles a day is a lot for any dog. But this is cheating."

The two top left pictures on this montage are of the real three-year-old Jilly, showing her markings on both sides. The other pictures have been taken at various times during the walk and are on the event's Facebook page. They are clearly not Jilly, but nothing has been said to make that obvious.   The "double" is the same colour, but the markings are different. None of the pictures of the event show more than one Petit in the picture and the whole impression given is that Jilly herself has done the walk.

The event's Twitter feed too, explicitly mentions several times that it is the Crufts winner doing the 130-mile walk.

Astonishingly, no one seems to have noticed - or are keeping quiet about the ringer. Several people must be in on it. But then the show-world is and always has been more about appearance than reality.

"We are so proud of you Gavin - and all the others who walked with you, raising the profile of pedigree dogs in such a positive way," wrote dog-breeder Sheila Atter on the event's Facebook page, which is being followed all over the world. The comment echoes the views of many in the show world.

Jilly's walking companion, a top show Pointer called Flo (Sh Ch Ch Wilchrimane Ice Maiden), has also not walked the whole route. And yet photographs of the event featuring a completely different Pointer have captioned the dog as Flo.

The event has been sponsored or supported by Royal Canin, Agria, Holiday Inn and Tesco's, among others, and many dog-lovers have donated. It is in aid of Great Ormond Street Hospital for Sick Children,  DogLost and the KC Charitable Trust. The money has been given in good faith and surely everyone must have thought that Jilly herself was doing the 130 mile walk given the official announcements.

When the walk was announced three months ago, I thought it was a great idea; an excellent bit of positive PR for pedigree dogs (see my previous post about the walk here). It was certainly a stark contrast to the 2012 winner, a Lhasa Apso called Elizabeth who never got to go for a walk for fear of ruining her show-winning coat.

Amelia and Gavin with the real Flo and the real Jilly outside the Kennel Club this afternoon

The walk has, of course, all been in a good cause in terms of the benefiting charities. But the revelation that Jilly's Jolly Jaunt is not what it seems will further tarnish the reputation of show dogs.

And if anyone believes it is reasonable because it would be unfair to expect any dog to walk 130 miles in four days, here's my offer:

If 50 or more people email me to agree to sponsor me to the tune of at least £10 each,  I will do exactly the same walk with my 10-yr-old GSD x Jake later this summer - all the way, definitely him, and I will also donate the money raised to Great Ormond St, Dog Lost and the KC Charitable Trust.

Jemima and Jake's Jolly Jaunt. 

Please add your pledge below - and make sure to email me privately so I can contact you: jem@pedigreedogsexposed.com

The real Jake

Also the real Jake

Yep, this is him, too.