Damasyn
Novitiate
Ok , I just saw a program ( or should I say half a program…I had to go to work) that pointed out how purebred dogs have changed and consequently the health of some of them have deteriorated so rapidly because of OUR breeding practices its..in my my opinion, just sickening. And this isn’t about “American vs. European” either because this show was filmed in EUROPE ! I guess you could say this is closer to being a “show quality vs. working”but it really shouldn’t be a US vs. anything. Anyway… here goes:
This was showcasing how man has manipulated the design and functionality of their dogs and the defects whether they be mechanical or neurological type diseases. First thing they showed was the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel which is, if not the most popular breed, very close to it in the UK. The short snout and small domed head is greatly prized in this breed which we all know makes it the focus for breeders to concentrate on. As a result, spreading like wildfire is a condition ( sorry I don’t remember the name ) where the skull is literally too small for the dogs brain ( sound familiar?? People seem to associate this with Dobermans, but its not our breed ) This is like cramming an elephant into your compact car. Which leads to pressure in the head causing severe pain as well as involuntary scratching, turning in circles, biting, seizures..and on and on whatever you can imagine can and does happen because of the pressures on the brain. The owners with money often try brain surgery to remove the pressure, but more often than not, the dog is put down. The German Shepherd is a dog that was bred for working ability. In the show ring they are shown with a slightly sloped down back and their back legs are extended out to emphasize this. But instead of straight backlegs, the dogs have been bred to emphasize a sloping back which in turn causes the back feet ( if you are looking from above the dogs back end) to turn inward at the hock and out at the toes. Its like if you touched your heels together and tried to point the toes out. They say that they are not German Shepherds now, but have been crossbred with FROGS haha. Then they showed a video of these GSD going around the ring, their gait and how wobbly their back legs were even while just standing. And they gave the best in breed to one of the worst looking gaited dogs there. They then showed video of working GSDs and regular pet GSD’s and then showed it to some of the judges and they said “a working/pet dog is not the correct version of a GSD, this dog that was ribboned today is the most desired and CORRECT GSD out there. UGHHH yeah I want a dog with wobbly back legs ! NOT!!
Then came a boxer who was linebred to the point of having seizures ( as well as parents etc etc ) Because of desired trait’s the breeder overlooked the fact that the dogs were having seizures, he kept breeding them to get the correct ,head, colors etc. As a result this particular boxer had grand mal seizures once a week after the age of 3, but this didn’t show up to his owners until AFTER they had bred him and spread his genes. Personally, those owners have more *sigh* I dunno, that dog seemed to be in soo much pain, they had to help him walk, they should have put him down, after watching this it made me just sick that they could let him suffer.
They showed pictures of dogs in the early years at shows like the Bull Terrier ( spuds Mackenzie) whose head used to look like a smaller version of a shepherd .. but today is turned downwards and the large bulging head we see. The Doxies originally shown were slightly longer backed with short legs. Now today the bodies are longer with super short legs, which result in major back problems and loss of mobility.
I don’t have a problem with the show world so please don’t think I am picking on the show world I love watching dog shows.. and to me its not really a American vs. Euro, but why cant there be ONE type? When did we sacrifice mobility and function to satisfy our egos? In my opinion, a dog should at least be able ( in theory ) to do the things it was originally bred for, we shouldn’t play God to make them prettier to suit us..at least not at the cost of a animals comfort and health. In a sense as Doberman people, we are somewhat lucky. Euro dogs are stockier and some would say “not as pretty”as the American , but that is in the eye of the beholder ( I admit to loving the Euro look ). BUT technically speaking even tho the American Dobes are a bit smaller boned, they can still do “work”if need be.
Anyway, I just had to air my frustrations at poor breeding for the sake of PRETTY. I think sometimes there should have been a line that never should have been crossed. A lot of these diseases that plague our best friends, can be layed at our feet. WE are the cause of the pain our furry loved ones go thru. We need to stop breeding animals for their weird contorted shapes or colors just to suit us.
Ok, sorry it was so long
This was showcasing how man has manipulated the design and functionality of their dogs and the defects whether they be mechanical or neurological type diseases. First thing they showed was the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel which is, if not the most popular breed, very close to it in the UK. The short snout and small domed head is greatly prized in this breed which we all know makes it the focus for breeders to concentrate on. As a result, spreading like wildfire is a condition ( sorry I don’t remember the name ) where the skull is literally too small for the dogs brain ( sound familiar?? People seem to associate this with Dobermans, but its not our breed ) This is like cramming an elephant into your compact car. Which leads to pressure in the head causing severe pain as well as involuntary scratching, turning in circles, biting, seizures..and on and on whatever you can imagine can and does happen because of the pressures on the brain. The owners with money often try brain surgery to remove the pressure, but more often than not, the dog is put down. The German Shepherd is a dog that was bred for working ability. In the show ring they are shown with a slightly sloped down back and their back legs are extended out to emphasize this. But instead of straight backlegs, the dogs have been bred to emphasize a sloping back which in turn causes the back feet ( if you are looking from above the dogs back end) to turn inward at the hock and out at the toes. Its like if you touched your heels together and tried to point the toes out. They say that they are not German Shepherds now, but have been crossbred with FROGS haha. Then they showed a video of these GSD going around the ring, their gait and how wobbly their back legs were even while just standing. And they gave the best in breed to one of the worst looking gaited dogs there. They then showed video of working GSDs and regular pet GSD’s and then showed it to some of the judges and they said “a working/pet dog is not the correct version of a GSD, this dog that was ribboned today is the most desired and CORRECT GSD out there. UGHHH yeah I want a dog with wobbly back legs ! NOT!!
Then came a boxer who was linebred to the point of having seizures ( as well as parents etc etc ) Because of desired trait’s the breeder overlooked the fact that the dogs were having seizures, he kept breeding them to get the correct ,head, colors etc. As a result this particular boxer had grand mal seizures once a week after the age of 3, but this didn’t show up to his owners until AFTER they had bred him and spread his genes. Personally, those owners have more *sigh* I dunno, that dog seemed to be in soo much pain, they had to help him walk, they should have put him down, after watching this it made me just sick that they could let him suffer.
They showed pictures of dogs in the early years at shows like the Bull Terrier ( spuds Mackenzie) whose head used to look like a smaller version of a shepherd .. but today is turned downwards and the large bulging head we see. The Doxies originally shown were slightly longer backed with short legs. Now today the bodies are longer with super short legs, which result in major back problems and loss of mobility.
I don’t have a problem with the show world so please don’t think I am picking on the show world I love watching dog shows.. and to me its not really a American vs. Euro, but why cant there be ONE type? When did we sacrifice mobility and function to satisfy our egos? In my opinion, a dog should at least be able ( in theory ) to do the things it was originally bred for, we shouldn’t play God to make them prettier to suit us..at least not at the cost of a animals comfort and health. In a sense as Doberman people, we are somewhat lucky. Euro dogs are stockier and some would say “not as pretty”as the American , but that is in the eye of the beholder ( I admit to loving the Euro look ). BUT technically speaking even tho the American Dobes are a bit smaller boned, they can still do “work”if need be.
Anyway, I just had to air my frustrations at poor breeding for the sake of PRETTY. I think sometimes there should have been a line that never should have been crossed. A lot of these diseases that plague our best friends, can be layed at our feet. WE are the cause of the pain our furry loved ones go thru. We need to stop breeding animals for their weird contorted shapes or colors just to suit us.
Ok, sorry it was so long