Crufts: a good weekend for dogs

This weekend has seen an extraordinary and unprecedented development in the history of dog showing,  as several dogs awarded Best of Breed certificates at the world’s most famous dog show were disqualified for health reasons by the examining veterinary surgeon.

A brave step

We  should not underestimate the magnitude of what the Kennel Club has set in motion this weekend.  Showing at Crufts represents the pinnacle of a show dog’s career and means everything to the breeders taking part.   The KC’s actions this weekend represents a new and brave willingness to enforce breed standards in the most challenging of circumstances.

And well done  to the KC for taking this stand which will no doubt cause them a lot of grief in the short term.   We can only hope that they follow this up firmly at future shows, and do not waver in the face of the inevitable backlash from angry and disappointed breeders who have seen the ultimate prize snatched from their hands.

The KC will be placed under a massive amount of pressure now to reverse this new system,  not only from breeders,  but also from the experienced judges who must feel humiliated by having awarded these certificates to dogs that vets subsequently found to fall short of the health standards expected of them.

Let’s support the KC in their stand!

The next few weeks and months will be tough for the Kennel Club.   If you want to see them stand firm on the actions they have taken this week,  let them know they have your support.  You can find their contact details here: contact the Kennel Club  and their Facebook Wall  here.

Well done Jemima

Well done to Jemima Harrison who can now see some concrete evidence of the success of her long and determined Pedigree Dogs Exposed campaign taking shape.    You can read more detail about the weekend’s events on her blog.

The photo at the top of this page is enlarged from a picture on Jemima’s PDE website.   It is not an ulcer or a wound,  it is the eye of a show winning Neopolitan Mastiff.   This weekend has shown that the KC is no longer willing to tolerate judges that turn a blind eye to ectropion, and other health issues that are endemic in some breeds.

Well done vets

The vets who carried out these checks and took the decision to disqualify dog after dog on health grounds have more than their fair share of courage.   They too deserve our support and thanks

It has been a good weekend for the future of our pedigree dogs.