BBC Pedigree dogs show

Edgewood

This is an interesting and albeit scary review of the state of many pedigree dogs.

Certainly with breeds such as the Shikoku and Kai, trying to maintain as much genetic diversity as possible would be a good thing


Documentary - BBC - Pedigree Dogs Exposed

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Umeboshi

It's so sad to see this and realise that this isn't uncommon at all... How can anyone in their right mind say that inbreeding is okay?

Wish more breeders had the guts to stand up for the health of the dogs they claim to love!

ayk

It's not just in-breeding, but also some blindness on what constitutes extremism. It's "a little of bit of this is good, a lot more of this must be better" competitive mentality that is not brought into check by having the dog do some basic breed-appropriate physical work or fitness tests.

dlroberts

I have no doubt that is highly sensationalized and biased, but it is still depressing. I have been very outspoken against the show ring in the past for exactly these reasons. The reward structure for showing is completely broken. Blind adherence to an artificial breed standard does the dogs no justice. It's all a shame. And very depressing.

BradA1878

It's not the show ring or the standard that causes these issues, it's the breeders and the competition that does.

For example, there are issues in working breeds that are selected for competition too. When you make something competitive you get people who cut corners to "win" (whether that be titles/ribbons or $ from more sales), the result, in this case, is a decaying & narrowing gene pool.

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