Content
Recap of ''Pedigree Dogs Exposed'' and what followed
* Three independent inquiries into dog breeding and the setting up of a new advisory council for dog breeding chaired by Professor Shelia Crispin. * Crispin notes that some reputable breeders felt they were being criticized for the faults of a few, but the programme stirred many of them into action on things that have been worrying them for years. She considers the programme to have done more good than harm. * The veterinary profession sees the urgency of the situation and that they have a key role to play. * The Kennel Club of the United Kingdom (KC) states that the programme was highly one-sided and that there are already many things that they are doing to improve the situation. The Kennel Club also states that if people looked into the reality of it, they would find that there was not much to worry about.Core claims of ''PDE''
There is a diminishingStructure of the dog world
A fundamental problem that inhibits progress is the way the dog world is run and regulated. The stated goal of the Kennel Club is "to promote in every way the general improvement of dogs"; the main function of the Kennel Club is as a registry that records the lineage of purebred dogs, and to run dog shows. It is breeders who run the breed clubs, that judge each other's dogs in the show ring and that sit on rule making committees in the Kennel Club. Without regulatory bodies prioritizingCavalier King Charles Spaniel
It was shown in ''PDE'' that Cavalier King Charles Spaniels suffer from syringomyelia (SM) and heart disease. Three weeks after the programme, the Cavalier Club expelled breed health representative Margaret Carter, voting 204 to 31, in a Special General Meeting for revealing the SM condition of a show dog in the first programme. The reason for this expulsion was that the club's code of ethics forbade anyone from saying anything detrimental about the breed, the club or breeders. Ms. Carter stated, "It was always said that talking about health ruins the breed, so as far as they were concerned I had ruined the breed". A club for pet owners of Cavaliers has since been set up. The British Veterinary Association (BVA) and the Kennel Club recently launched MRI screening scheme for Syringomyelia (SM). Results will be published on the Kennel Club website to allow buyers to know if breeders are using scanned dogs. Some influential breeders do not want the results to be made public and refuse to support the scheme. The Kennel Club will not make the tests mandatory without the support of individual breed clubs. Prof. Sir Patrick Bateson who headed the Independent Inquiry into Dog Breeding stated, "One has the impression that some of the breeders simply have their heads stuck in the sand...they are just not listening". He concluded that if they could not produce acceptably healthy dogs, they should stop breeding. New research shows that up to 70% of six-year-old Cavaliers have SM. Not all showInbreeding and genetic diversity
Dalmatians
In January 2011, the Kennel Club registered a Dalmatian namedBoxers
Breeders who want to push for change can be marginalized by the powerful breed club hierarchy and it can be difficult for individuals to make themselves heard when it is the action of people in charge of the breed club that are putting some dogs at risk. A Boxer pet owner had a dog diagnosed with a rare juvenile kidney disease. A short while later, another of her Boxers, a half-sibling to the first, was diagnosed with the same disease. The father of the two affected dogs is a champion dog from the kennel Glenauld Boxers called Gucci, who turned out to have sired other litters affected with the disease. Breeder Sharon McCurdy, who had three of those litters and already lost one dog to the disease, contacted geneticist Bruce Cattanach for help. Cattanach is a Boxer breeder and has been the breed's genetics adviser for more than 30 years. Most cases of kidney disease are not inherited, but upon reviewing pedigree information of affected dogs, the disease seemed likely to be inherited in a recessive manner, meaning that puppies are at risk only if both parents carry the faulty gene. Close inbreeding increases the likelihood of recessive genes matching up. Cattanach quickly found more than 30 cases of the juvenile kidney disease diagnosed between 2007 and 2010, most are now dead and all closely related. The chance of the disease not being an inherited condition now seems remote. In almost half the cases, Gucci was either the puppies' father or grandfather. Because Gucci is a popular stud dog and had sired 894 puppies, the consequences will be worrying if he turns out to be the source of the gene. Gucci is owned by top breeder, KC judge, and chair of the Boxer breed club Janice Mair, one of the most powerful people in the breed. Cattanach contacted Mair to inform her that Gucci might be carrying the harmful gene, hoping she would help with the problem, but she did not believe him. As he investigated further, Cattanach realized that the problem was not just confined to Gucci, but involved a larger family group. If Gucci had the harmful gene, it was likely inherited from one of Gucci's grandfathers, a champion coming from the top UK Boxer kennel Walkon Boxers, run by Walker and Yvonne Miller. All but two of the 30 cases had this dog's genes in their pedigree and other Walkon dogs have directly produced puppies with the disease. For definitive proof, there was a need to develop a gene test. Blood samples were needed for this. When Cattanach presented his findings to the Boxer breed council in 2011 which included Walker Miller and Mair, he was met with virtual silence. In spite of that, the press statement issued shortly after by the breed council was very supportive of Cattanach in his efforts to find a genetic test and encouraged owners to donate blood for the research. It also advised breeders to avoid inbreeding to reduce the chance of doubling up on the harmful gene. Cattanach states that genetic mutations occur all the time. A year from the breed council meeting, the council's website presented no information or advice on the disease. Some owners and breeders provided samples for the research but there were none from Walkon Boxers, despite Walker Miller being on the health committee and being a veterinary surgeon himself. Yvonne Miller in a written statement, insisted that her offer of blood samples was rejected as being of no interest, a claim contested by Cattanach. Mair noted in a statement that she was willing to give a sample from Gucci, but understood that Cattanach already had enough samples. She stated that no dogs in her kennel were affected and seemed under the impression that early research focused only on affected dogs. Both kennels registered litters that year with inbreeding levels much higher than the breed average. They also bred from dogs that an independent geneticist thought could be carriers. Both kennels said that they would not breed from any dogs thought to be carriers, that they take genetic diversity into account when breeding, and that the health and welfare of their dogs is and always has been of paramount importance. Inbreeding and the use of popular studs are not limited to Boxers, and both practices lead to the reduction in genetic diversity, which poses a serious threat to the long-term survival of many breeds.Kennel Club
The Kennel Club committed £1.2 million after ''PDE'' to a new Kennel Club genetics centre to focus on development of new DNA tests. It developed an online tool called Mate Select, which allows people to look up health test results and inbreeding level of individual dogs compared to the breed average. The database can also calculate for breeders the coefficient of inbreeding (COI) that two selected dogs will produce. A father/daughter mating will produce puppies with a COI of 25%. Such matings are now banned by the Kennel Club but many dogs registered will have a much higher COI than this, despite no close matings. This is because of decades of "keeping it in the family" with common ancestors appearing repeatedly in the distant pedigree. Geneticist Steve Jones says damage can be reduced by banning close inbreeding; mating with cousins is almost as bad and if such matings continue, problems build up. Some breeders go to considerable lengths to make the most of genetic diversity in their breeds, but dogs will suffer while the Kennel Club still allows this degree of inbreeding. Jones says the measures taken so far are tentative and reluctant. The Kennel Club says it prefers education over regulation, but the programme says the Kennel Club must do more. It has no proposal for a maximum level of inbreeding, unlike the Swedish Kennel Club. In that country, no Boxer born in the past two years has a COI of more than 6.25% and the case is similar for other breeds. Breed clubs have also set limits to reduce the impact of popular sires. Jones states that the Boxer case is an example of how rapidly you can cause damage. Breeders need to stand back and look at the bigger problem. Why would anyone breed animals that suffer except for vanity?Exaggerations
Another part of the problem is how show rings change the appearances of breeds, rarely for the better. Old footage from ''PDE'' showed the extent of changes inPugs and other brachycephalic breeds
The original ''PDE'' had shown a Pug that qualified for Crufts competition was born to a Crufts champion with numerous health problems typical in the breed: kneecaps sitting out of their joints, partially collapsed larynx,Conclusion
The film states that it is time to call a halt to the suffering, and suggested that as long as the Kennel Club is permitted to tolerate human whim leading to dogs that cannot run, breathe, or see freely, it will never change. The Kennel Club refused to participate in the film, which concluded that had the Kennel Club done so, it would surely have said that it is doing all it can while keeping breeders on board. The Kennel Club has a massive conflict of interest in juggling its commitments to breeders and to dogs. When the interest of dogs does not match up with that of breeders, the dogs suffer. Evans states that the Kennel Club is not fit for function (the Kennel Club has a "fit for function, fit for life" campaign) when it comes to protecting the welfare of dogs. He believes the problem will not be resolved if left to the Kennel Club. The dog breeding advisory council is underfunded and has no real powers. Crispin states "there is nothing we can use to beat people over the head, we are there to examine evidence and make recommendations based on evidence. I hope people will regard our recommendations as important, but we can't get tough; we don't have any legislative powers." The programme ends by calling for an independent government-backed regulatory body to drive through meaningful reform for the welfare of dogs. The body would be funded by a national registration scheme for all dogs and would also deal with other pressing dog issues such as stray dogs, dangerous dogs andReaction
The Kennel Club explained that its decision not to take part in the programme was due to concern that the programme would "repeat the same mistakes as last time, leading puppy buyers to think that the problems of breeding for looks and money over welfare are not relevant to the entire dog population, thus helping to boost the sales of disreputable breeders of designer crossbreeds". It also referred to its partially upheld complaints to Ofcom about the first program. It states that the programme raised important issues, which the Kennel Club is working to resolve, but that the vast majority of breeders care about the health and welfare of dogs. Dog breeders in the country are "effectively unregulated" and the Kennel Club has no legislative power. This means that breeders can get away with breeding at the expense of welfare, be it pedigree or crossbreed breeders. It states that breed standards (revised with input from the veterinary profession) make it clear that exaggerated features are not acceptable. It will be introducing veterinary checks at shows, starting with Crufts 2012, to ensure that judges only reward healthy dogs. The vet checks at Crufts proved controversial as six of the 15 high-profile breed champions that were subject to the checks failed them. Top breeders, exhibitors and judges felt "saddened, furious and slighted".References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pedigree Dogs Exposed - Three Years On Dog health Dog shows and showing Dog breeding BBC television documentaries 2012 in British television Animal welfare Dogs in the United Kingdom