Although some Bulldogs can mate naturally, the majority of breedings are done by artificial insemination. This is sometimes because their shape precludes a natural mating; sometimes because the effort/stress can result in a heart attack.
The KC's 2014 health survey found that almost one in five Bulldogs die from heart failure. Although some Bulldogs do make it to old age, they are dead, on average, by the age of 6 - much the same as it's always been, despite better nutrition/vet care.
Interesting to see the changes in the breed since he 1950s. The dogs in this archive mostly have terrible fronts... but are longer-legged and kept leaner than today's show dog.
Happy Fit Dog Friday, everyone! Today I have a review for you on some new toys from Major Dog! We've reviewed a toy from them in the past and you can find that here: Major Dog Tiger Toy!
Major Dog is a great company that is based in Germany, the toy capitol of the world. They are the only dog toy company to my knowledge that put their dog toys through the same rigorous testing as the
This year we have a couple of throwback photos for you from last year! I apologize for that but I just have not had that much time and the weather has been horrific for outdoor pictures!
Be sure to check out our cute little video from last year, too!
I hope you all have a wonderful day and stay safe out there!
This is a German Shepherd bitch called Kenmil's Bellisima Of Danala. She looks great, doesn't she? She is free-moving and balanced on the move.
Unfortunately, it wasn't this year - it was in 1982, 34 years ago, that this dog won Reserve Best in Show at Crufts.
A dog like this is no longer considered correct today by most in the GSD show-world - as we have seen in recent days.
I hope by now that most people have realised that the Best of Breed bitch at Crufts is not a one-off.
Cruaghaire Catoria is typical of what's being bred and shown in the UK and much of Europe - following the lead of Germany, the home of the GSD.
This was the top show bitch in Germany in 2015. This is what they're aiming for. Look at her and weep.
None of this has happened overnight.
And neither is it the first time that people have been horrified and demanded that something is done about it. We shot this at Crufts in 2008 for Pedigree Dogs Exposed.
And there was a fuss again in 2010 when viewers reacted badly to the sight of Best of Breed, Ch Veneze Ellie in the main ring (deja vu performance from both Clare Balding and Caroline Kisko, the KC's head of communications, isn't it?).
The upshot, I think we can agree, is that the Kennel Club has been completely ineffectual in sorting out "the GSD problem".
The reason?
The breeders don't think there is a problem.
Oh, they might admit to a little overangulation here... a bit of a wobbly hock there.. but as anyone who has tried to discuss it with them knows, the bottom line is that they really think the dog is fundamentally correct. And when a bit of slo-mo footage breaks through the cognitive dissonance, there is always an excuse. It was the slippy surface..poor handling...the size of the ring.. a non-representative unlucky moment... the dog was coming into/out of season... the noise (this from a dog that's temperamentally supposed to be as steady as a rock!).
There is nothing you can do to persuade them otherwise.
• You can tell them there is no precedent for this shape in a canid.
• You can tell them that it's no coincidence that the breed suffers spinal/joint issues
• You can tell them that the biggest canine locomotion study in the world found that the shape handicaps the dogs.
• You can tell them that anyone with eyes in their head can see it's wrong.
• And you can tell them that the breed's founder, Max von Stephanitz, would turn in his grave if he could see what had been done to his beloved shepherd. Because what he thought was a good dog was this....
1920
...and this...
1924, Donar von Overstolzen
..and this.
1925 Klodo vom Boxberg
No, today's show breeders will look you straight in the eye and ask you to believe that this...
..and this...
..and this..
...are better dogs.
Right now, the Kennel Club is trying to work out what it has to do in order to regain some credibility in the eyes of a very disappointed public - without totally pissing off the GSD Clubs.
The KC's Caroline Kisko has already suggested (as she did in 2010) that withdrawing challenge certificates might do the trick. For those that don't know, this simply means that the dogs can still compete and still win, but won't be able to be called a Champion.
But I suspect it will be taken out of the KC's hands. The GSD League of Great Britain is furious. How dare the kennel club throw one its own to the wolves as the Kennel Club did on television on Sunday night in a clunky attempt to save its own neck. (And it really did... this was no mea culpa hand-wringing... it was an attempt by the Kennel Club to absolve itself of any responsibility.)
Not us, guv... it was the judge... the dog... the breeder... the runes... basically anything other than the fact that once the fuss died down after 2010, the Kennel Club has done very little to tackle the issue. (Although there is one bit of good news - a new biomechanics study, funded by the KC, is just beginning at the University of Surrey. Researchers there hope to recruit 260 GSDs over the next two years. I am waiting for more info on this and will blog separately.)
As I reported a couple of days ago, the KC delegated judges training to the GSD League of GB - the very body that thinks it's perfectly OK for the dogs to look like this.
And as for the hope expressed by Caroline Kisko on Sunday night's broadcast that next year's GSD Crufts' judge won't give the top prize to a dog like Cruaghaire Catoria... well, his name is Malcolm Robinson and he gave Cruaghaire Catoria a 1st in a class in 2014.
My guess is that the GSD League will stick two fingers up to the KC and other GSD Clubs could follow. The League is affiliated to the WUSV and already runs shows in the UK under WUSV rules. This way, it can continue to breed and show German Shepherds that look like hyenas without having to run the gauntlet of a prime-time television audience which, in its view, knows nothing.
This would solve the Kennel Club's immediate problem - although be a bit embarrassing. But of course it does nothing for the dogs.
So what's the answer?
Hah! You thought I was going to suggest something?
Nope. I'm right out of ideas. You need psychologists to sort this one - well, and some more conclusive science as there haven't been enough studies comparing the show GSD with the working-bred dogs that - thank God - you can still find outside the ring. Dogs like this one.
Or how about this Finnish dog - who actually has competed in the Finnish show-ring?
And then there's this dog, Super Trouper at Brightmeadow, who won well at Paignton Championship Show in Devon last year under top (but non-specialist) judge Jean Lanning. Lanning has been around long enough to not be afraid of going against the flow.
The problem is that dogs like this rarely get a chance in the UK show-ring because the "Germanic" type rules. Super Trouper is what they would call an Alsatian - what the breed was called during/post WW2 here in the UK (a time when anything German would be given a hard time). Anyone who likes them is called an "Alsatianist". It's not intended as a compliment.
So... how do we solve the "GSD problem"? Let me know your thoughts below.
I love how Phoenix is always up for whatever. When I asked her to hop up onto the wreckage of The Peter Iredale she was happy to do it! She loves posing for me!
So I work at an awesome dog training facility and they had an opening in their Treibball class and I took it! We've never done Treibball before and I literally did not know anything about the sport until last week. We got there early so I could try to take a few pictures and to walk her around the block a little. The training building has a beautiful mural painted on it and I thought it would
Illustrating just how blind some German Shepherd breeders are to the problems, the owner of the Best of Breed German Shepherd has today released this picture along with a statement defending her dog.
Says Susan Cuthbert:
I was blissfully unaware of all the negativity around one of the best show days of my life until earlier today (Monday) and I am both deeply shocked and terribly upset by all the horrendous comments directed towards my beautiful Tori.
Words cannot express the heart wrenching experience that I have suffered. This is so unreal I want to believe it is untrue and to wake up. The comments made on television about my lovely Shepherd were unbelievable especially when one considers the brevity of the images. How can you judge a dog on such a brief observation? There is a clear lack of tolerance and knowledge of our German shepherd breed.
It should not be a surprise to anyone why the GSD breed in the UK are being strongly drawn towards the German SV system – Germany being the founders of our breed just over a hundred years ago and they have established the most comprehensive system of any other breed in the world. The German SV system requires for showing and breeding DNA parentage, microchip identification, to meet strict conformational criteria according to the German breed standard, hip and elbow grades and assessment of the spine along with formal character assessment, endurance test of 20 kilometers gaiting, IPO test of courage, tracking and obedience and a very demanding breed survey (korung) Soundness in mind and body is a crucial part of the German Shepherd breed.
At Crufts 2016, the vet examined my bitch before she was presented with her Best of Breed certificate and deemed her to have no visible condition which adversely affects her health and welfare. This is the second Kennel Club required vet check she has passed in the last 6 months. As if it was not upsetting enough that my bitch faltered under the heavy media coverage in the Arena on what should have been the happiest day of my show life to then be tried and convicted on social media and the press this has now become the worst nightmare of my show life.
Mrs Cuthbert also included the dog's health record and a long list of show wins, pointing out that the dog had won under a number of top Kennel Club judges.
I confess I have some sympathy for Mrs Cuthbert. Her dog is now being scapegoated by a Kennel Club seeking to distance itself from the public backlash. And yet, of course, Cruaghaire Catoria is typical of many German Shepherds in the show-ring today.
It also emerged tonight that the Crufts GSD judge, Davy Hall - publicly condemned by the Kennel Club on national TV last night - is Vice Chairman of the GSD Breed Council.
.
The relevance?
The GSD Breed Council is the body the Kennel Club put in charge of training for German Shepherd judges.
Meanwhile, the GSD League of Great Britainhas issued this statement insisting that Cruaghaire Catoria is "a fit, healthy dog" and "a correct type to the German Shepherd Dog standard.
That statement in full:
Statement from the GSD League of Great Britain incorporating the British Regional Groups and Working Dog Branches
Re GSD Best of Breed at Crufts 2016
The GSD League condemns most strongly the manner in which the Kennel Club and the Crufts presenters have created public hysteria regarding the German Shepherd Bitch who gained Best of Breed at Crufts 2016 under breed specialist judge, Davy Hall.
With complete disregard for all of the many breed specialist judges, including highly regarded judges from the breed’s country of origin, that have awarded this bitch top honours at both Kennel Club and WUSV shows, the Channel 4 coverage acted as judge, jury and hangman without any balance of reporting.Cruaghaire Catoria is a correct type to the German Shepherd Dog standard, she has a KC/BVA hip score of 13 and elbow score of 0 – these scores are well below the maximum for showing at WUSV shows, the Kennel Club have no minimum standard for showing or breeding purposes. She is a fit, healthy, family dog.The judge, Davy Hall, of the Gayville’s GSDs kennels has been an exhibitor and breeder of GSDs for many years having bred, owned, trained and handled many top winning animals and Champions including the current breed CC record holder.
After being awarded Best of Breed, Catoria was then passed by the appointed Crufts vet to certify that she was fit and healthy to enter the big ring. She had passed another vet health check 6 months earlier. Indeed, no GSD has ever failed a vet health test at a Championship Show since they were introduced as part of the KC’s Breed Watch.
German Shepherd Dogs are generally shown outside and certainly very few have ever experienced anything like the Crufts Best In Show ring. This young bitch performed extremely well in her breed ring but shortly afterwards in the main arena became overwhelmed by the environment and did not show her true beauty or proper movement, she was not the only dog to react badly to the pressure of the situation. Her internationally renowned handler Craig Rice, who has handled at the top level for many years, explained what took place in the lead up to the group judging and in the main arena….After a foot perfect performance in the GSD Breed ring, where Tori gained Best of Breed in a high quality entry that included 2 VA rated Dogs, we were taken to do the KC appointed Vet Check. The Vet stated that there was absolutely no possible reason that he could not pass Tori as she showed no signs of bad health and her movement was not impaired in any way. This test included movement of the dog.
After a long wait of over 3 hours, which includes numerous forced photo shoots in the Crufts Best of Breed collection ring, we were finally abruptly told we would be entering the main Arena. This is a situation that no owner, trainer or handler can prepare for. A packed auditorium with hot lights, music, loud speakers and constant cheers and clapping is not an everyday occurrence for any dog. Unfortunately, after a further wait whilst inside the Arena, Tori had become quite agitated. I had tried to calm her by allowing her move around a little but was repeatedly told that I must not let the dog move at all. By the time we were judged Tori was in a high level of distress and was struggling to cope with the situation, which seemed to worsen after the judges rough handling, whilst checking the teeth, of a clearly stressed dog. Tori's uncharacteristic erratic behaviour has clearly given a bad impression of what I consider a GSD of the highest standard in both construction and health test results.
German Shepherd Breeders lead the World in their attention to health testing and breeding selection and whilst they must not be complacent about any exaggerations in conformation or temperament, the breed should not be victimised in this way by the Kennel Club, the media and social media.
German Shepherd exhibitors have a viable alternative to Kennel Club shows and it is of no surprise that more and more are turning their back on traditional UK shows in favour of the WUSV style show where DNA recording, identification and health tests are pre-requisites, not afterthoughts. All dogs are graded and critiqued so that their owners and breeders are given a clear picture of what they need to do to improve in the next generation. This is a great responsibility for the judges who are trained to a high level and have to have considerable experience as breeders before they are approved.
The GSD League will continue to strive to consult with the Kennel Club on matters regarding health of the GSD and hope that our suggestion of piloting compulsory identification of all exhibits, health testing prior to confirmation of Champion title and mandatory minimum health test requirements for all breeding animals will one day become a reality.German Shepherd Dog League
So now you see what all those who want change are up against. Scary isn't it?
In a statement given to the Daily Telegraph today, the Kennel Club has admitted that it instructed Channel 4 producers to edit out the footage of the Best of Breed German Shepherd from Saturday night's broadcast of Crufts.
When asked why the broadcast had not included footage of the dog on the move, the KC said:
"In light of the concern over the particurlar dog we made the decision not to further highlight the unsound movement of the dog whilst we discuss ways forward to improve the health of the breed."
Remember that the KC here is talking about the TV footage broadcast on Channel 4, a public service broadcaster.
Here's what the Channel 4 guidelines say on this point:
Broadcasters must retain complete editorial control over their programme content. In order to achieve this:
programmes must always be and appear to be editorially independent;
programmes should not promote or endorse the commercial products and services of others or appear to.
any improper external influence on the editorial process must always be resisted e.g. by a commercial organisation, a contributor or anyone or any organisation who seeks to exercise some degree of control over programme content;
I have today submitted a complaint to Channel 4 - and will follow it up with the broadcasting watchdog, Ofcom.
I know this one won't provoke as much outrage as a deformed German Shepherd, but I'm a TV producer and guard very fiercely my editorial independence when making my own films.
Behind the scenes, there has been a lot of concern about the impartiality of the Crufts broadcasts because it is pretty obvious to anyone in the know that the Kennel Club pulls a lot of strings. Everyone invited on to that Crufts TV sofa is KC-friendly.
My understanding is that the live footage from the show is streamed to an OB (outside broadcast) team that edits the footage for broadcast, with a KC media representative overseeing the process.
Hopefully next year, if Channel 4 continues to broadcast the show that the BBC dropped on animal welfare grounds after Pedigree Dogs Exposed, measures will be put in place to ensure that the Kennel Club is not running the show.
Faced with widespread concern about the German Shepherd Best of Breed at this year's Crufts, the Kennel Club did the right thing: it went on TV on Sunday night and admitted the dog shouldn't have won.
But don't be fooled by the suggestion in this clip that this win was a one-off aberration by a rogue judge. Nope, this dog has actually won dozens of times under many different judges - all under Kennel Club rules. And no one has batted an eyelid.
Here are a couple of judges' critiques of the dog - the second one, incidentally, by the daughter of the judge that awarded the dog Best of Breed at Crufts on Saturday.
1st - CRUAGHAIRE CATORIA (MR & MRS S CUTHBERT)This bitch is so correct throughout, lovely feminine head & good expression, neck well set on to body. Very good front angulation, lovely topline & good croup, very balanced hind angles. Correct height to length ratio, super underline. In movement she is outstanding so clean coming & going & her profile movement was really excellent.. Very pleased to award her the CC & BOB. Later I was informed that I gave her 1st award as MPB, which pleased me & thinking back I recalled a very moulded shapely little pup of quality and a real baby but what a bitch she has grown in to now! Mr W Armstrong ( Corn Stalk ) Working & Pastoral Breeds of Scotland 7th November 2015 1st Cuthbert CRUAGHAIRE CATORIASire: Ch. Conbhairea Waro Dam: Korzwin Zynti3 years black and gold female of ideal middle size and strength, excellent general proportions, feminine expressive female with well shaped head dark eye and excellent ear carriage, normal wither into straight strong firm back, well laid croup which could be a touch longer, very good forehand with very good underline, excellent hindquarters with strong broad thighs, in top show condition, this female shows a willingness to perform in all phases, demonstrating excellent reach and drive, this was a super class of females, in my opinion this is a female who deserves the highest of accolades, a pleasure to judge. BEST BITCH AND BOB. Ms Samantha Hall ( Gayvilles) North Eastern Open Show October 2015
The problem here is not this one dog. There are hundreds more just like her being shown in the UK (and in many other countries) because no one has called "Stop!" to the train-wreck that is today's show German Shepherd.
The problem is the mass delusion among show German Shepherd breeders that what they've done to the breed is an improvement.
The main reason for the hand-wringing on TV last night is because the awful truth was suddenly evident to the public, mostly via this blog, and because the Kennel Club's social media was over-run by so many shocked people.
The Kennel Club had no choice last night. It would have been PR suicide to try to defend the dog.
Of course, some people have praised the KC for its willingness to admit there was a problem with the dog, but it is important to know that the Kennel Club also said it would act after Pedigree Dogs Exposed in 2008 highlighted the problems in German Shepherds - and again in 2010 after there was criticism of another top-winning GSD at Crufts.
Very little has changed.
Sure, the problem is complex. There are thousands of German Shepherd breeders out there who will look you in the eye and tell you there's nothing wrong with their dogs.
But we've got to try to tackle this.
Please... can we use this opportunity do something for this breed?
Believe it or not, while we were at the beach, the dogs could not have cared less about the seabirds. They trotted around and for the most part ignored them! At one point Phoenix did decide they might be fun to chase but I was able to immediately call her back. Thanks to Premack!
Phoenix half hearted attempt at chasing the birds was a great opportunity for me to practice calling her off
