[hughest]

oh my gosh did any of you see this??? It was terrible. They were saying breeders are producing dogs that more often than not have health problems becuase we only breed for looks. There's some show airing later this week that is about this and they showed a clip from it. And interviewed some guy from I think Univesity of Pennsylvania. I was - and still am - in a hurry so I rewound and DVR'd it and will sit down and watch it again tonight. But what I heard as I was getting ready to leave was not good at all.

 

[brandywinelabs]

Here is the link.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/34360778#34360778

 

[Pat F.]

oh my gosh did any of you see this??? It was terrible. They were saying breeders are producing dogs that more often than not have health problems becuase we only breed for looks. There's some show airing later this week that is about this and they showed a clip from it. And interviewed some guy from I think Univesity of Pennsylvania. I was - and still am - in a hurry so I rewound and DVR'd it and will sit down and watch it again tonight. But what I heard as I was getting ready to leave was not good at all.

Actually it will air tonite on the BBC channel--I think the time is 10:00 p.m. EST. Many of us have known about this problem for a long time here in the US. They were showing King Charles Spaniels that are being bred for a "smaller head" which is now affecting their brain because the skull is too small for the brain to grow to its proper size. Consequently many of them are now suffering from a disease and I don't remember the name of it but it causes the spaniels to walk with their heads tilted and suffer from eratic movements. Now all of these dogs are in the UK that they were showing and speaking about but the bottom line is that they feel inbreeding has caused many of these problems and I'm sure there are similar cases in the US. It should make for an interesting show and stir up some MAJOR controversy.

Pat

 

[leo455]

They did this same thing in the UK last year. Tried to get T.V. coverage cancelled for Cruffs. I hate this type of attack.

 

[Ted Shih]

oh my gosh did any of you see this??? It was terrible. They were saying breeders are producing dogs that more often than not have health problems becuase we only breed for looks. .

I think you are exagerating what was said.

 

[Kenneth Niles Bora]

Actually....... They were showing King Charles Spaniels that are being bred for a "smaller head" which is now affecting their brain because the skull is too small.......

Pat

yup, wee little lap rats. not hunting dogs
the NBC girl (little past the girl stage she was) even said
"not hunting dogs"
but I do not know if she would know a hunting dog if it weeeed on her leg

 

[Kenneth Niles Bora]

They were saying breeders are producing dogs that more often than not have health problems becuase we only breed for looks.

and you see no truth in that statement?
I see a fair bit of truth in it.

 

[Golddogs]

I think you are exagerating what was said.

More to the point, they are breeding for someones idea of what the dog should look like and not it's natural traits as they do in hunting dogs. That is the problem they addressed with the CKS used in the piece. Also the intense inbreeding to produce these traits was touched on.

 

[david gibson]

More to the point, they are breeding for someones idea of what the dog should look like and not it's natural traits as they do in hunting dogs. That is the problem they addressed with the CKS used in the piece. Also the intense inbreeding to produce these traits was touched on.

exactly, in the today interview they specifically mentioned inbreeding to produce specific conformation traits, and specifically excluded breeding for hunting lines....

that said, there will always be those who paint with the broader brush, but i was pleased to hear them exclude the hunting traits

 

[frontier]

Interesting they didn't have the nerve to air it during the big annual dog show at Thanksgiving that pumps $$$$$ into NYC economy every year.

These are the common scare tactics that paint all dog breeders with the same broad brush, it is still troubling to me.

It would be fair if they offered the other side of the story, and ask reputable breeders who perform diagnostic testing, DNA tests, and have longevity in their sport and breeding programs to balance the reporting, to appear on their broadcast, and discuss their side, but of course "thats not news"!

 

[Bob Gutermuth]

Thats the trouble with the lamestream media, esp NBC they only want to tell part of the story.

 

[hughest]

I think you are exagerating what was said.

Exagerating? He said "MOST pedigree dogs now carry some type of medical or genetic disorder". He also said that in his experience, everyone with a pedigree dog either has or knows someone who has had a horror experience with pedigree dogs.

There was a comment about hunting dogs. It was that instead of breeding for functunality like hunting, breeders are breeding for conformation.

Ken - yes there is some truth that some people do breed only for looks. And some breed for color, or the fun of it, or so the kids can see a litter born, and plenty of other stupid and random reasons. But he didn't say some. He said MOST.

Maybe I am over-reacting. But I am just concerned that the general public won't remember the details, and just remember that some professor on the Today Show was talking about how bad pedigree dogs are. IMO it was a very one sided story that paints a bad light on ALL pedigree dogs and breeders. And PETA folks will take something like that and run with it.

 

[md11pilot]

"And PETA folks will take something like that and run with it."

Where do you think propaganda like this originates from???

 

[Ted Shih]

Exagerating? ...

Maybe I am over-reacting.

Hmm

So, it is ok for people here

To criticize show people for breeding overweight dogs with no snouts

To take shots at people for breeding greyhounds instead of labs

To condemn people who breed dogs who carry EIC of CNM

Or anything else in that vein

But someone can't condemn breeders for breeding for conformation with negative side effects?

Maybe PETA will run with it, maybe they won't

But there is some truth in what was said

And I don't think the sky is falling

Chicken Little regards

Ted

 

[hughest]

Hmm

So, it is ok for people here

To criticize show people for breeding overweight dogs with no snouts

To take shots at people for breeding greyhounds instead of labs

To condemn people who breed dogs who carry EIC of CNM

Or anything else in that vein

But someone can't condemn breeders for breeding for conformation with negative side effects?

Maybe PETA will run with it, maybe they won't

But there is some truth in what was said

And I don't think the sky is falling

Chicken Little regards

Ted

No, I never said any of that.

I simply said I saw a piece on the today show that IMO shed a bad light on ALL pedigree dogs and breeders.

Shame on me for thinking that this was the place that I could talk about that without being mocked, attacked or argued with that he was only telling the truth.

 

[frontier]

Hypothetically speaking, if the guest on the Today show had been discussing how performance Labrador breeders had contributed to the incident of EIC today in field-bred Labradors by their breeding practices and ruining the working Lab, there would be more interest.

There’s an old joke that goes: How do you eat an elephant? Well, one bite at a time of course!

The approach that PETA and HSUS, etc. is the "one bite at a time" method, but rest assured, eventually field-bred Labrador retriever breeders will be on their "menu".

 

[Aussie]

All pedigreed dogs are closed gene pools. Most health problems do occur from inbreeding and the over use of popular sires. Genetic diversity is important.

Some breeds have significant health issues.

DNA tests are not developed for fun.

 

[Dave Flint]

I’m afraid that the ultimate effects of a closed gene pool are inevitable. What would be the impact of judging performance dogs solely on their ability to do the job without regard to their pedigrees?

 

[Golddogs]

Interesting they didn't have the nerve to air it during the big annual dog show at Thanksgiving that pumps $$$$$ into NYC economy every year.

These are the common scare tactics that paint all dog breeders with the same broad brush, it is still troubling to me.

It would be fair if they offered the other side of the story, and ask reputable breeders who perform diagnostic testing, DNA tests, and have longevity in their sport and breeding programs to balance the reporting, to appear on their broadcast, and discuss their side, but of course "thats not news"!

Terry, the vet from England was quite clear in NOT painting with a broad brush. She encouraged buyers to carefully examine both sire and dam as well as the paperwork. And again, this was CKCS specific.

 

[Golddogs]

Maybe I am over-reacting. But I am just concerned that the general public won't remember the details, and just remember that some professor on the Today Show was talking about how bad pedigree dogs are. IMO it was a very one sided story that paints a bad light on ALL pedigree dogs and breeders. And PETA folks will take something like that and run with it.

Specificalll he is a Professor/Dr of animal ethics at the U of P. His point was to NOT breed for cosmetic traits that are not predisposed to the breed, ignoring the natural abilities for cosmetics.