Last night’s BBC programme ‘Pedigree Dogs Exposed – Three Years On’ is misnamed. The implication that all us pedigree dogs have problems is as ludicrous as to say that all humans are unhealthy because a proportion of the population smoke, or humans are inherently bad because some of them steal and murder.
There are hundreds of breeds of pedigree dog. There are thousands of breeders and for the most part they are responsible, caring people who are doing the best for the dog population. Take my own breed as an example. If you have read what Shadow and Megan have gone through in order to be judged suitable for breeding and understood the lengths our breeders are prepared to go to in ensuring that we are not only healthy but the gene pool kept as wide as possible, driving thousands of miles for matings and being prepared to spend whatever money it takes, then you would understand that a programme which brings all breeds under suspicion is not one that is fair to the rest of us pedigree dogs.
When humans have eliminated all genetic conditions in their own species and only allow matings in as controlled a fashion as occurs in responsible dog breeding, then they can point the finger and use our species for entertainment. Until that time it is better that they hold up the good examples and encourage those practices to be used throughout our species than it is for them to destroy things that so many of us hold dear. Crufts is a great event. There are things that could be done better, but we will be there so that the public can meet our breed and see what a wonderful, healthy, happy breed we are as will so many other breeds. It is the ideal place for people to learn about all the breeds, health issues included. We can talk to you at length about every action that is being taken to ensure our breed stays healthy, including building a database of thousands of dogs so we can identify where there have been problems in the past that need to be avoided in the future. We would be delighted for the BBC to come and meet us and talk to us. We are one of the newest breeds in the country and are applying for our interim breed standard from the Kennel Club so that we can take part in wonderful shows such as Crufts – Perhaps Mr or Mrs Human at the BBC you could come and find out what committed dog breeding and development is all about and tell the public the whole story!
For those of you who cannot be prejudiced so easily, come to Crufts for a brilliant day out for humans of all ages from birth to 110. We love meeting all of you and whatever your state of health, we won’t lift up a paw and point at you and say that it is your parents’ fault. We will nuzzle you and let you stroke us and tell you all about why we are proud of all the good things about our breeds.
Alfie Dog with a little help from Rosemary J Kind alfie@alfiedog.me.uk
Alfie’s Diary – the Book is available at Amazon UK –https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00583ZGSA
I watched the programme also and found it to be very one-sided. Completely negative towards The Kennel Club. I know several breeders and all of them are working hard to improve the health and welfare of their breeds. I wish the programme had focused on some of the improvements that have been made over the years instead of rehashing old news.