Tis the season to be .....

...... Plain bloody stupid if you are behind the latest RSPCA campaign

The Pedigree dog, without which no dog would exist, but once again we see the RSPCA spending thousands of pounds on newspaper adverts and petition campaigns - I bet when you put your lose change in the collecting tin the other day you thought your money was going to make sure that all the animals in the shelters would get a nice Christmas - you'd be mistaken to think that any of that money actually goes to the animals because most shelters are financially independant of the RSPCA and operate almost like a franchise. Money donated goes towards paying salaries (fair enough if it's going to the inspectors), keeping the head office at Horsham running and financing campaigns such as this.

Quote: The way that dogs are bred today, in order to win shows, is having a huge impact on their health and welfare. This is why we’ve launched our Born to Suffer campaign which calls for pedigree dogs to be bred primarily for health, welfare and temperament rather than the way they look.

Outdated propaganda, almost every single bulldog breeder I know will put health and temperament above everything else. Of course I can't speak for other breeds but certainly the health and temperament of the bulldogs that end up in rescue have certainly improved in the last 10 years

Quote: But it’s not just show dogs that may be suffering. Not all pedigree dogs will appear in shows, but many are bred by breeders who want to produce show-winning animals, and who sell their surplus dogs as pets.


Sorry, but purchasing from a show breeder is the best way of ensuring your puppy is bred properly and with care by someone who actually gives a s**t and isn't in it purely for the money. The argument is simple - OK, you may not want to show your bulldog, but you still want a nice healthy bulldog that actually looks like a bulldog and a breeder that aims to show what they breed will not only have some understanding of the breed standard but will also be making that extra effort to produce good quality, healthy dogs.

Quote: To win shows, dogs must meet a 'breed standard' which is set for each individual breed and describes the way a dog should look. Breeding for looks in this way can lead to dogs being bred with exaggerated physical features. According to scientific studies some of the UK’s favourite breeds of dogs have been bred to such extremes that they can no longer breathe or walk normally. For example, dogs with short, flat faces often have narrow nostrils and abnormally developed windpipes. They can often suffer severe breathing difficulties and may have difficulty enjoying a walk or playing. Dogs with folded or wrinkled skin are prone to itchy and painful skin complaints, and dogs with bulging or sunken eyes are prone to injury, pain or discomfort.



Yes they can but there would be more if there was absolutely no control over what or who was being bred. In today's world if you make dog breeding easier by removing the only controls there are then you are playing right into the hands of the people that breed for the sole reason of making money without a care for the welfare of their dogs or their offspring.

I'm sure this is going to rumble round like thunder caught in a valley, but over the last couple of years the Kennel Club have alienated alot of breed clubs and breed councils by going through a large number of breed standards with a fine tooth combe and changing the wording of things simply to appease the media. The RSPCA probably only ever see the badly bred pedigree dogs because most pedigree dog owners who need help will go to their breed rescues and to people that understand and care about the breed, it's only really those that need to offload quickly, who never really cared about the welfare of their dog or simply abandon their pet will find their way into RSPCA shelters and in light of that they really don't have the experience or the knowledge to understand the dog stood in front of them.

Of course this all started with "that" programme and as filming of the second installment is well underway I have offered an interview which according to the programme maker has been accepted because the BBC have insisted that there is a balanced argument regarding the issues it raises. I'm not convinced it will happen as I too have strong opinions that may not be welcome but we will see.