Crufts. I'm fed up of seeing dog's featuures becoming more exaggerated each year.

[CurlyhairedAssassin]

Just watching this on playback watching the Terrier group. Half of them can't see because of the long hair over their eyes. eg wheaten terrier. 40 years ago I'm sure this wasn't the case with those breeds. I mean they were hunters of vermin - they wouldn't have got very far with hair in their eyes not being able to see where the rats were running!.

We got a dog when I was about 8 and I remember looking at that time at a dog breed book that my dad had had when he was young. It must have been from about 1950. Even then, in the 80s, many of the dogs in the book looked very different to the supposed "breed standard" of the 1980s. It just seems to have got worse over the years.

I know this is commented about every year, eg the brachycephalic dogs, the ones with folded skin, or the sloping back of the German Shepherd. But I thought that the Kennel Club and breeders were more enlightened these days. I'm not so sure....

We have working labs (fit, lean and leggy) and they are a world away from many show labs which are very chunky and would have trouble retrieving anything. I hate that the kennel club is making this the norm/standard. It's not healthy.

I was shocked at how fat the lab was…
Also the dachshunds. I think the recommendation is never to be twice as long as they are tall. These were all significantly longer

Gosh yes I really don’t like the size of the show Labs. Our friends show their two and they just look fat and unfit to me.

@Catspyjamas17 You’re so right. I have a Standard and get asked all the time which breed she is. Many people are surprised when I tell them as she just has a short cut all over.
I would 100% have another, they are the ideal dog. Love to walk, intelligent, learns easily, loyal, protective. I could go on and on.

Whenever I read the requirements of someone looking for a cavapoo/cockerpoo/labradoodle I just find myself thinking “you have described a poodle”

It always appalls me that the breed standard for Labradors is fat. Labs are prone to joint problems, heart and liver disease and lots of other stuff if you look it up and most of it could be avoided if the dog were not obese.

I haven't watched crufts because I live in Australia. But I do have a wheaten terrier. I cut his hair so he can see, but his breeder shows the wheatens she owns with the more traditional hair over the eyes. She says they are guided by their sense of smell more so than their eyesight.

@cairnsarethebest I grew up with a Cairn. Feisty little thing she was. Great dogs.

I know. I guess I just don't understand how these show versions of breeds have been allowed to divert so much from the working lines over the years. And not even so that they look "prettier" half the time. So that they look almost grotesque and comical at times. The show breed standards have changed. It makes of a mockery of the phrase "breed standard", surely. Breed standard suggests that it remains the same, whether that is a dog from 1840 or from 2023.

Depends what you mean by mixed. If it's a cross of 2 breeds without any investigation into pedigree and health status of the parents then you could get the worst of both breeds in terms of health and temperament.

The only thing that breeders should breed for is health and temperament. Not for novelty looks value or what is in fashion on instagram.

the dog i saw recent, greek, old english sheepdog i think, totally hairy, however the owners were very proud that she lived a lovely life, swam in the sea. etc, but did shows too
i think there has been change in crufts
the german shepherds always make people comment.

@CurlyhairedAssassin both parents health tested, with copies given when pup collected

Delia her name was

I gasped when I saw the German Shepherd at Crufts this year. It could barely walk. I couldn't believe Claire Balding commented that it had had a vet check before coming in to the ring.

Labs aren't the only breeds that show best fat. One of my friends who shows at crufts also does agility. She had to choose between keeping her dog lean and fit for competitions, or having him too fat because that was the look that judges went for. She picked lean and fit, and no longer shows.

My last crossbreed was a disaster. The very worst of both breeds health wise (diseases both breeds were prone to) and a neurotic temperament from both to match. He also got a rare cancer not seen in either. Just because it’s crossed does not always mean it will be healthier. My pedigree dogs, touch wood, haven’t had an issue so far but are health tested within an inch of their lives.

I do agree that some breeds are heading for disaster though, they are looking at outcrossing amongst many breeds to improve diversity in a controlled way (not just putting poodle in 🙄) but it’s harder than it looks when some breeders are so obsessed with the exaggerated features and refuse to admit their breeds are a mess.

One of my own was a show dog and he was permanently filthy except for the day before a show and very much a normal dog! He’s retired now because he stopped enjoying it, sadly for me as it was a nice day out!

I can't believe anyone watching the German Shepherd won't have been shocked, the judges and breeders must have no ethics or morals.

We have a working line basset and the show bassets would never be able to do the job they're bred for. Too close to the ground and legs are too short.

It's a bugbear of mine that those who criticise 'backyard breeders' champion Kennel Club and the damage they do to breeds.

The terriers are about the only breed group I can watch.

The haircuts are optional, but don't impede the dogs' vision (though it can look as if it might if you're looking down at the dog when you're standing, and all the Crufts footage yesterday was from that kind of angle.

Aside from the Boston terrier (which wasn't in the group yesterday) none are flat-faced nor bred to exaggerated form. Indeed for some terriers, signs of "fair wear and tear" from fulfilling their historic vermin control roles is acceptable in the breed standard.

Agree. Lifetime of health issues.

It must be so frustrating for vets to continually see fat labs which as a breed are prone to hip and joint issues. It is unforgivable to promote overweight dogs as a breed standard. Would love to see those types of lab keep up with mine on a walk through woods and fields.

We have working labs too, and (non labby) people often ask if they are cross bred, because they are so leggy and lean.

DH was brought up with German Shepherds and really wanted one, but he couldn't stand the current breed standards, which produce that exaggeratedly sloping back and so many problems.
We looked at loads of European shepherd breeds instead, and finally settled for a relatively unspoilt working breed. I am sorry to say that they have appeared at Crufts recently; I expect they too will soon be fucked up.

If you have a limited population and keep breeding selectively within it, over time you're going to get exaggerated features and health problems.

Even if the parents themselves are healthy, the closer they are genetically, the more likely genetic problems become in offspring. Genetic 'purity' is genetic disaster.

We know that about humans. I've never understood why we imagine it would be different in dogs. The idea that breeding over generations and generations from 'perfect specimens' will keep a standard and produce healthier offspring doesn't hold up to a whiff of thought.

The kennel club in the country I live in is actually waking up to this; I met a dog geneticist at a conference recently who's working with them. About time.

Oh I love the idea of 'signs of "fair wear and tear"' for terriers!

Wish I could watch it. Our collie goes bonkers if there is a dog/cat/any animal on the tele, even if it’s a bloody cartoon

Why does the Kennel Club encourage sloping backs in German Shepherds?

I honestly find it distressing to see these dogs like this do how on earth can these judges justify promoting this as a standard?

Personally I'd want to see breeds bred to a 'standard' where they are capable of doing their original function. Anyone who scoffs at those who don't buy their puppy after speaking to Kennel Club breeders at shows seems to forget that these dogs are grossly unhealthy.