ALTHOUGH I’d say that I’m now a cat person I was brought up with a crossbreed collie and considered her my ‘sister’.
She was a good listener, as dogs are, and a most accommodating playmate. She never complained when made to wear my cowboy hat or learn her times tables (although she was a slow learner).
I know that the vast majority of dogs are good and true and, generally speaking, there are no such things as bad dogs, just bad owners.
Unfortunately, there are more ways than one to be a bad owner.
A few months ago I met someone who had bought a dog from a puppy farm in the North East. She wanted a particular breed and was prepared to travel 100 miles to get one.
Although she was horrified by the conditions she found her puppy living in – confined to a cage and one of at least 100 dogs at the farm – she handed over the cash. "I thought of it as a sort of pet rescue,’’ she said.
Potential owners are often woefully ignorant of the circumstances under which their puppy has been created. What’s worse is that they may not realise they’re also buying faulty goods.
Last week the BBC implemented its decision not to televise Crufts following revelations made in a programme last year about dog breeding.
There was an outcry from breeders and, it has to be said, not all are guilty as charged.
But there is nothing responsible or caring about the creation of dogs with abnormalities that give them chronic pain or make it difficult for them to breathe.
Vets are frequently astonished by owners who simply don’t realise that their pedigree pup may have congenital health problems and a shorter life expectancy. Predictably, breeders’ websites rarely flag up pedigree health problems.
However, such health issues are so well documented in the veterinary profession that part of a vet’s training includes the study of conditions related to particular pedigrees – for example hip problems in German Shepherds, ingrowing eyelashes in the Shar Pei, breathing obstruction in pugs and difficulties with whelping in bulldogs.
The list is long and adds up to a lot of misery for the dogs and expense for their owners.
Incidentally, one of the reasons why such abnormalities occur in pedigrees is because of the unsavoury practice of line breeding when a pup is mated back with its parent to retain characteristics that are deemed desirable (often dictated by current fashion). Such practices weaken the genetic pool and cement disease into a breeding line. This also happens with pedigree cats.
A recent survey by the Blue Cross charity showed that three quarters of pet owners were concerned about the health defects suffered by pedigrees, but didn’t know where to find reliable information. I’d suggest that their veterinary surgeon might be a good place to start.
The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons and the Kennel Club are currently attempting to draw up guidelines to prevent the breeding of ‘fashionable’ characteristics harmful to the animal so progress is being made on this matter.
Until then, perhaps the trading standards people might like to insist that certain pedigrees are sold with a ‘buyer beware’ stamp on the KC registration.
The breeds of most concern include Cavalier King Charles Spaniels with syringiomyelia, a neurological disorder thought to be caused by too small a skull squeezing the brain.
