British Bulldogs are going to be chucked out the kennel club

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BBH

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Well I have a British Bulldog and I have no problem with this as it is designed to ensure breeders consider the health implications of the dogs they are producing. I am lucky in that I chose a small well put together chap with a nose of sorts and he has no breathing problems or skin fold problems.

I have however seen ' freak' bulldogs who are wider than they are tall, they can't even walk without struggling to breathe, and are constantly at the vets for skin complaints. All the vets I have seen say there hearts sink when they see a bulldog on their books as they know whats to come is man made and cruel.

I know it won't be a popular move but good on the KC for taking a stance and giving future puppies a chance of good quality life.
 
I don't think they are being chucked out as such. What I understood was that the KC standard has been changed for Bulldogs, amongst other breeds. I heard on the news this morning that bulldogs would now be different, that is a load of bull,(ooh sorry just realised the pun
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) the breed standard has been changed, but it takes years and generations to change a breed, it isn't going to happen overnight.
 
This is an article about it... http://uk.news.yahoo.com/4/20090114/tuk-british-bulldog-to-get-a-makeover-dba1618.html

Now it's the breeders who are kicking up! Any old painting of the original bulldog will show a very different dog to one we have today and it's the breeders who misinterpreted the breed standard to produce these monstrosities in the first place. 'Wide head' (not sure of actual standard but it's something like that!) never meant so wide the bitches can't give birth to their own pups. Wouldn't they rather breed happy healthy dogs
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The trouble is - the reputable breeders probably only breed from stock that don't throw any extreme conformations and will hopefully try to follow the new breed standard to improve the health of the breed - but there is a large number of people (especially around here) that couldn't care less - probably not breeding for the show ring and only to make a profit and I doubt they would take any notice of the KC breed standards anyway. I near enough had a stand up row with a chap last month when I told him his bulldog which only had 1 testicle and a heart murmur was unsuitable for breeding! Sadly I doubt t*ssers like him would be too bothered. In someways I think the KC changing the breed standard is probably targetting the wrong people and its the backyard breeders like him that are often the ones that can ruin a breed.
If the KC are going to take a general stance in overall health of extreme breeds then I hope the Shar Pei is next on their list though.
 
Shar peis are one of the breeds whose standard has been revised. If you google KC revised standards you can find the new revised version. Not going to make a drastic difference to the breeds in the short term but at least its a start, but it is all still down to the interpretation of the standard by breeders and judges. For instance in GSDs it no says something along the lines of 'absolute soundness in movement'. Well in my opinion this should always have been the case, but many judges put up unsound dogs if they like the overall picture.
 
IMO from a veterinary perspective I would say an unsound animal should never be placed over a sound one no matter how pleasing it looks.
I know of a rottie bitch that is doing very well in the show ring atm that has blatent entropian which I can't believe is overlooked.
But I would guess there are good and bad judges and when anything comes down to personal taste there are always going to be discrepancies - however these should never include physical or health issues IMO.
 
Couldn't agree more with you about unsound animals beating sound ones, but sadly it happens all the time. I stewarded at a GSD ch show last month, first show I had been to in a couple of years. There were some lovely dogs there but a lot of them were incredibly cow-hocked, however in a lot of cases they had good, low hip scores, so I suppose you could technically say the unsoundness wasn't affecting their ability to work, although not sure they would have been able to trot along a ploughed furrow, as the breed was originally supposed to do.
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I used to own a bulldog years ago and thankfully he was a good sort and very fit & trim. It's all very well the KC changing breed standards, but i must admit i was bloody annoyed
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because the KC have got a hell of a lot to answer for in the 1st place.

I think changes are coming about because of a certain TV programme that was broadcasted last year
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& the KC is under scrutiny because of it. After all said & done it is up to a breeder to be responsible & breed quality not quantity but unfortunately i really don't think that will happen & many breeds will go on suffering deformities (SP) because of supply & demand.

But hey what do i know
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They arent being chucked out the KC are altering the standard (as well as selected other breeds) to breed them slightly longer legged and change the muzzle shape, there are a few breeders who do breed the original shaped Bully.

I don't think the KC can be blamed soley as the main responsibility bears with the breeder. At least they're recognising the probs now and starting to do something about it. Better late than never
 
[ QUOTE ]
I think changes are coming about because of a certain TV programme that was broadcasted last year
smirk.gif
& the KC is under scrutiny because of it. After all said & done it is up to a breeder to be responsible & breed quality not quantity but unfortunately i really don't think that will happen & many breeds will go on suffering deformities (SP) because of supply & demand.

[/ QUOTE ]

i know the very one you mean, I think it was extremely biased although it did make some very good points. I find that most breeders do try and breed healthy animals but at the end of the day they don't write the breed standards, and if their dogs dont look like that, they dont win anything. I'm glad the breed standards are changing, and i think on the whole the KC do a good job. After all, almost every study they quoted from on the show was funded and backed by the KC.
 
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