Native dog breeds becoming endangered

One of the breeds on that list is the Lancashire Heeler which Murphys Minder and my family have. Last year there were something like 37 puppies registered which is nothing and when you consider the average litter is 4 you can see why.

I would just like to see them a bit more popular and off the vunerable list.
 
I've just read this article on the bbc website - its quite interesting - although i was shocked at the stats about Afgan Hounds ending up in rescue!

Not really sure how i feel about it - I dont have 'pedigree' dogs, and I do think its sad that dogs are seen as a fashion accessory...
 
Interesting story. And sadly, very true.

I've been grooming in Edinburgh for ten years. In that time I have:

-never (in my salon) groomed an English Setter or Irish Red & White

-only ever had a handful of other setters (Irish / Gordon)

- Only ever groomed a small number of Bedlington or Dandie Dinmont Terriers, same for Norwich or Norfolk, Lakeland Terriers

- Never groomed a Skye, Glen of Imaal (or even seen one for that matter)

--- however Cockers/Springers/Westies/Yorkies/Border Terriers/Cairn Terriers/ Golden Retriever all seem to do rather well in popularity

Clumbers and Sussex are also fairly unknown. Have only seen one Manchester Terrier.

and yet

-I've seen some interesting exotics like Portis, Afghan, millions of Chihs, Shih Tzu, Lhasa Apso, Maltese.

Yet the biggest thing we're seeing now is the ever exotic "designer" dogs. :/
 
Very sad. We had English setters when I was a child, lovely dogs.
There are so many breeds now that you have a worldwide market, I suppose something foreign sounds more exotic.
 
I suppose a litte bit of the reason must be fewer people breeding them also. I know it doesnt make sense to breed when there isnt a market but I bet in alot of cases the puppies are hard to come by, especially the very rare ones, therefore being a little catch-22 :(
 
Yes they are harder to find, but in my mind that is a good thing because it means people do have to do their research and not buy on impulse (although have to confess our LH was almost an impulse buy, I blame dobiegirl:p). Ironically our pup was still a far lower price than many of the designer crosses.
 
I don't think there's any more room for pedigrees even if they are endangered. There's too many mongrels and such sitting in dog homes who are living on borrowed time. I realise that some dog breeds are endangered, but too many dogs are used as fashion accessories. I will admit that I would absolutely love to see more Irish Red Setters and Lancashire Heelers, but I do think that we need to concentrate on the kennel dogs :). I think though that we do have to preserve the endangered dogs as well. There just has to be a happy medium :D!
 
Unfortunately if that was the case then all we would have would be Staffies & Labradoodles as they are most commonley bred atm, which would be the death knell for so many other breeds.
 
i think it is such a shame that some breeds are becoming so rare. The numbers being registered are ridiculous and very damaging to the gene pool. I think we do have to deal with the numbers in rescue kennels but that does not mean we don't need to address the issue of these breeds declining so much.
My parents have an Irish wolfhound. My Dad was keen to have a rare Irish breed and so we decided on that and she's the second one we've had. I don't think i've ever seen another out being walked. I've seen deerhounds etc but never a wolfhound and I think it's such a shame. You see so many great danes but personally for temperament I would choose a wolfhound every time.
Maybe if there was a campaign to educate people about rare breeds they might be keen to go down that route. I will admit though as soon as I have room I would love a golden retriever, nothing to do with popularity I just love them as a breed.
 
G16 We used to have an Irish Wolfhound in our tiny village, he was an absolute poppet and a gentle giant. I remember him waiting at the school gates for his little boy surrounded by kids hugging and making a fuss of him and him lapping it up. His owner said at half term and holidays he always came up to her to remind her it was time to go to school because he loved seeing all the kids.
 
g16 said:
Maybe if there was a campaign to educate people about rare breeds they might be keen to go down that route.
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I think a lot of people need to be educated about breeds full stop. There seem to be a fair amount of people these days who apparently think that all dogs are pretty much the same, they just look a bit different so they go out and buy a puppy because they think the breed is cute or pretty or has whatever kind of 'look' they're going for.

There are loads of breeds I love the look of but would never even contemplate owning as their temperament just wouldn't be compatible with our lifestyle. I think we'd end up with far fewer dogs in rescues if more people went for temperament over looks.
 
WeedySeaDragon said:
I think a lot of people need to be educated about breeds full stop. There seem to be a fair amount of people these days who apparently think that all dogs are pretty much the same, they just look a bit different so they go out and buy a puppy because they think the breed is cute or pretty or has whatever kind of 'look' they're going for.

There are loads of breeds I love the look of but would never even contemplate owning as their temperament just wouldn't be compatible with our lifestyle. I think we'd end up with far fewer dogs in rescues if more people went for temperament over looks.
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I agree 100% and a lot of breeds have been dumbed down too in my opinion, Dobermanns for example, my current 2 are so much soppier than my last 2. I believe its because breeders are breeding for a more amenable temperment to allow for owners not being knowledgeable enough or not prepared to put in the work that a real Dobermann would require. This is just my opinion but Im not alone as on a Dobe forum people are searching for a harder dog which was easier to find in the old days and a dog which was fit for the purpose they were bred for.
 
do people still work setters? I am assuming not really, or english especially if numbers are so low. I knew one when were a kid and she was the biggest sop about and the complete opposite to her standard poodle companion!

My Aunt and Uncle have had 3 Gordons over the years.. all would have been much good at working!
 
Ostrich, I had a look at the list too after seeing it on the news and was surprised to see greyhounds. Also lakeland terriers as their are plenty of these about in rural areas but of course not kc but working strains who look nothing like the pedigree ones. Would have loved a deerhound but size was against me when coming into the office with me.

As with everything its what's in fashion and not what dog is best suited to them.
 
And unfortunately people who choose "fashionable" breeds often have no idea what looking after that breed involves but there are still plenty of muppets ready to churn out pups to meet the demand.:(
 
Yes i have a lab so will probably be shot down whatever i say but i would agree that there should be a wider awareness of different breeds available. However perhaps the reason these rare breeds aren't as popular is that they don't fit into people's lifestyles today. An example of modern natural selection if you like.
 
It makes me so sad that English Setters are in danger as our girl is just fantastic. She's gentle, loving and although has a few recall issues is impeccably behaved, particularly with children. They are just so beautiful and fantastic pets. Hearing of their further decline makes me wish we had bred from our girl but as she is now 8 that is definitely not going to happen!

Anyway here she is, her hair is a bit shorter than most English Setters and she's also taller than she should be, not that it matters to us. (sorry, any excuse to post pictures :p )

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Dobiegirl - they are a fantastic breed and so gentle, loving and loyal. I don't understand why danes are so much more popular!
Weedyseadragon - I agree people need to be educated about breeds full stop and people are buying a puppy without having a clue what they're getting in for. Alot of these are the foreign breeds like huskys and shar peis.
I think if we want these breeds to survive we need to do something to promote them. I know quite a lot about different dogs but would admit to knowing not much about those on the list. I had never heard of a glen of imaal terrier until a few years ago and a lancashire heeler until I came of this forum. People won't consider a breed unless they know it exist or see it. People who regularly see a retriever or a labradoodle in the park will then want one because they appear such nice dogs and they're friends have one etc.
Dobiegirl I agree about your comment about breeds being dumbed down.I know wolfhounds haven't worked in a long time but she has no hunting instinct at all and just follows the others not really knowing what shes doing!
Ostrich get a wolfhound not a deerhound much nicer!! (biased much!)
btw where can I find the kennel club lists for all the registered breeds?
 
lq22 said:
Yes i have a lab so will probably be shot down whatever i say but i would agree that there should be a wider awareness of different breeds available. However perhaps the reason these rare breeds aren't as popular is that they don't fit into people's lifestyles today. An example of modern natural selection if you like.
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It isn't really that though is it? I don't think huskys are likely the ideal breed for a lot of peoples lifestyles.
 
ester said:
It isn't really that though is it? I don't think huskys are likely the ideal breed for a lot of peoples lifestyles.
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Sorry, I was generalising widely. I have a friend who has 3 huskys (yes she is mental!). They are lovely well behaved dogs and they suit her but I don't think I could cope with them.

From my experience I wouldn't want to encourage everyone and there nan to get a setter for example, if they felt they were looking for a dog. Setters are far more difficult to train from what I've seen than other more popular breeds of dogs (not including huskys with that) and don't think many people would have dogs they could control. I could see this in turn leading to an increase in the number of setters in rescues once they've got past the fluffy puppy stage and are bouncing uncontrollable young dogs.

I think energy would be better spent trying to educate people as to what dog (if any) will suit their lifestyle and how to care for it and train it properly.

With the number of dogs there are in rescues I am far more concerned (rightly or wrongly) about the number of unwanted dogs we already have rather than what breed they are or what breeds might not be around in the future.
 
ah get you, I wasn't meaning to be rude it was just that I had the same thought initially but then went through the list of popular foreign breeds thinking half of them were just as unsuitable!
 
ester said:
ah get you, I wasn't meaning to be rude it was just that I had the same thought initially but then went through the list of popular foreign breeds thinking half of them were just as unsuitable!
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This could go on all day - I'm sorry if you thought i thought you were rude with what you said. It wasn't rude at all. I'm sorry if you thought i was rude too, didn't mean it in that way, just not very good at explaining myself - i is ssshhppeecciiaall :D
 
People will pay money for registered or unregistered dogs these days, so just because they arent registered doesnt mean people arent breeding them. In fact its more of a hassle to register them to money breeder. So to be fair the figures arent correct. although I guess they make a good generalisation.
 
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