Thank goodness for the Sloughi......

9

{97702}

...
Joined
9 July 2012
Messages
14,849
Visit site
because I have never seen so many fat, unfit hounds as there were in the hound group at Crufts last night! They looked appalling, it makes me so sad to see them in such poor condition :mad:

I suppose it is the same in the horse showing world, but show people need to recognise what their animals are actually bred for - the greyhound was awful, whatever happened to seeing the outline of 3 vertebrae and a couple of ribs like you are supposed to? My lot look skeletal by comparison :D

Rant over, I shall now get off my soapbox..... :p
 
I agree, the beagle in particularly was a real podge. I liked the whippet but what happened to being able to see ribs? Mind you the GSD the previous day looked heavier than I have seen him in the past, maybe tv puts the lbs on dogs too :)
 
The whippet was nice, I have seen him before but Barbara Wilton-Clark always had nice whippets when I was showing them 20 years ago - I see her daughter has taken over now! Still the same all-rounders judging the groups though :D

Yes I liked the Rottie as well but thought he/she was a bit fat so maybe it is the TV - thankfully I have never been on TV so have nothing to compare to :p :) :)
 
For as long as judges demand fat and unfit dogs, so those showing them will provide the stock.

'Fat hides flaws', and in that those doing the judging may have an escape route, and to cover their own incompetence.

Alec.
 
I'm not sure how you make a greyhound that fat. The one at work is fed biscuits and other assorted crap all day long and you could still play a tune on his spine knobbles - and rightly so, he looks fit as a flea.

UK sibes are currently taking a slagging from some US show breeders on FB for being, among other things, far too thin. The US example given could easily be mistaken for a malamute. :p

I loved the bloodhound but thought the basset was disappointingly over-exaggerated.
 
There were some real chubs last night, weren't there?

I thought the terrier group judge was manhandling them a bit too, not that I know about showing, but some of the dogs seemed less than happy about the whole thing. I know they have to get hands on of course, but even so...!
 
Terrier judges are always quite hands on - I didn't notice anything unusual to be honest. The BF was somewhat alarmed by the judge checking each male dog was entire.... :p
 
LOL at your BF Levrier! I find all the judges very hands on, nearly all GSD judges (myself included) assess most of the dog from a distance with only a brief check on lay of shoulder and sometimes croup. On the odd occasion my dogs were judged by an all rounder they used to give the judge a very old fashioned look when he/she started bouncing on their back and stretching out their tails :)
 
Lévrier;12354588 said:
because I have never seen so many fat, unfit hounds as there were in the hound group at Crufts last night! They looked appalling, it makes me so sad to see them in such poor condition :mad:

.......

Rant over, I shall now get off my soapbox..... :p
Click to expand...

Lévrier;12355042 said:
Depends on the judge - I can guarantee that one judge last year didn't put any dog up that was fat, unfit or unsound :p
Click to expand...

Are we to assume that your comments relate to this year's judging standards, alone, or are you criticising those who were showing their dogs? If your apparent, and in my view correct, criticism of the weight levels carried by show dogs, in general, is the point of your post, then would you agree that those who show dogs only present the animal that they believe that the judge wants to see?

If you accept my point, would you therefore agree that it's those who judge are those who set the standards by which animals are presented?

Alec.
 
blackcob said:
I'm not sure how you make a greyhound that fat. ........
Click to expand...

That's easily achieved, you never allow them their freedom, you restrict them to lives which are spent on the end of a lead, you spey or castrate them, which appears to be a condition of re-homing, and then it's an easily achieved situation.

Alec.
 
Last edited:
It certainly hasn't worked for my GSDs Alec, both my bitches are now spayed and are very lean. In fact I think Levrier's hounds are all neutered (I could be wrong) and she has stated all her dogs are slim. And I suspect the greyhound blackcob is referring to may well be castrated too.
I do agree with you that it if judges stopped putting up overweight dogs then exhibitors would stop showing them like that, and unfortunately it does seem that some show types bear no resemblance to the working type.
 
Yup, this one was castrated when he came off the track. Still looks like a very elegant hatrack, with the exception of his arse, which is so chiselled as to be used to demonstrate muscular anatomy lessons to the trainee nurses. :p
 
This is exactly the reason why I won't watch Crufts.

On a side note as well as Alec mentioned it, I hate the fact people blame spaying on their dog getting fat and those using it for a reason not to neuter. Load of crap. YOU made it fat by not feeding it correctly and not exercising it sufficiently.
 
GinaB said:
This is exactly the reason why I won't watch Crufts.

On a side note as well as Alec mentioned it, I hate the fact people blame spaying on their dog getting fat and those using it for a reason not to neuter. Load of crap. YOU made it fat by not feeding it correctly and not exercising it sufficiently.
Click to expand...

Couldn't agree more GinaB.
 
Fattest dog on our books is an unspayed whippet bitch. If it weren't completely unethical and unfair to snap a picture and share it I would because it's a truly astonishing size, it sort of blobs and heaves itself about like a seal pup. Nowt to do with neutering or else you wouldn't be able to feel vertebrae and see the ribs on my spayed bitch.
 
Henry aside surely with all show classes surely the winning animal should be fit for purpose? Which patently those Crufts efforts absolutely weren't!
Equally, in the horse showing world, if you go hunting there aren't many people on 18hh tubs of lard who can't trot without puffing. Is a funny old world!
 
So everyone on here who has their dog's neutered, has dogs which are indistinguishable from an entire dog, do they? I have to tell you, collectively, that your dogs are different from all those neutered dogs which I ever see, and whilst I have your attention, there are THREE vet's surgeries, and all around me, and all offering diets and the appropriate feeds for those dogs which are neutered, and the reason given is that neutering is likely to encourage a dog to put weight on. My experience is that all those dogs which I see, and which have been neutered, are generally fairly obvious, and from a distance and because most are obese.

Considering those greyhounds which come out of racing, can anyone explain to me how they justify keeping a dog, and never allowing the animal to stretch its legs and do what they are designed to do, and that's gallop? It would make as much sense, and be just as right to take a Thoroughbred horse, contain it in a stable, and take it for a walk, twice a day, and up and down a road.

One question for the whip-their-knackers-off brigade, is why are dogs which have been neutered, ineligible for Crufts? That's NOT why would the owner not castrate, stud fees, the question's WHY are such dogs barred from the show ring?

I'm all ears if anyone can answer the questions which I've asked, and I'll be genuinely interested to hear the answers.

Alec.
 
Henry is fed working dog food. He is fit to the point of being lean. As an entire dog with his old owners, he was extremely fat.

However this does not fit in with your world view, so of course you will ignore it!
 
Neutered dogs are not banned from the show ring Alec. You just have to write to the KC asking for permission and in the case of males have a letter from your vet saying that the dog had 2 normally decended testicles before castration. I have shown and one with a spayed bitch. A dog is more likely to be penalised against an entire dog but in numerically small breeds plenty do win and I suspect some were at Crufts.
I would consider my bitches are indistinguishable from entire bitches, unless you look very closely at their bits.
 
Last edited:
M_M, staggered, but I stand corrected for which I thank you. I'm equally staggered that, specifically with the males, that any judge would place a less than masculine dog above his entire brother. Breed standards would surely be at risk, I'd have thought.

Alec.
 
Lévrier;12355042 said:
Depends on the judge - I can guarantee that one judge last year didn't put any dog up that was fat, unfit or unsound :p
Click to expand...

If memory serves me correct wasnt there a great deal of controversy regarding the Staffy which was put up last year and it was obvious to all including a youtube video that he was anything but sound.
 
Our practice is changing their brand of veterinary diet next week. The entirety of the new range is reduced calorie - all varieties, including the bog standard adult medium breed, all about 20% less calories than the brand it was replacing. The advertising doesn't really make this clear, it's being marketed as just another premium feed.

This is because the majority of pet dogs in the UK are now overweight and a good number of the conditions we see are at least in part caused by, or certainly exacerbated by, being overweight. The other reason is that it makes the practice lots of money to offer these daft varieties which cost more than standard foods and for which we gets lots of vouchers and packs with which to suck clients in with. If they think they are doing the best for their pet because of some slick marketing they will pay more.

Absolutely nothing to do with neutering status (except in the specific case of castrated male cats and their urinary tract health, for whom these neutered diets actually make a little bit of sense).

The ex-racing greyhound gallops every single day, just in an enclosed paddock or a number of selected sites where his owner considers it safe to do so. Similar to my own dogs who, unlike the greyhound, are never off lead in an unenclosed space. I await the RSPCA inspectors. :p

ETA: The greyhound's career ended early when his leg was smashed to smithereens on the track - his gallop is probably not as efficient as it once was on account of the big steel pin!
 
Last edited:
Dobiegirl said:
If memory serves me correct wasnt there a great deal of controversy regarding the Staffy which was put up last year and it was obvious to all including a youtube video that he was anything but sound.
Click to expand...
Levrier said "one judge" and was referring to a close family member I think. Yes the staffy caused a huge controversy with many of the other exhibitors putting in an official complaint but I don't think anything was done about it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top