Monday, March 06, 2017

Crufts Tries to Straighten Its Backbone



The Crufts dog show starts Thursday, and The Telegraph decided to get out in front with this story:

Crufts clamps down on 'deformed' dogs after outcry over last year's best in breed

A dog whose ‘deformed’ appearance at Crufts sparked a furious outcry would not be allowed to win the prestigious show this year after the introduction of tough new health standards, it can be revealed.

Dogs can now only be exhibited if they can “stand freely and unsupported in any way, in structural balance while both rear pasterns are vertical”.

The Kennel Club announced a series of measures aimed at tackling problems with the breeding of German Shepherd Dogs (GSD) after a public backlash over a decision to award a "best in breed" prize at last year’s Crufts to a German shepherd with an abnormally sloped back and a painful-looking out-of-step gait....

...Kennel Club sources said that as a result if a dog presenting similar characteristics to Cruaghaire Catoria entered this year's event it would either not be awarded best in show by judges, or it would be failed by vets examining the winners in line with the new health guidelines.

This year’s Kennel Club show - which opens on Thursday at Birmingham NEC - will be the first since the stringent new rules were introduced.

At the same time all championship show judging contracts for 2018 and beyond have been suspended until each judge has undergone retraining by the Kennel Club.

Vets will also be required to check for “timidity, aggression or anxiety which cause distress”.

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