Would you like to ask the Kennel Club any questions?

Question

Following on from last week's documentary, "Pedigree Dogs Exposed", the kennel club have given people the opportunity to ask them questions in a live webchat.

http://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/item/2004/23/5/3

Do you have any (constructive) questions you'd like to ask them?

Answer 1

i have a blue merl boarder collie with blue eyes is it true you cant mate two merls i cant seem to find out if this is true

Answer 2

no not at this time thank you,,

Answer 3

I'd like to find out from them what their thoughts are on the study presented in the documentary.

http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/newsandevents...

"They suggest measures such as limiting how many times a popular dog can father litters; encouraging mating across national and continental boundaries; and relaxing breed rules to permit breeding outside the pedigree"

How are they going to address inbreeding depression? Perhaps are they going to implement any of the measures recommended above?

Are they going to continue to allow known affected dogs to be shown, championed and used at stud?

Are they ready - yet - to forego the almighty registration dollar and cramp down on the breeders, perhaps losing some, so that a registration has some merit?

As they do have the power to request breed standard changes, and have at other times initiated changes for less reason than health concerns, are they going to step in further and require clubs to change standards so it is clear they should be breeding  toward less exaggeration in the breeds that are grossly over exaggerated?

Madeleine - if you mate two Merle dogs together chances are half the pups will get two dominant Merle genes, which together can cause eyesight and hearing defects, and some reports suggest kidney and other damage as well.  Some pups are born eyeless in fact.

It is not something that I believe even the most knowledgeable breeder should do. I would consider it an animal welfare issue if it was done deliberately.

Answer 4

i live in south africa, there is a husky club here, but the problem is the breeder that i bought my pup from is also the chairman. we chose the pup when she was still to small to leave so paid a deposit. as she got a bit older the breeder then tried to discouragee us fromtakingg her because turns out she is looking very good. we fought this and won and am pleased to say shes here at home. whenspeakingg to her about joining the club and entering the shows she just ignores us and makes us feel realy unwelcome. any help with this???

Answer 5

I saw that it was so sad and made me cry! i d ask them why don t they have some rules about the tests the parents of the puppies should go through before they are sold? Why isn t the breed standard about how healthy the dog is and how good the dog would be at the job is was breed to do rather than this shallow idea about what they look like putting the health of the dog in danger? it is pathetic and sickening

Answer 6

I would like to ask them to explain the reasons behind the breed standards they set.  When are they going to encourage diversity which every species depends upon to survive (biological fact). If you speak to anyone who has studied biology they can explain how important diversity is to a species. Try and find some biology books and read about this topic or maybe ask a question in the biology section about diversity and survival of the species.

From looking at your previous questions I assume you want to discover some answers yourself, you may find some answers by taking a look at dog breeding from a scientific perspective.

Answer 7

I would like to ask them whether they allow dogs to enter shows with known genetic diseases.  

Answer 8

No I dont. I dont have a dog. And if I did I wouldnt become part of the Kennel Club.

Answer 9

that programme made me cry my eyes out! everyone on there was stuck up im never watching anything like that again. poor poorly dogs.