Comments on: Pedigree Pulls Out Of Crufts, Now it’s Over to You BBC

By: Gnasher

Gnasher — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 20:18:23 +0000

Moppetswood

Thanks for your reply, it clears things up a bit now that I am aware that your a dog warden and therfore know what is going on with the NDWA.

By: moppetswood

moppetswood — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 19:30:29 +0000

Yes I am a Dog Warden and have been for 17 years, I am also a member of the NDWA and attended the recent AGM.

By: Gnasher

Gnasher — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 19:07:31 +0000

Thanks for your reply moppetswood, how come you appear to know so much about the NDWA, are you involved in the dog control profession or do you know somebody who is?

By: moppetswood

moppetswood — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 12:58:58 +0000

Dave / Ryan If you had done your homework you would know that Pedigree (Mars) also own Royal Canin, James Welbeloved and Nutro dog foods so the company are hardly withdrawing from Crufts. Could it have something to do with the fact that in August Pedigree pulled out of Championship Dog Shows as part of its ‘business review’ and sacked all its Breeder Reps therefore they would have no one to man the stand without hiring people without the appropriate knowledge to man it. This was done before the Pedigree Dogs Exposed programme incidentally.

Dave wrote

“Where are all the posters now who previously rubished the RSPCA, Dogs Trust and NDWA for pulling out, stating that it was those organisations which would suffer?”

more importantly where are all the posters who were rubishing the KC?

Gnasher the NDWA didn’t withdraw from Crufts due to the Pedigree Programme they withdrew due to costs (£8,000), lack of and an overstretched Committee and most importantly because their main man Cuthbert Jackson who was a Life Member of the NDWA has resigned. He was the guy every year with the wonderful puppet theatre that drew in the crowds, no Cuthbert = no stand. The Programme was the excuse they needed not to attend.

I think the BBC are probably awaiting the result of the fromal complaint that the KC has made to the BBC about the programme before commenting further as are probably the KC who have both ITV and Sky waiting in the wings to cover Crufts.

It would appear Ryan that whatever the KC do you are not satisfied. They are damned if the do and damned if they don’t, even Beverley Cuddy has chosen to call a ceasefire at the moment, and that was something I never thought I would live to see.

It is the vast majority of dog owners at Crufts who are the responsible people who do do the health tests on their animals and breed responsibly. The puppy farmers and pet breeders are the ones who don’t and yes they do register their puppies with the KC but certainly in the main would never go to Crufts.

By: Gnasher

Gnasher — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 19:28:22 +0000

DavetheDog

Nice post, true about the deafening silence, I note that elsewhere on this site, the dog wardens got a lot of flak in comparison to the RSPCA who led the exodus!

Interesting to read of the latest positioning of the old guard (KC & DT), the nearest comparison I can think of was when East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) gained independence from Pakistan.

the senior officers from both sides were chatting and reminiscing about their joint training at a military academy whilst people were still being killed.

What I am getting at is that the big cheeses at both the KC and the DT can continue attending the same drinks parties without worrying about what their troops on the ground think or feel.

RSPCA can on occasion be well out of order, but respect to them for maintaining their stand on this one.

Wonder how long it is going to be before we read of the DT reconsidering and attending Crufts 2009.

Maybe that decision has already been made?

Also, well done to NDWA for maintaining it’s stance.

By: Dave the Dog

Dave the Dog — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 12:47:40 +0000

Where are all the posters now who previously rubished the RSPCA, Dogs Trust and NDWA for pulling out, stating that it was those organisations which would suffer?

There’s a bit of a silence now isn’t there? I don’t think Pedigree will suffer either financially or credibly!

By: Philippa Robinson

Philippa Robinson — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 10:25:44 +0000

I am surprised to see Ronnie Irving, Jeff Sampson and Caroline Kisko still in post after this. Perhaps they could be forgiven their naivity in the way they dealt with the documentary. Perhaps they genuinely believed that the KC was doing all it could in terms of pedigree dog health and welfare and therefore such a painstakingly researched film would not pose any threat to them and the KC breed system. Perhaps it is also forgiveable that in the aftermath of the broadcast they resorted to a clumsy scattergun approach of “damage limitation” (failing in that too). But in most commercial enterprises to be exposed as an organisation that in actual fact has not been delivering on what it has set out to deliver i.e. the general improvement of all dogs, to allow such a PR disaster to befall you, and to compound that by the loss of serious commercial sponsorship that probably imparts irrevocable damage to your flagship brand, in most enterprises this would result in resignations at the most senior level.