Comments on: Is The Kennel Club an Underground Cult?

By: Therese

Therese — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 04:14:02 +0000

Having just read all these posts I am surprised that no one latched on to the fact that 'show' dogs must be registered with the KC before they will be accepted into a show – which is licencsed by the KC. Now, if the KC were to introduce a policy that no progeny of unscanned parents could be registerd, and neither would progeny from father/daughter, mother/son, brother/sister matings be accepted, surely it stands to reason that there would soon be a decline in this practice as most breeders (in MY humble OPINION) are only in it for the money. What would be the point in producing 'show' litters they could not sell as 'show' dogs?? In my experience when it hurts most (i.e. in the pocket) then something is usually done.

By: John Lilburne

John Lilburne — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 12:45:48 +0000

Genius informs us:

'Oh come on, many of us know that the KC is based on Freemasonary, this is hardly news. Most of the top judges and officers of the KC are members of Connaught Lodge. '

Is the Connaught Lodge not the 'establishment' one where all the toffs hang out anyway, the KC is part of the establishment regardless of whether they are masons or the private, class riddled club they have always been?

By: Jan Bell

Jan Bell — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 04:13:17 +0000

I too did my own research after PDE rather hoping to find out, as an owner of two Cavaliers, that it was greatly exaggerated. I found that it was not.

This wouldn't stop me from owning another Cavalier, but I would be very careful from whom I bought one. Perhaps scanning and following the breeding protocols are not a guarantee of a healthy puppy, but it is the best way to go based on research to date. At the very least, those breeders who are scanning and following the breeding procols know that they are doing everything they can for the present.

As for Cavalier websites, I rather agree with a post by Rod Russel on the Cavalier Talk site:

"If you want nothing but positive "spins" about Cavaliers, read most breeder websites. If you want to find out why your Cavalier may not be acting well, go to http://www.cavalierhealth.org/

Good advice, Rod.

By: Winnie

Winnie — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 03:41:39 +0000

cont.

This is the remainder of his statement from that talk:

"Perhaps, and we’re beginning to think that the Chiari Malformation phenotype may in fact be part of what was selected for when the dog breed was created. So you create a breed of dogs to have a certain look and the ones that win in the dog shows have a certain look, and if that look is Chiari, or whatever leads to Chiari, you are going to with a breed that’s got all Chiari.”

By: Winnie

Winnie — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 03:39:35 +0000

J Logan wrote “Dogs showing no signs of the chiari malformation have producted pups with syringomylelia.”

If indeed this is true then could you please inform the researchers as to which these dogs were? I’m sure they would love to study offspring from Cavaliers without CM. As it currently is they are having a very hard time finding any. Did you check the source of this information to ensure the truth of it?

You may have been mislead, any you have stated an interest in finding out more about SM. This is the latest (Nov) talk by Guy Rouleau.

http://hosted.mediasite.com/hosted5/Viewer/?peid=…

Notice this about the Cavalier breed at about 19:39 in. “we started wondering, are there Chiari Malformation negative dogs? And I think, you know, the answer is not out yet, but it looks like probably not."

By: J Logan

J Logan — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 01:53:10 +0000

It' has nothing to do with me, and the result of the documentary, according to the public I speak to, is that they will now chose a designer dog in preference to a purebred. . You say that breeders are not interested in improving health . Cavalier websites do not support what you say, but if the websites are glossing over huge problems, and breeders are breeding for looks, not health, that is the wisest course for the publc. I would have read that the incidence of syringomyelia is dropping on a website probably a cavalier one, but if is untrue, I accept that. Maybe breeding should cease anyhow.

By: Philippa

Philippa — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 08:47:18 +0000

Clearly from Mr Irving's missive here he is well put out by the "outside interference" as clearly are you. There is a very simple solution to dealing with this interference – do all the right things by your dogs instead of chasing rosettes. Get your animal welfare priorities right. Make the KC health centric instead of show centric. And I can assure you the irritating outside interference will wane.

By: Philippa

Philippa — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 08:46:44 +0000

Not perspicacious enough however to understand how cav breeders can avoid breeding dogs with SM. MRI ALL your breeding stock and only use dams and sires that show NO sign of the Chiari Malformation. And remember the film highlighted the fact that some so called eminent breeders refuse to MRI scan their dogs. Shameful. Even that will not safeguard against SM, however it is the best that can be done until further genetic research has been completed.

There is only one stitch up job being perpetrated here and that is the stitch up of the dogs themselves – breeders knowingly, yes knowingly persisting in breeding dogs that will be destined for a life of pain and discomfort. And the stitch up of all the unwitting pet owners who have up until recently taken what breeders have spun them as "truth". Those are the stitch up jobs that were you really concerned about animal welfare would absorb you.

By: John Lilburne

John Lilburne — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 08:05:10 +0000

Hey folks, we need to start getting very very worried about the Kennel Club and its supporters, take for example these comments:

'terrorists lobbying grenades into casualty hospitals'

'big enough to drive a tank through'

I am an ordinary dog owner and feel that to be tarred as animal rights because I support PDE is really bang out of order. All Mr Irvine is doing isdalienating even more general dog owners from having any faith at all in the exclusive gentlemans club that is the Kennel Club. With all the military talk, perhaps the Kennel Club is preapring to stage a coup so it can change the rules to suit itself? To me they appeare to be tory types anyway?

By: Philippa

Philippa — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 03:14:06 +0000

Why do Cavalier people love to spout the fact that other breeds suffer from SM too? It is as if they wish suffering on other animals. It is absolutely no comfort to the suffering dogs. The film never said that SM was exclusive to Cavaliers. It simply portrayed Cavaliers as an illustration. A very powerful one at that. Your tactic of dismissing the extent, impact and severity of SM in Cavaliers is one I am well used to. But no matter what your protest J Logan the fact is this – cavalier breeders have by and large been extremely cavalier with the integrity of their breeding protocols and they deserved to be highlighted in the way that they were in PDE. I suggest they better get their house in order PDQ or my bet is they will feature strongly in the PDE follow up. And make no bones about it – pedigree dog breed people – the contect of PDE the next installment – is entirely – entirely down to you.