# I pit dog show freaks, especially in the UK **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 20, 2010, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-dog-show-freaks-especially-in-the-uk/561295 "2010-11-20T02:34:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2010, 9:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-dog-show-freaks-especially-in-the-uk/561295/21 "2010-11-20T09:21:57Z")
> [@Zuzu\_s\_Petals](#): > > I got it. It made me laugh. 😃 Yeah, me too…but I’ve made it a point to ignore anything _[poster deleted]_ posts in any thread to do with dogs or children. Not worth the oxygen to argue with really 😃 ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2010, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-dog-show-freaks-especially-in-the-uk/561295/22 "2010-11-20T09:26:37Z")
Funny - I only know German Shepherds (or Alsatians, as they’re known here) as working dogs - police dogs, airport sniffer dogs, guard dogs, etc. Any dogs like the OP mentions with serious health problems like hip dysplasia wouldn’t last long. ---
**Author:** ![Ostrya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/35a633/32.png) [@Ostrya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ostrya)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2010, 9:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-dog-show-freaks-especially-in-the-uk/561295/23 "2010-11-20T09:32:07Z")
> [@Michael\_Ellis](#): > > You’re a goddamned illiterate moron. Get bent. Since you never get up off your fat ass, seems like you might have seen the thread I was using as reference to joke about. Get a life, dickhead. Again, am sorry Stoid, was just horsing around - figured you and thread participants might have seen the ridiculous curlcoat discussion, think my comment amusing. Apparently I was wrong. Will bow out now, sorry to derail. ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2010, 9:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-dog-show-freaks-especially-in-the-uk/561295/24 "2010-11-20T09:51:19Z")
> [@the lone cashew](#): > > Again, am sorry Stoid, was just horsing around - figured you and thread participants might have seen the ridiculous curlcoat discussion, think my comment amusing. Apparently I was wrong. > Will bow out now, sorry to derail. As you’ve discovered, it’s prolly not safe to assume that readers of _[insert thread here]_ have also read or particpated in _[insert other thread here]._ Don’t go getting harsh on \*\*Michael Ellis \*\*because of all that dude. It’s not his job to keep up with all the shit going on here at any given time. Might be nice to say ‘Sorry’?? Just sayin’ 😃 But hey, just give it a few minutes and \*\*curlcoat \*\*will turn up to make everything snarky and spicy again **the lone cashew**. Ya won’t need to wait long… ---
**Author:** ![Ostrya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/35a633/32.png) [@Ostrya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ostrya)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2010, 10:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-dog-show-freaks-especially-in-the-uk/561295/25 "2010-11-20T10:26:26Z")
> [@kambuckta](#): > > As you’ve discovered, it’s prolly not safe to assume that readers of _[insert thread here]_ have also read or particpated in _[insert other thread here]._ Don’t go getting harsh on \*\*Michael Ellis \*\*because of all that dude. It’s not his job to keep up with all the shit going on here at any given time. Might be nice to say ‘Sorry’?? Just sayin’ 😃 > > But hey, just give it a few minutes and \*\*curlcoat \*\*will turn up to make everything snarky and spicy again **the lone cashew**. Ya won’t need to wait long… I posted, explained intention was only a joke and apologized to OP. Then this Ellis guy shows up, two posts and an hour and a half after mine, with insult dripping with bitterness. But thanks for the suggestion I apologize, you busy-body hall monitoring idiot. ---
**Author:** ![Manwich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e480ec/32.png) [@Manwich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manwich)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2010, 10:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-dog-show-freaks-especially-in-the-uk/561295/26 "2010-11-20T10:31:04Z")
> [@kambuckta](#): > > SNIP > > IOW, the problem is less with the supply as with the demand for such dogs. How can we jump up and down screaming about the injustice of it all when it’s folks like us who create the market for such crippled pups? Yeah, the people who buy these dogs are ignorant but surely the people who breed and sell them are something much worse. Breeders must know how messed up the dogs are and what shitty lives they most likely have ahead of them. ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_Ellis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/977dab/32.png) [@Michael\_Ellis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_Ellis)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2010, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-dog-show-freaks-especially-in-the-uk/561295/27 "2010-11-20T10:41:27Z")
> [@the lone cashew](#): > > Since you never get up off your fat ass, seems like you might have seen the thread I was using as reference to joke about. > Get a life, dickhead. Ahahahahahahahahahaha pedal it back. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2010, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-dog-show-freaks-especially-in-the-uk/561295/28 "2010-11-20T11:01:56Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > What’s wrong with German Shepherds? I’ve never met one that seems unhealthy. My family had three as a kid, from different lines. All. Three eventually had to be put down due to rear leg failure. They simply stop being able to walk and drag themselves around. It is heartbreaking to see. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2010, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-dog-show-freaks-especially-in-the-uk/561295/29 "2010-11-20T11:08:39Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Funny - I only know German Shepherds (or Alsatians, as they’re known here) as working dogs - police dogs, airport sniffer dogs, guard dogs, etc. Any dogs like the OP mentions with serious health problems like hip dysplasia wouldn’t last long. It happens as they get older. Those working dogs are younger, there is nothing to say that they won’t suffer from the condition in later years. With regards to the documentary, it caused a right stink in the UK, because IIRC it says that the Kennel Club and it’s rules are part of the problem, whilst IIRC equivalent organisations in other countries have at least tried to address the problem. In response to the documentary there was a huge falling out between the BBC and the Kennel Club, resulting in Crufts not being shown on the BBC for the first time since year dot. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2010, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-dog-show-freaks-especially-in-the-uk/561295/30 "2010-11-20T11:30:06Z")
> [@kambuckta](#): > > IOW, the problem is less with the supply as with the demand for such dogs. How can we jump up and down screaming about the injustice of it all when it’s folks like us who create the market for such crippled pups? Kind of like what Manwich said, the breeders are creating the dogs, they know what kind of health problems and suffering they will have in their lives. As well, Stoid seems to be angry that the breed definitions themselves require deformities and ill health, and the goal seems to be breeding in stronger deformities and poorer health in order to win a show. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2010, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-dog-show-freaks-especially-in-the-uk/561295/31 "2010-11-20T13:21:18Z")
The morons who show dogs want to win, and breeders breed to meet the market that arises out of show dogs. If a breed definition and consanguinity restrictions are set out so as to avoid health problems, then that is what most breeders will breed for, for those are the dogs that will win and that people will purchase. The question is whether the judging bodies will make the changes voluntarily, or whether big brother will have to impose such changes upon them. ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2010, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-dog-show-freaks-especially-in-the-uk/561295/32 "2010-11-20T13:54:53Z")
> [@SeaDragonTattoo](#): > > Ever seen a Puginese? They sell for $800-$1200, and are pretty much guaranteed to end up with a proptosed eye, which most likely will end up with needing the eye removed. If by some grace they never have an eye pop out of their heads, they still have any of a myriad of other eye problems. Aside from being brachycephalic, which IMO is a big problem by itself. Why would anyone even need a puginese? Pekes are just pugs with long hair. (Yes, not really. But, really, kinda.) People who want “designer” dogs are a menace. And can we all agree that dog breeders who’ve painted themselves into such a misshapen genetic corner that their dogs can’t breed without medical intervention, have fundamentally failed at life and deserve to be fed to warthogs? ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2010, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-dog-show-freaks-especially-in-the-uk/561295/33 "2010-11-20T18:42:15Z")
> [@kambuckta](#): > > Jesus **Stoid** , get a grip girl. > > For starters, unscrupulous breeders have no national boundaries, so whilst you pick out the UK, you could _equally_ point fingers at any European, Australasian or American country as well. Actually, it’s not unscrupulous breeders, that’s the point. Watch the video…it’s the top-of-the-line breeders, the show freaks, the kennel club people who are deciding that German Shepherds are more “correct” if they are crippled, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2010, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-dog-show-freaks-especially-in-the-uk/561295/34 "2010-11-20T18:44:15Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > As well, Stoid seems to be angry that the breed definitions themselves require deformities and ill health, and the goal seems to be breeding in stronger deformities and poorer health in order to win a show. Precisely! ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2010, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-dog-show-freaks-especially-in-the-uk/561295/35 "2010-11-20T19:38:18Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > How do you DARE to claim you love dogs and refer to physically normal features as “faults”??? Like Rhodesian Ridgebacks… who are subject to serious spine problems as a direct result of the ridge…which is a deformity? I thought the ridge on a Rhodesian Ridgeback was simply the hair growing in the opposite direction from the rest of the coat. What does that have to do with the spine? ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2010, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-dog-show-freaks-especially-in-the-uk/561295/36 "2010-11-20T20:11:17Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > Watch [this](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3O0l0f50AAk) part One on Youtube, it’s longer. The first part shows cavalier King Charles Spaniels with horrible brian disease because their skulls are too small to let their brains pulsate, and that’s bad enough, but it’s a disease/disorder- the shepherds are _ **deliberately bred to be crippled** _ - the most fucked up ones are the champions! In the video you can see CHAMPION GSDs that can’t walk properly because they are so fucked up on the back end, and some idiot saying that’s more “correct” ARGH! I haven’t heard of that but I do know that something like 95% of Cavalier King Charles Spaniels have serious heart problems, and although it’s a small breed, they mostly live about 10 years. I am personally not interested in any brachycephalic breed as a pet, dog or cat. Dog shows in general are creepy. They come across like a slave market sometimes, with some severe 60-something woman checking the dog’s teeth and gripping their testicles. The film “Best in Show” covered some of the creepiness. ---
**Author:** ![Candyman74](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Candyman74](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Candyman74)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2010, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-dog-show-freaks-especially-in-the-uk/561295/37 "2010-11-20T20:11:30Z")
Why do you hate those who do it in the UK more than those who do it elsewhere? ---
**Author:** ![Oldeb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ea666f/32.png) [@Oldeb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oldeb)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2010, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-dog-show-freaks-especially-in-the-uk/561295/38 "2010-11-20T20:27:39Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > I thought the ridge on a Rhodesian Ridgeback was simply the hair growing in the opposite direction from the rest of the coat. What does that have to do with the spine? You’re correct. They can have spinal problems, but it has nothing to do with the “ridge” and I’ve never heard of them being particularily associated with spinal problems. Hip Dysplasia, sinus issues, and deafness are all far more common than anything invovling the spine for that breed. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2010, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-dog-show-freaks-especially-in-the-uk/561295/39 "2010-11-20T20:37:24Z")
> [@the lone cashew](#): > > You all got whooshed. Must be you didn’t see the “dogs jumping on people” thread - but I guess I don’t read all the threads either so you’re forgiven. > > Apologies to Stoid. The rest of you can go jump in the lake. Ah, crap. I’d say “well-played,” but I didn’t read most of that dog trainwreck thread. Go jump in a lake your own damned self (my lakes are all frozen over). 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2010, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-dog-show-freaks-especially-in-the-uk/561295/40 "2010-11-20T20:45:47Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > I thought the ridge on a Rhodesian Ridgeback was simply the hair growing in the opposite direction from the rest of the coat. What does that have to do with the spine? I have been doing some research on the breed, being interested in getting myself a service dog, and not wanting a puppy mill dog … as near as i have been able to find out, the reverse hairs on the ridge are actually input from the african wild dog component, and has nothing to do with spinal health, it is just a cowlick, in human terms. I am screening breeds to make sure that I have a good healthy dog that doesn’t have the usual inbred problems. If only I could have my wolf hybrid back as a puppy again =( [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-dog-show-freaks-especially-in-the-uk/561295.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-dog-show-freaks-especially-in-the-uk/561295.md?page=3)