Ethics of Dog Breeding

[rookie]

I currently have a pretty old golden retriever. Hip dysplasia is starting to rear it's ugly head and we've been dealing with seizures since he was about two. Before him was a mutt. Both very good dogs.

Anyways, with dogs the AKC recognizes as sporting dogs, healthy animals are starting to make a comeback, if you know where/how to look. Breeders of show dogs seem to be more focused on the standard where as breeders of working dogs seem to place a higher premium on abilities. Add to that there are a number of tests that can be done to determine future problems (like dysplasia) and a lot of ethical breeders are starting to remove those dogs who test higher from the breeding program. I like this trend and hope to see it continue and even spread to show dog breeders.

[nickiknack]

I have no problem with dog breeding as a whole, though I really do hate how some breeds have been so messed up because someone wanted a certain trait, that has actually hurt the breed more than helped it.
And since everyone is posting pics of their dogs, here's my little guy:

His name is Oliver, though we just call him "Ollie" and he's a Bichon

[ThunderWulf]

My coworker has a rescued bulldog, and holy shit, do those things have problems.  He doesn't walk right, he's got breathing issues, he has a MASSIVE underbite, etc.

[Yaezakura]

My views on this kind of thing are "Dog breeding is fine... within reason."

When you get the point where entire breeds suffer from painful and debilitating genetic disorders, you've gone too far. And at that point, I'd say continuing to purposefully pure-breed dogs with known issues like this should be considered animal abuse.

It's one thing to try and breed a dog to be a better hunter, or a better guard dog. But the health of the animal should always come first. The fact that it too often falls below something as shallow as "appearance" in the priorities of breeders is often heart-rending.

[rookie]

It's one thing to try and breed a dog to be a better hunter, or a better guard dog. But the health of the animal should always come first. The fact that it too often falls below something as shallow as "appearance" in the priorities of breeders is often heart-rending.

It should. But until "health and temperment" are added to the AKC, Westminister, UKC, and a few others, it'll always be about appearances. About what dog best presents the standard (coat color and length, size, weight) of a particular breed.

[mellenORL]

Watching the interviews in the BBC documentary linked above, it looks like a complete mental disconnect with show level breeders. Too much prestige, ego and money on the line, and they are in flat-out denial.

Plus an additional answer, demonstrated by the bleach blonde breeder of champion CKC spaniels that have skulls too small to contain their brain size (1 in 5 have nightmarish agony); she does not care that the dogs suffer for these standards of "beauty"....which is almost too monstrous to contemplate.

As much progress as has been made in anti cruelty law, I think it might come down to making extreme inbreeding illegal, for a start.

[Feral Dog]

Watching the interviews in the BBC documentary linked above, it looks like a complete mental disconnect with show level breeders. Too much prestige, ego and money on the line, and they are in flat-out denial.

Plus an additional answer, demonstrated by the bleach blonde breeder of champion CKC spaniels that have skulls too small to contain their brain size (1 in 5 have nightmarish agony); she does not care that the dogs suffer for these standards of "beauty"....which is almost too monstrous to contemplate.

As much progress as has been made in anti cruelty law, I think it might come down to making extreme inbreeding illegal, for a start.

There's also the official PDE blog. You should read the insanity in the comments whenever she talks about the brachycephalic breeds.