Background information provided for students
Introduction
“I don’t understand this thing some people have about pedigree dogs. I’ve heard some of the dogs really suffer because of the way they’ve been bred, so I think people should just stop buying pedigrees.”
What is a pedigree dog?
Dogs can be classified as ‘pedigree’, ‘pure-breed’, ‘cross-breed’ or ‘mixed-breed’.
To be a pedigree dog, both the dog’s parents must be of the same single breed. The dog must also be registered with the UK Kennel Club or an equivalent and have a pedigree record – this gives details of its breeding over a certain number of generations.
The development of pedigree dogs is an example of selective breeding. This means:
- selecting animals that have certain traits and characteristics
- breeding these animals together
- selecting desirable offspring - and rejecting the others - over many generations.
Why do we have pedigree dogs?
Most breeds of dogs were originally selected to do particular things for humans, such as hunt or guard property or livestock. When humans selected which dogs to breed from, they chose those best suited for the roles they wanted them to do, putting their fitness, ability and effectiveness first.
But when dog showing emerged as a popular hobby, selective breeding began to change. Dogs began to be selected to emphasise their different physical conformations, such as long floppy ears, short legs, folded skin or flattened faces. Specific breeds became recognised, and competitions began. The first official dog show was held in 1859 and the hobby has continued to grow until today. The UK Kennel Club now recognises more than 200 breeds and more than 400 are recognised worldwide.
What role do pedigree dogs have today?
In order to enter conventional breed shows, dogs have to:
- be pedigrees
- conform to written breed standards.
For every breed of dog it recognises, the UK Kennel Club has a written breed standard that describes in detail what it says are the ideal physical make-up and characteristics for that breed. At formal dog shows, the judge chooses winners by comparing each dog with the breed standard for its breed, to find the dogs that match the standard most closely.
Though most pedigree dogs are pets that will never appear in a show, many are bred by breeders aspiring to produce show-quality animals. They then sell on their surplus dogs as pets.
What's the problem?
Over the last 130 years, the focus of pedigree dog breeding has been on dogs’ appearance, without enough attention given to their health, welfare and temperament. This has resulted in two distinct, but interrelated issues:
- exaggerated physical features that directly reduce dogs’ quality of life
- an increased number of cases of inherited disorders due to lack of genetic diversity.
Find out more
Follow this link and look at section 2 (pages 7-9) of this report to find out more about the problem and its cause.
Something to think about
Why do you think people want pedigree dogs? Which qualities could they also get from non-pedigrees?
Now it's time to say what you think - remember you're voting on whether or not you agree with the case made by this first character: "Pedigree dogs suffer, so people should stop buying them."
Round 1
“People want certain sorts of dogs, and why not? They will go for a dog with certain characteristics to suit their lifestyle, such as one that’s good with children, or one that can live in a small town house. And people enjoy showing dogs and going to dog shows – it’s a wonderful hobby.”
“We’re looking for a family pet, and we’ve done a bit of reading up about what to get. I know pedigrees look nice, but mongrels are generally healthier and live longer – and they’re going to cost less to insure. So we’ve decided to get a mongrel. We don’t need a posh dog anyway!”
Did you know?
Not all dog shows are official breed shows – there are many that are just for fun. Some of them judge animals on aspects other than appearance, and the RSPCA believes that the purpose of dog shows should be to judge dogs on their health, welfare and temperament rather than appearance.
Exaggerated physical features
Trends in breeding specific breeds have often led to an accentuation of what some people see as desirable features. For example some breeds have been selected to have short legs, others to have floppy ears. These physical features make dog breeds distinct and have led to the amazing variety we see today.
What's the problem?
Over the years, physical features in some cases have been exaggerated to such an extent that they severely limit dogs’ quality of life, and may cause pain and suffering.
In certain dog breeds, these features may have come to seem normal – but that doesn’t mean they are not a problem. A recent study showed that all of the 50 most popular breeds have some aspect of their body that can cause suffering. The problems range from being irritating to life-threatening, or requiring risky surgery.
Some examples
There are many examples of exaggerated physical features that can result directly in reduced quality of life. Just a few are listed below, but these are not the worst or the only examples.
- Dogs with short, flat faces often have narrow nostrils and abnormal windpipes. They can often suffer severe breathing difficulties and may have difficulty enjoying a walk or playing.
- Very large and heavy dogs are more likely to suffer heart, digestion, muscle or joint problems, and live shorter lives.
- Dogs with folded or wrinkled skin are prone to itchy and painful skin complaints, and infolding eyelids that can scratch the eyeball.
- Exaggerated features are more common in pedigree dogs bred for showing, but they can occur in cross-breeds too.
Find out more
Follow this link and look at page 11 of this report to find out some more examples of exaggerated features that can result directly in reduced quality of life.
Did you know?
Dogs feel pain very much like we do, so if something would cause you pain or discomfort, it’s likely to do the same to a dog.
Something to think about
Do you think the welfare problems associated with some exaggerated features are well known? Why do people continue to breed these dogs if there is evidence that the dogs’ quality of life is limited and they experience pain?
Now it’s time to say what you think - remember you’re voting on whether or not you agree with the case made by the first character: “Pedigree dogs suffer, so people should stop buying them.”
Round 2
“I’d always go for Border collies, because I know they can be trained to manage my sheep. I can’t imagine a mongrel having a clue.”
“I’ve had lots of loveable mongrels over the years, but really – can you imagine a world without Labradors or Staffies? If we bred them out, all dogs would be the same, surely.”
Breeding for other attributes
Find out what you can about sheepdogs. What attributes are they bred for? Can you find any other examples of dogs bred for attributes other than their looks?
Inherited disorders
Dogs can suffer from a large number of disorders, and many of these can be inherited.
Because of pedigree dog breeding and showing rules, dogs of different breeds have been bred separately for many years. As a result, they not only look different but they also have different likelihoods of developing particular diseases. Research shows that every well-studied breed of dog is prone to a range of diseases, with high levels of diseases such as cancer and blindness in some, for example.
Why is this a problem in pedigree dogs?
Selective breeding for appearance has reduced genetic diversity; so different breeds are more likely to develop specific diseases. This, along with a lack of attention to improving dogs’ health, temperament and welfare, has made certain breeds especially prone to a whole suite of inherited disorders, many of which are very painful or chronically debilitating.
Most dog breeds began from a small number of individual dogs. Dogs with traits that were seen as desirable were bred together to increase the chances of their puppies also having these traits. To maintain and improve these ‘desirable’ features, pedigree dog breeding and showing rules don’t normally allow dogs from one breed to be bred with dogs from another (outcrossing). This means each dog breed is a closed gene pool.
Because any two dogs within most or all dog breeds are to some degree related at the genetic level, any inherited disorders they carry are more likely to be passed on to their offspring.
Though many breeders now understand the need to avoid inbreeding of very close relatives, they often do not look far enough back for common ancestors, so the problem continues. And some breeders still do inbreed or select breeding partners only from a sub-population of the entire breed as they strive for specific features that have been laid down in the breed standards.
Added to this, the over breeding of very popular champion dogs means that any genetic diseases they carry can very quickly become widely distributed in the breed.
Some examples
Some inherited diseases are very rare or cause only minor suffering, but there are many inherited conditions that are extremely painful or life threatening.
Just a few examples that show particularly high levels in certain breeds are listed below, but these are not the worst or the only ones.
- Cancer
- Blindness
- Diabetes
- Heart disease
- Skin complaints
- Epilepsy
- Hip dysplasia
- Deafness
Generally speaking, cross-breed dogs live longer than pure-breeds. But it is important to remember that although many diseases are more rare in cross-breeds, they do still occur.
Did you know?
A recent study showed that the most prolific English springer spaniel registered with the Kennel Club since 1970 fathered 2,538 puppies.
How big is the problem?
It’s hard to assess the full extent of the problems, due to limited record keeping, lack of transparency in the breeding and showing world, and the lack of sufficient research. Collection of disease data is currently unsystematic, and there has been relatively little research on individual breeds or particular disorders in the UK.
But the welfare problems associated with pedigree dog breeding have been identified as serious because:
- they affect large numbers of dogs; there are approximately five million pure-bred dogs in the UK - about 75 per cent of the overall dog population
- they continue from generation to generation
- animals’ quality of life can be severely reduced
- the effects can be long lasting, even in some cases for an animal’s whole life.
The possible cost of owning a pedigree
Some pedigree dog owners aren’t aware of what they’re taking on (from a future health and welfare perspective) with some breeds, and can end up paying high pet insurance premiums and/or lots of vets’ bills when their beloved pet becomes ill. There is evidence that in the UK, cross-breeds have lower veterinary bills than pedigree dogs. According to data collected by Churchill Insurance, the veterinary bills of an average cross-breed may be up to four times lower than those of the most costly pedigree dog.
Did you know?
Currently, one online database lists approximately 500 inherited disorders in dogs. Another lists even more than this.
Find out more
Follow this link and look at pages 19-24 of this report to find out more about inherited disorders.
Now it’s time to say what you think - remember you’re voting on whether or not you agree with the case made by the first character: “Pedigree dogs suffer, so people should stop buying them.”
Round 3
“I can always sell pedigrees and get a good price for them. People want them, because of what they say about their status. Just like buying a car, really.”
“I’ve heard about these so-called puppy farms, where they have really dodgy practices, and often the puppies die when you get them home. I wouldn’t want any part of that. If you stick to mongrels, you’ll be okay.”
Dogs that need homes
In the UK, there are more than 100 rehoming centres run by the most well-known and largest animal charities. These include the RSPCA, Dogs Trust, the Blue Cross, Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, Ulster Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (USPCA), and the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SSPCA). Many more rehoming centres are run by smaller organisations. They rehome all types of unwanted or neglected dogs - mongrels, pedigrees and cross-breeds.
Did you know?
There are no official figures to tell us how many dogs are rescued and rehomed every year across the UK, but in 2008 the RSPCA rehomed 15,872, while the Dogs Trust rehomed more than 14,000, and there are other charities doing similar work.