Pedigree dogs exposed -- three years on

I've watched it and liked it better than the first in many ways.

I was very, very sad to hear Carol state she could not longer morally recommend a Cavalier. She and I had a discussion about that 5 or 6 years ago, and she had more hope than I did then. When Jemima stated something along the lines of 'Cavaliers, from creation to ruination in less than a Century' my heart just sank (and I find myself in tears typing this).

I have been following the uproar from this program on Cavalier forums, and again the reaction of some in the breeding world disgusts me.

These judges and people at the top of the breed are still defending the use of that sire (many used him) claiming the recommendations allow the use of asymptomatic dogs. What they leave out in this spin is that the recommendations allow the use ONLY of asymptomatic OLDER dogs and ONLY with grade A girls. This dog was used with girls too young to be meaningfully tested for anything following his scan proving he conferred high risk at 16 months of age.

He was not an asymptomatic older dog - he was a young dog with syrinxes - which by the grading scheme puts him as a grade 'E', which is not to be bred from. He produced 140 puppies with 40 litters.

They are continuing, right now, on an open forum, to vilify those that spoke out, specifically Margaret claiming she knew her Champion dog, Mareve Indiana, had trouble while she was still breeding from him (that is a lie) and blaming scientists and researchers for their poor breeding decisions.

You can read the lying post from Jenny here, and those that run with it.


Margaret's reply is on another forum, as she is not welcomed on the first.


It is just sad. I have no doubt that the boxer breeder speaking out about JRD in her breed is receiving similar treatment by some.

I am glad they featured hard working wonderful breeders like the Dalmation and Bulldog breeder that are working to change things from within.

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To address the 'popular sire' comment made by Jenny toward Margaret insinuating these were unusual numbers, these are some of the popular sires of the time, and how they were used. Margaret's dog was Mareve Indiana. He was not the only one found in age to have SM, or to be siring SM progeny. These are from the KC database - UK litters only then.

Cavaliegh Alexander b. 29 Jan 1989
293 puppies from 82 litters have been registered with this dog as the sire
Lymrey Royal Reflection Of Ricksbury b. 16/01/1993
209 puppies from 58 litters have been registered with this dog as the sire.
*Lymrey Royal Scandal At Ricksbury b.16/01/1993 (littermate to above dog)
183 puppies from 51 litters have been registered with this dog as the sire
Linjato Ace Of Base b. 19/12/1993
314 puppies from 97 litters have been registered with this dog as the sire.
*Mareve Indiana b. 05/10/1992
251 puppies from 68 litters have been registered with this dog as the sire
Telvara Top Hat b. 14/02/1989 (full sibling died of epilepsy at young age – finish database)
219 puppies from 48 litters have been registered with this dog as the sire.
Telvara Karbon Kopy b. 07/06/1992 – grandson to Telvara Top Hat - three years younger.
455 puppies from 112 litters have been registered with this dog as the sire.

They also have not learned:

Maibee Montrose b. 02 Jan 2001 – Grandson of Lymrey Royal Reflection
493 puppies from 145 litters have been registered with this dog as the sire.
Pascavale Enchanted b. 08 July2001– son of Tameline Northern Dancer
392 puppies from 125 litters have been registered with this dog as the sire (more in the USA). He is the sire of Ch Beauella Radzinski of PDE fame
Aranel Cosmic b. 28 Mar 2005 - son of Miletree Nijinsky
298 puppies from 85 litters have been registered with this dog as the sire.

SOB

GottaLuvMutts said:

Ok, but why? If she's successful at getting her message across, what's in it for her? She's not looking to destroy the show system because she's an inherently evil person.

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She doesn't have to "gain" anything for it to be worthwhile to her. She's on a crusade. She thinks breeding show dogs is wrong and as such, she's attempting to turn the public against it. I have not watched the follow up but the original, to me was extremely one sided and very much aimed at portraying anyone involved in showing dogs as uncaring when it comes to anything but winning. IMO it would have been a much better documentary if there was both talk about concerns with limited gene pools, popular sire syndrome, widespread health issues in some breeds and also breed clubs which have gone above and beyond with genetic research work, breeders who keep open health databases on all of their litters, open health registries that breeders willingly participate in, projects like the LUA Dals or the African Basenjis, etc. Of course, I don't think the purpose was to be a honest documentary about health in purebred dogs.

I have had healthy purebred dogs and unhealthy ones, although more healthy than not. My mixed breed was hypothyroid but lived into old age. Two of my three GSDs lived into old age with no serious health issues. My oldest Belgian is almost 13 and still in excellent shape, her mother is 17 with no serious health issues and is still in good shape for such an old dog. Of her grandparents, one lived to be 18 and one 16. My second oldest Belgian will be 10 in a few weeks and he's still as loud, bouncy and fun loving as ever. He's never had to see a vet for anything but vaccines and health screening. His mom is still doing well at 14 or 15 and his grandmother passed away at 16. Our Corgi will be 9 this summer and he still runs in agility at his full height. I do have a Belgian who developed a late onset eye issue but it's such a minor one that I don't really think of her as "unhealthy" - it affected breeding choices but not quality of life.