The Week UK - 14.03.2020

Briefing NEWS 13

14 March 2020 THE WEEK

WhyisitcalledCrufts?
In 1876 ,CharlesCruftstartedworking
forSpratt’s,asellerof“dogcakes”based
inLondon.Asatravellingsalesman,he
attendeddogshows–thenarelatively
recentinvention–acrossEurope.Spratt’s
wentontobecomeoneoftheworld’s
leadingdogbiscuitmanufacturers,and
Cruftbecameinvolvedinrunningdog
andanimalshows.In1886,hewas
approachedbytheDuchessofNewcastle
whowantedhimtoputonadogshow
forterriersinLondon.Theevent,billed
as“TheFirstGreatShowofAllKindsof
Terriers”,received 570 entriesacross 57
classes.In1891,“Cruft’sGreatestDog
Show”washeldforthefirsttime,in
Islington’sRoyalAgriculturalHall.There
were2, 43 7dogsinthecompetition.

Wastheshowsuccessful?
Tremendously.Queen Victoriaherself showedacollie andtwo
pomeraniansatthefirstone;allthreedogs won prizes.Soon,
kings,queens,tsarsandsheikhs wereshowingtheirdogsat
Crufts:GrandDukeNicholasof Russia,hisborzoi; PrinceHenry
ofBattenberg, hiscollie.Superstardogsbeganbeingtransported
to the competition inluxurious traincarriagesdesigned byCruft
himself,andby 1914itwasthelargestdog show intheworld.
Thecoveted “Bestin Show” prizewaslaunched in 1928 ;the first
winnerwas agreyhound namedPrimleySceptre.Crufthimself
diedin 1938, andafter theWaritwas takenoverbyTheKennel
Club.With hiatusesduringwartime,Crufts hasbeen held every
yearsince.Itwastelevised, onthe BBC, for thefirsttime in 1950.

What does it look like today?
It’sthe world’sbiggestdogshow.About160,000 people descend
on Birmingham’sNEC forthefour-day event,whichtakes place
inearlyMarch eachyear. Thisyear, numbers weredownbecause
ofthecoronavirusandBrexit;andCruftsattracted only 20,
competingdogs–1,000lessthanlastyear,becauseforeign
ownersstayed away.Theshow–withits motto“Whereevery
dog hasits day”–attractssome4.5million viewers. About 3 50kg
ofdogfurisclearedfromtheNECafterwards.

How are the animals judged?
Today, popularcompetitionsat
Crufts include:agility (wherepets
are guided throughatimed obstacle
course);obedience;flyball(arelay-
styleraceinwhich teamsof four
tackle obstaclesandfetchballs);
freestyle(amixtureof obedience,
tricks anddance); andheelworkto
music.At heart,though,Crufts is a
“conformationshow”. Pedigree dogs
from218breedsrecognisedby The
Kennel Clubarejudged according to
how well they conform toits“breed
standard”.Eachbreed winner then
competeswith the otherwinnersin
theirgroup. (There are seven:Toys,
Gundogs,Utility,Hounds, Working,
Pastoral and Terriers.) Thegroup
winnersgo throughtothe final. This
year, Best in Show wasawire-haired
dachshund, Silvae Trademark,known
as Maisie; sheshowed her apprecia-
tionbydefecatingonher victorylap.

Whatisabreedstandard?

TheKennelClublists“correct”

characteristics,temperament,appearance

andfurcolourforeachbreed;breeders

arerewardediftheymatchthisideal

specimen.Apomeranian,forexample,

shouldbe“extroverted”,withintelligent

eyes,a“foxy”headandnoseanda

“buoyant”gait,itsfur“freefromblack

orwhiteshadings”.Abassethound

shouldhavea“domed”skullwith

“occipitalboneprominent”.Itseyes

shouldbe“lozenge-shaped”;itstail

“wellseton,ratherlong,strongatbase,

tapering,withamoderateamountof

coarsehairunderneath”.

Sohowisthiscontroversial?

Concernshaverepeatedlybeenraised

aboutdogsbeingbredfortheringto

lookaveryspecificway,somewith“exaggerated”characteristics

such asflat faces,shortlegsor wrinklyskin (see box).In 2008 ,a

BBC documentary,PedigreeDogsExposed,criticisedTheKennel

Clubforallowingbreeders –drivenbybreedstandardsand show

judgingpractices–tocompromisethe health ofpedigree dogs,

oftenbyinbreedingthem.ThefilmshowedcavalierKingCharles

spaniels sufferingfrom syringomyelia,anagonisingcondition

caused by adog’sbrain beingtoobigforits skull;boxerssuffering

fromepilepsy;pugswithbreathingproblems; and bulldogsthat

wereunable tomateorgivebirthunassisted.“WhenIwatch

Crufts what Isee infront ofmeisaparadeofmutants,”the

RSPCA’sthen chief vet MarkEvanstoldtheprogramme.The

BBC droppedCruftsas aresult, asdid anumber ofsponsors,

including the RSPCA, the DogsTrustandPedigree Petfoods.

What haveCrufts and The Kennel Club done since?

Thereisnowamuchgreaterawarenessofthedangersof

inbreedingand selectingforextremes.TheKennelClubreviewed

itsbreedstandards afterthedocumentary,changingatleast70,

andhasraised awarenessofhealthconditions linked to inbreeding

and“exaggera tedconformation”.Itbannedfirst-degree-relative

matings:i.e. father-daughter,orsiblingtosibling;surprisingly,it

hadnotdoneso untilthen.Ithasalso investedinscientificstudies

andgenetictests.Crufts introduced

vetchecks, andsince2008,says

JemimaHarrison,who made

Pedigree DogsExposed,therehas

beena“swing towardsmoderation

in some of the worst breeds”.

Has that solved the problems?

No. Inbreedingis still rife.The

KennelClubstillallows grandfather-

grandaughter and cousin-cousin

matings–thoughitdoesn’t recognise

crossbreedssuchaslabradoodles.

Whereonce thebreedstandard

demandedthatbulldogshave a

“massive”head, today they are still

meantto be “relatively large”. Crufts

still,attimes,seemstolerant ofhealth

defects: in 2016, Tori,aGerman

shepherdwith aback so slopedthat it

impededher legmovement,wonbest

in breed. Forall the fun of Crufts, it

is ashowwithadistinctly chequered

record. Breeding forthe ringstill

raises serious animal welfareissues.

The world’s greatest dog show?

Crufts,whichtookplacelastweekend,isthehighlightofthecaninecalendar–butinrecentyearshasbecomeengulfedincontroversy

AnAmericancockerspanielisprimpedforcompetition

Thetroublewithpedigreedogs

Despite their great variety, all dogs, from the great

Dane to the chihuahua, belong to one species –Canis

familiaris–and allare descendedfrom the grey wolf.

Dogs are the first species known to have been

domesticated, some 14,000 years ago, and as such

they have been genetically manipulated for millennia,

selected for tameness, and bred for specific roles,

whether hunting, guarding or companionship. Types

of dog–mastiffs or spaniels, for instance–have been

aroundaverylong time; there are records of

Pekingese dogs dating back around 2,000 years.

However, the modern idea ofadog breed dates from

the mid-19th century. Dog shows emerged around the

same time as breed clubs, which registered dogs and

noted their ancestry in stud books–establishing the

idea ofa“pure-bred” dog. Breeds are popular because

they give ownersaclearideaofadog’s size, looks

and, perhaps, its temperament. However, the idea of a

pure-bred–aneliteselected fromaparticular group of

ancestors–isanachronistic and unscientific. The result

is that many dog breeds are rooted in dangerously

small gene pools. An estimated 75% of the dogs in the

UK are pedigree dogs, and serious genetic conditions

areafeature of many recognised breeds.