The Battle of Britain for the German Shepherd

I was not much impressed by the British Kennel Club's minor changes to breed standards following the showing of Pedigree Dogs Exposed in August of 2008.

I was even less impressed with Kennel Club spokesperson Caroline Kisko, who repeatedly lied to the press about the degree of dysfunction in Kennel Club dogs. For the record, she continues to lie on this point.

But does this mean it is all window dressing and rot?

Perhaps not. We shall see.

The news this morning is that the U.K. Kennel Club has sharpened their message to the show ring German Shepherd community.

A vocal minority in the GSD community seems to continue to attempt to distract attention from the Kennel Club’s main concerns about the soundness of the German Shepherd Dog breed. The Kennel Club remains in no doubt that currently the single biggest threat to the reputation and interest of the breed is the lack of soundness in hindquarters, particularly the hocks.

The presence of this unsoundness in GSDs is generally recognised by most people in dogs except by some with vested interests in the GSD breed who steadfastly refuse to acknowledge that there is a problem in this area. The Kennel Club remains frustrated that something so patently obvious to many dog people - even those with a limited knowledge of dogs - is being ignored and denied by some people in the breed. Indeed the recent Bateson Inquiry singled out the GSD as an example of a breed ‘where drastic action is required’ to address conformation and movement.

The GSD community has commendably introduced a number of valuable voluntary health testing schemes addressing issues such as haemophilia, hip dysplasia and others. The Kennel Club has supported this voluntary testing and will continue to support all responsible breeders who put the health of their animals first. These tests are undeniably important, but crucially they do not address the most important current issue – lack of soundness in the hindquarters and hocks.

Furthermore, the GSD Partnership has repeatedly claimed that the Kennel Club is not accepting its proposed Breed Improvement Programme and its requests that the Programme forms the basis of a mandatory requirement for showing and breeding. The fact remains that no part of the proposed Programme acknowledges, let alone addresses, the issue of soundness in the hindquarters and hocks.

What happens next?

Time will tell.

A Kennel Club that is all bark and no bite cannot hope to defend dogs against bizzare standards, inflated egos, and contrived histories.

The Kennel Club needs to be willing to show it will put in the teeth for the health of the dog.

The German Shepherd is as good a breed as any on which to make that point.

That said it would be wrong to over-state where we are right now. A movement towards real change starts with a single step, but a single step does not a journey make.

Where is all this going? We shall see, we shall see ....

But is there a small hint of hope? Yes, there is. Let us applaud that!
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