AndrewHBrace
The Changing Face Of The Purebred
Dog Breeder
When dog shows first began in the U.K. the participants tended to be
polarised from the social spectrum. There were the wealthy landowners, who could
afford to keep gamekeepers and numerous kennel staff and who kept primarily
sporting gundogs and built lavish kennels, whilst the working classes tended to focus
on terriers and other small breeds. Dogs were kept to keep down vermin in many
small households whilst the breeders often kept dogs on small plots away from their
homes. Indeed, where I grew up in South Wales I can remember several local terrier
men who kept their dogs on their allotments (small plots of land away from home),
along with chickens, pigeons and large vegetable patches. They would often finish
work, many of them being coal miners, and spend many hours in their sheds hand-
stripping their terriers for the next show.
The Victorians’ love of both dogs and hobbies meant that dog showing and
activities became very popular in the 19th Century. The first conformation Dog Show
was held in the Town Hall, Newcastle-on-Tyne in 1859 and the next decades saw
explosive growth in this new and fashionable hobby. The first organised Field Trial
took place at Southill in 1865 and this sport also gained a large following. Whilst
Field Trials were very much for the country gent, Dog Shows were an urban activity,
accessible to people of all classes and popular both with exhibitors and spectators.
During this period companion breeds that are now classified in our Toy Group
increased dramatically in popularity as dog shows became more numerous. The role
of the dog show was originally something of a breeders’ shop window. Breeders
were eager not only to display the stock they were producing, but they were also
interested in seeing what other breeders were turning out, keen to identify dogs that
may be of use in their own breeding programmes. In those days travel was not easy
and often dogs would be sent with their handlers by rail to attend important dog
shows.
In the early days paperwork and pedigrees were rather haphazard but the
formation of the Kennel Club helped to formalise record-keeping. The founders of the
Kennel Club wanted to ensure that all Dog Shows and Field Trials were run fairly
and honestly and with the welfare of the dogs in mind so they set up the Kennel Club
to govern these events nationwide. In 1874, the first Kennel Club Stud Book was
published. It listed the results of all Dog Shows and Field Trials since 1859 and
included sets of rules for running Dog Shows and Field Trials. A Kennel Club Stud
Book has been published every year since and provides a record of results for all
Championship Dog Shows, Field Trials and other dog activities, such as Obedience
and Agility.
Another important task for the newly-formed Kennel Club to undertake was to
have a register of dogs so they could be identified properly. In 1880, the first monthly
register of dog names was printed in the very first issue of the Kennel Gazette.
These registration records ensured that each dog could be uniquely identified and,
over the years, have provided the source of pedigree information for every dog on
the Kennel Clubs breed registers.
The early breeders were very much of the stockman mentality. Many of them
kept not only dogs but also horses, cattle, sheep and other livestock. They had an
instinctive “feel” for producing livestock and tended to select breeding stock based
on what dog they felt complemented their bitch.
Dogs were fed very basically, usually with meat, some kind of biscuit meal
and oftentimes growing puppies were given supplements that contained calcium and
other additives. The attitude towards the majority of dogs was equally basic. Bitches
would often be left to whelp on straw in stables or outside kennels, not always
attended, and the whelping process left to nature. If some puppies were born dead, it
was accepted that there was a problem, and equally if puppies faded away they
were allowed to do so, the belief being that only the fittest should survive. To us
today this might seem rather callous and heartless but certainly there were no
attempts made to ensure that struggling puppies survived at all costs, thus enabling
a potentially defective adult to enter the gene pool at a later date.
Today the thinking among breeders and the veterinary profession seems to
be that life must be preserved regardless. As the middle class prospered and the
number of great landowners who kept large kennels diminished, so the hobby
breeders increased, their dogs being kept primarily as companions and breeding
occasional litters when they needed something to show. Sad to say, but in the case
of some breeders a weakly puppy that clearly has problems is seen as a potential
sale for £2,000 and consequently is reared if at all possible. This may be seen as a
caring attitude, but does it really benefit the breed?
I never bred dogs on a large scale when I was active; I had the occasional
litter when I wanted something new to show and I hated selling puppies, always
concerned that they were going to the best homes. Thankfully most did and I only
ever had one returned when the puppy did not meet his owners’ expectations at its
first show! Breeding dogs today has become something of a minefield. Many breeds
have developed health issues that were previously unknown (is this a result of so
many sickly puppies being raised and then bred from, rather than being allowed to
fade away naturally? … who knows?) and there are now so many health tests and
schemes that breeding stock need to be put through if their owners are responsible.
Since 1949, the Kennel Club has been investing in veterinary and scientific research
projects to ensure the improved health and welfare of dogs. Modern health testing
began to be developed in conjunction with the BVA in the 1960s and now the Kennel
Club manages testing schemes and publishes test results for a whole range of
inherited conditions.
There are also restrictions on the level of close breeding that the Kennel Club
will approve. Gone are the days when in-breeding can take place and sires can be
used on their daughters and so on. Some would say this is a good thing if you look at
it logically whereas the old school would say that in-breeding was the best way of
fixing type in a kennel. Nonetheless we are still thankfully far away from some
countries’ breeding rules in that we do not have a “breed warden” telling us which
dogs we can or cannot use at stud on a particular bitch.
Selling puppies has now become quite a complex aspect of breeding. There
are contracts to be signed and recent cases have proved that when there are
disputes the law invariably comes down on the side of the buyer … in my opinion
sometimes unreasonably so.
When breeders had larger facilities and greater disposable incomes it was
possible to run on a few promising puppies from a litter, watching them develop until
they reached their first birthday, thus ensuring that what they kept was definitely the
pick of the litter. Today not everyone can afford that luxury and so the decision as to
the “keeper” has to be made at a much earlier age. We all know that some puppies
blossom with age whereas others go off, never to fulfil their previous promise so this
in itself can be hazardous.
Interestingly, when I first became involved with dogs and dog shows stud fees
were generally considered to be the same price as a “pick of litter” puppy and you
often saw advertisements for stud dogs which clearly stated “18 guineas or POL”
(that was 18 pounds and 18 shillings for those less ancient than me!) and amazingly
breeders would often be happy for the stud dog owner to take his or her pick of the
litter in lieu of a stud fee, often handing over the puppy unregistered too. Can you
imagine any keen breeder agreeing to that these days? It would also be interesting
to know how current stud fees relate to the cost of a “pick of litter” puppy; certainly in
most breeds with which I have been involved the stud fee is considerably lower than
the cost of an average puppy.
Then you have the whole question of breeders’ licences which are issued by
local authorities. Most dedicated breeders will pass any requirements with flying
colours but sometimes I have heard of rather extreme demands by local councils,
which makes it even more unfathomable how some of the large-scale puppy farms
manage to continue unhindered and with local authority approval.
The now abandoned Kennel Club’s Assured Breeders Scheme was set up
some years ago and was met with mixed reactions. Certainly the ABS went a long
way to ensure that breeders met exacting standards and gave some kind of
reassurance to puppy buyers.
Nowadays the whole dog world has opened up and we are living in a very
cosmopolitan environment. With the advent of the internet breeders have access to
others worldwide and those who are keen to improve their stock can study, research
and identify breeders at the other end of the world who are producing dogs they
admire on a regular basis. It is possible to watch a litter of puppies thousands of
miles away via a video link, see them stacked and running around, which gives
breeders a huge advantage if they are thinking of importing some new blood in the
form of a young puppy.
Many smart breeders in the UK have developed long-standing relationships
with breeders in other countries which has enabled them to exchange dogs and
increase the gene pool in their respective countries. Today it is not uncommon to see
dogs being leased for a period of time, shown elsewhere, being used sensibly at
stud before returning to their homeland. In the case of the minority breeds where
numbers are not large this has been a great boost.
Artificial insemination has become more and more common. In the USA
where vast distances have to be covered to use a chosen stud dog this has been
popular for many years but now British breeders can avail themselves of chilled or
frozen semen and thankfully our Kennel Club has adopted a more open-minded and
realistic attitude towards a practice that was once frowned upon. British breeders are
now able to import semen to use on their bitches and to export semen from their stud
dogs to breeders overseas who admire what they are producing here in the UK.
Another thorn in the side of the purebred dog breeder is the general public’s
perception of the pedigree. When I began back in the ‘sixties owning a pedigree dog
was something to be proud of and whilst this is still the case with many people, we
have seen such negative publicity in the recent past that it has left many of the ill-
informed puppy-buyers believing that all pedigree puppies are riddled with hereditary
problems, that mongrels are automatically far healthier and that the ultimate is one of
the ridiculous “designer dogs”. Thanks to the wealthy animal rights groups such as
PETA the image of the purebred companion canine has been well and truly
tarnished. Since I moved to The Wirral some six years ago I often take my mother
for a leisurely stroll along the waterfront at New Brighton, a popular location for dog
walkers. It has been interesting to identify the dogs spotted on our visits and the vast
majority I have seen have been French Bulldogs (most of them not very good
specimens I hasten to add and invariably of colours not included in the Breed
Standard), and what I imagine are referred to as “Labradoodles” or “Cockerpoos” by
their loving owners. So today the dedicated pedigree dog breeder has a greater
challenge than ever before to get their message across to the public. When you buy
a purebred puppy from a respected and conscientious breeder you will get a puppy
that will grow up to be a certain size and shape with a specific coat and a
temperament that is typical of its breed. It will resemble its parents and should have
an approximate lifespan.
Today it is not easy being a breeder of pedigree dogs but thankfully there is
still a widespread admiration for our many breeds and how they can enhance our
lives. Long may that continue.
© ANDREW H. BRACE
(This article may not be reproduced in any form without the author’s
permission)
Welcome to my new website where I hope you will find lots to interest you, whether you are an exhibitor, breeder, judge or just a committed dog lover. Over the years I have had the opportunity to interview many of the icons of our sport and lots of their wisdom has been included in the Webinars. My involvement with purebred dogs has allowed me to travel the world, meet some amazing people and get my hands on countless outstanding dogs. I hope that this website will allow you to share some of the pleasure that dogs have given me.
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