Crufts viewers criticise 'horrific breeding' of dog voted best German Shepherd

A row has broken out over a German Shepherd bitch who won best of breed at Crufts - after viewers accused the breeder of animal cruelty.

Three-year-old Cruaghaire Catoria was judged to be the best example of her breed at the world-famous dog show on Saturday night.

But the dog was said by some viewers to be 'deformed', with an abnormally sloped back and a painful-looking out-of-step gait.

Here are two videos to judge for yourself I guess:

That was sad and very painful to watch but thank you for posting it and for your dedication in breeding responsibly. I would also note that the GSD shown in the videos that won, seemed to me to be very nervous and very skittish and not at all under the handler’s control, something that I always understood was something that would disqualify or at least count against it in the confirmation ring. The nervousness and skittishness alone, aside from the very poor gait and extremely sloped back, is not what I would expect in a champion GSD. Also why was the dog so out of breath?

What a shame what the AKC, UKC and the UK and or German equivalent in their confirmation standards and too many breeders have done and what these so-called judges condone, not only to the GSD but to many other breeds of all types, breeding them for a “look”, an asthetic and forgetting about function and overall health (including intelligence) and for the working breeds, suitability for working and the overall soundness and future of the breed.

Back in the mid 90’s when our Husky (my husband’s dog from before we met and got married) was getting up in age (14+) and slowing down and having health problems, I became interested in eventually getting a puppy of my own after our Shannon was gone.

When I was a little kid (late ‘60’s), my mother’s cousin bred and showed Boxers (and eventually also Dobermans) and my older brother who was still living at home bought a Boxer from him and showed him for a while and I went with him and my uncle to many dog shows when I was a kid. He was the family dog in many ways, but he was primarily my brother’s dog and went with my brother when he got married and moved out a few years later.

Boomer was a great dog, highly, almost scary intelligent and also very protective of the home and family but also very loving with the family and very good with children, especially me and my friends;) but although he had several grand champions in his lineage including a grand sire who won Best In Breed at Westminster, Boomer was a bit lacking in “conformation” to go far as a show dog – a bit too shallow of a chest as I recall and why my brother got such a good price on him, but what a great dog he was. Oh the stories I could tell ; ),

When I seriously started look at getting a dog, my very first dog as in the dog I picked out and trained, raised up from puppyhood, I used to go to a lot of dog shows and read many books on different breeds and on training, I spent a lot of time researching and talking to breeders and people I met at dog shows, really wanting not only to find the right dog for me but more importantly, if I would be the right owner for the dog.

But after a time I became disinterested and bored in the confirmation shows and eventually started going to obedience and agility trials and eventually some Schutzhund competitions. And I would be interested in your opinion on Schutzhund competitions.

I wanted a companion dog and I like the large working breeds, but one that was well trained (meaning that first off, I would have to be trained too) and would also be a good protection dog as my husband was often away on business and worked long and late hours, and also a dog that I could do fun activities with like agility or Schutzhund and would be comfortable taking anywhere with me.

One of the reasons I became disenchanted with the dog show “confirmation” crowd was that, for one thing, a lot of those folks came off as being a bit strange to me and secondly, I was so disappointed with so many of the dogs I saw in the confirmation ring or more precisely afterwards when talking with their owners or handlers.

And FWIW, I always practiced good dog show etiquette as in never bothering a handler or owner or their dog before going into the ring, never approaching or trying to pet a dog without asking permission first and always after introducing myself to the owner or handler or breeder as someone seriously interested in the breed and the activity and wanting to know more about it. And most, although not all, were very nice about it and willing to talk to me.

Many of the dogs in the confirmation ring looked beautiful but many of the dogs I was interested in like Boxers or Dobermans, GSD and Goldens, many seemed to me to be skittish or spastic, not at all like the Boxers or Dobes or GSD’s I knew growing up. Although I will say from my observations, some had both confirmation titles and titles in obedience, but few seemed to have confirmation titles and titles in agility. (Some of the herding breeds had herding titles in addition to confirmation but that seemed to mostly be Australian Shepherds and Border Collies – breeds I learned were way to high energy and high maintenance and requiring way too much space/property for me).

Alas, I didn’t pursue getting a dog as my father became very ill after my mother died and he moved in with us and I had to care for him and then a few years later after my father died my husband and I divorced and I ended up in a townhouse with no yard and then into an apartment - no time (working two jobs for a time) or space or money for a dog, at least not to do it right – maybe one day.

A great example of what I think a GSD should look like (not with an extremely sloping back) and move (beautiful gate when walking and running) and behave like when well trained and properly handled:

sharon ronen and sam beit haboxer C-97 points

Here is another, this time handled by a 9-year-old girl:

Samantha 2010 WDC Schutzhund-Protection

Samantha 2010 WDC Schutzhund-Obedience

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