Posted on 08/02/2017 6:20:55 AM PDT by Gennie
German Shepherds are living and dying in misery due to intensive breeding for cosmetic reasons, a major new report by the Royal Veterinary College has found.
A survey of data collected from 430 clinics across the UK reveals arthritis, cancer, aggression and sloping backs are afflicting the breed at higher rates than others due to aggressive selection.
Nearly one in two German Shepherds is being put down because they are unable to walk, experts said.
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
It’s just a basic disregard for the well-being of the dog. So there is a pattern here.
werent these dogs shorter and longer in the past ?.
they seem taller now . .
You’re right, there are people that assume that bad hips automatically = sloped back (it isn’t, those crooked looking dogs hips are tested before breeding in Germany) and good hips = straight back, that’s incorrect and that’s why health testing should really be done before a dog is bred, though environmental issues can contribute as well.
Straight backs are how the working breed started - just look at pictures of WWII military dogs. I applaud you.
It depends on what you’re looking for....my dogs are the oversized, straight-backed kind, but are extremely healthy (11-13 years plus for some of the dogs in my lines, my big male is 140 pounds and over 12 right now). If you’re looking for a working type dog, you’d want to look into the Czech or East German lines.
Mega Ditto!
Hope to get 2 German Shepherds later this year when I get out of this condo.
When I lived on 200 acres for 20 years, I had 4 of them. Greatest dog...............in my opinion.
Mine all lived long and happy lives.
You could try that but they’ll likely not care or even understand your concerns.
Your best bet is social media.
Share their sins with the world.
Peer pressure is still incredibly effective, especially when there are millions of peers bearing down on you.
Join GSD *owners* Facebook groups and tell them your story.
Leonberger.
“Stud of the month” syndrome.
That wretched Cambria Dobe won BOG at Westminster two years running and made it to the final cut.
He was a DCM carrier and his get are lousy with it, yet *everybody* now has “famous” Cambria in the lines and Dobes are dying young and often of it.
I spit on them.
Mutts are no answer.
“Hybrid vigor” is not only a misnomer, it’s a myth.
They inherit the same issues that their purebred parents had and often, it’s multiplied if the “wrong” breeds mix.
At least with purebreds, you have a chance of knowing what will come and preparing for it.
With mutts, it’s a crap shoot.
I love all dogs but I’m gonna hedge my bets as much as humanly possible.
It’s a sin that these kinds of conversations and concerns are even necessary, now.
:(
When a GSD is flopping erratically around the ring in its perverted pantomime of a “trot”, the crowd goes wild, cheering madly.
I want to grab the stadium mic and scream “WTF is WRONG with you people? Are you blind *and* stupid??”
For every breeder who creates these mutants, there is a stupid judge just as guilty for putting the dog up.
It’s become a twisted vicious circle of the unscrupulous trying to please that stupidity for fame.
I hate it.
I bought me a Shepherd out in redneck East Texas and he does not seem to be suffering or look extreme in his structural makeup at all. Has been a great security for us the last ten years. I dread the thought of losing him in the future.
The family's last cocker spaniel, born in 1948, was a biter. And, no he was never teased nor abused.
What about the German Shepherd cats?
Thnx. Will check out.
Breeding doesn’t pay any attention to actual genetics. Clearly many purebreds desperately need some new genes. Time for these dog “show kingdoms” to join science and shape up. Each breed should start mixing breeds in a nice, controlled way, to get their genetic lines stronger. Why be proud to have weak, unhealthy genetics and shorter life?
I think breeds should control for a certain look, a certain personality, enough intelligence, but also HEALTH should be a huge priority. Blending in new genes will benefit everyone. The only reason not to is “we’ve always done it this way, we are kings, we rule over all purebred dogs, we are wrong and your dog will cost thousands and live a short life with long pain at the end, but again: we are the boss.”
I hear U loud and clear.
Do you have some local appropriate dog pups available now or later?
I can easily pass by if appropriate.
wow, that is 1 big dog. your dog could eat my jack russell terrier for a snack.
This is what I will do if I get a dog. I love certain dog’s looks and personalities and intelligence. So I will look for a mix of those dogs. My friend has a labradoodle that really has the best of everything between a lab and standard poodle. And no recessive genes.
His breeder guarantees the pups for hips provided you have an x-ray done at age 2.
My little girl who is 2, came from a back yard breeder (but AKC) and we have had no reason to have her x-rayed for anything. I am not going to breed her so I have to go with my instincts that she is good. Fast runner, not injury prone.
Neither one has a sloping back.
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