From The Telegraph:
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...
The report follows an outcry at Crufts last year after a German Shepherd with an abnormally sloped back and painful looking gait won a “best in breed” prize...
Dr Dan O’Neill, who led the research, which is published in Canine Genetics and Epidemiology, said a sloped back with shorter rear legs had become a fashionable look for show dogs, and that this was influencing breeding more widely.
Dogs are living things, not fashion accessories. Breeding for traits with known health issues is disgusting; I'll take a happy, healthy mutt any old day.
ReplyDeleteI agree. It is horrible that any dog is bred to be in pain. So I will continue to get a mutt any day over a pedigreed dog.
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