Westminster steps in it
Westminster 2012 is not going to go down as the American Kennel Club’s finest hour.
The AKC dumped Pedigree as a sponsor after a partnership of nearly a quarter of a century because, well, it depends on whose story you believe. AKC says it’s because Pedigree’s ads promoting shelter rescues bummed people out and made viewers change the channel. The truth is probably much simpler: AKC has no use for shelters. What most of us have come to understand over the years is that AKC is going to shun any person or organization not fully in agreement with their rules, regulations and principles. The AKC breed standard isn’t about promoting the health of a breed, just the look. Shelters are about saving lives. They haven’t the luxury of concerning themselves with breed standards. As the AKC will freely admit, the breed standard is their coin of the realm. That’s problematic when you’re talking about a German Shepherd, a Pug, or a Pekingese.
Speaking of Pekingese, what was your reaction when Best in Show was awarded to Malachy the Peke last night? You didn’t stand up and cheer? Why not? Don’t answer. I know why. I know what your reaction was (let’s censor it down to “oh darn”). Personally, I was rooting for the wirehaired dachshund, but I noticed something interesting in my Facebook feed around 10:45pm Eastern last night. My many dog-obsessed friends may have been rooting for different group winners, but they all said largely the same thing before the winner was announced. “Not the Peke. Not the Peke. Please God, not the Peke.” When Malachy won, the universal reaction was “Oh darn” (or a distant cousin thereof). Even more fascinating, a number of people commented “AGAIN?” There’s a perception that Pekes win an inordinate number of Westminsters. The truth is that Malachy is the first bedroom slipper, oh sorry, I meant to say Pekingese, to be awarded BIS at Westminster since 1990, and only the fourth ever to take home the grand prize. If you look at the list of BIS winners, you’ll see that terriers and spaniels have been dominant in recent memory, accounting for a combined dozen wins since the last time a Peke won before last night.
So why the outrage and disgust from so many? Perhaps it’s because the Peke has become emblematic of everything that is wrong with breeding standards and trends today. Perhaps it has something to do with the Peke typifying the dog as fashion accessory movement (though to be fair, in the case of the Pekingese, twas always thus). My pal Deb Moulton supplied an interesting link. Check out what the Peke looked like a century ago here and even more clearly here. Now look at Malachy. The AP writer called him a “bobbing pompom.” Ok, let’s presume the writer isn’t a big dog expert. The point is the Peke barely looks like a dog to the untrained eye. This was not an issue with Hickory’s win at Madison Square Garden last year. A Deerhound won Westminster in 2011, and everyone had to admit he was an outstanding specimen of a Deerhound (right, Christie?).
A Pekingese, particularly as we’ve come to know them in 2012, does an alarmingly poor job of exemplifying “dog” as a healthy, vital part of our lives. The Dobie, the Kerry Blue and (I keep saying) the Wirehaired Dachshund had it all over Malachy, and yet today we’re reading about a bobbing pompom as newly crowned royalty.
The AKC has a whole host of problems, but chief among them is a massive public relations undercurrent that reinforces the perception of them being the 1% vs the rest of the canine loving world’s 99%. Out of touch, insensitive, arrogant, and reinforcing all the wrong stereotypes…and being utterly uninterested in becoming anything other than what they already are.
The only potential silver lining I can point to is that Crufts opens on March 8. I don’t presume to hope that a Dachshund will win Best in Show across the pond, but please…not the Peke, not the Peke, please God, not the Peke.
32 Comments to “Westminster steps in it”
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We’ve raised you well, grasshopper. :)
My reaction was, “Well, at least it’s a breed that has, for all practical purposes, already hit bottom.”
Heather, shhh. That might sound like a challenge. Is there a merle Peke?
Hoorah! Well written, well said and right to the point. I didn’t even watch it and I was so disappointed when I read the results on Facebook. Not a single friend of mine was happy. Not one.
I know Dobes have their own problems, but they still look like dogs, and that was a beautiful, happy Doberman.
The Peke–even Pekes didn’t look like that when I was a kid.
The Chinese Crested gets called a freak because of the hairlessness, but they are happy, healthy, athletic little dogs, and that was a lovely example we saw in the group ring. The minpin also, and the Silky is what the Yorkie used to be when it was a real dog.
The Pekingese is a shuffling, snorting, barely=-breathing tragedy.
I loved the Pedigree ads, and they put a more general dog-loving glow over the proceedings. That, of course, is what AKC and Westminster disliked.
THANK YOU DAVID! Am posting now!
Yep, there were 5 really nice dogs in that ring, 2 that weren’t even on my radar, Peke and GSD…. I was rooting for the Wirehaired Daschund 1st, Dobie 2nd, Kerry 3rd.
Funny that you were pulling for the Dachshund when that is another breed often pointed out as an example of exaggeration at the cost of health.
First of all, it was the Westminster Kennel Club, not the AKC, that decided to go with a different sponsor and it is the parent club, not the AKC, that controls the breed standard (I know, the AKC wanted my breed’s parent club to rewrite our standard but the club refused to do so. BTW, the issue was not health-related).
Pedigree has done some wonderful ads featuring dogs of all types (remember the Dachshund that wanted her belly rubbed) but I was one of the people wanting to change the channel after being barraged by the same depressing ads over and over. And I’m involved in rescue, as are most of the dog fanciers I know to some degree or another.
The number of shelter ads came off as a criticism of having a well-bred dog from a good breeder. Every year with the shelter ads social media was full of complaints about them during and after the show, which is what Westminster was responding to. Westminster is a celebration of the wonderful variety of dogs and of the people who dedicate their lives to them. That is something worth celebrating. I doubt Westminster is against adopting rescue dogs. When talking to people who are interested in their breed the fanciers I know talk about the person’s options and that includes getting one from rescue. What they didn’t want was nothing but shelter dog ads. My understanding is that they talked to Pedigree about it but Pedigree was unwilling to compromise. I’m sure they would have been fine with a mix of ads including some shelter ads. There were at least two ads featuring shelter dogs this year and I saw not complaints bout them.
If you love football would you be happy if every ad during the Superbowl was lawyers soliciting law suits for sports injuries? But that wouldn’t mean you were against improved training methods and equipment to prevent injuries.
It isn’t fair to confuse a desire to celebrate purebred dogs at Westminster with a lack of concern about decreasing the number of dogs in shelters.
BTW, I was pleading, not the Kerry, not the Kerry. I LIKE Kerries but the often don’t welcome strangers uninvited and the winner is expected to do a lot of meeting and greeting. I remember the look of frozen panic on Bill McFadden’s face when Charlie Rose reached over and hugged Mick the Kerry during an interview. Thank goodness Mick was on his best behavior.
Excuse me, but I do believe there was a happy go lucky dog called a Dalmatian in the ring also :)Yes, I was cheering for Ian (as was my spotty sidekick Roxy), but I will say, I wish he would have lost to the Doxie, the KBT, the Dobie or the Setter. Geeze, a freaking dust mop that waddles won?!
There are two things being discussed here. One is the issue of obvious and hidden genetic and breed-standard related health problems in dogs bred for the show ring.
The other is the decision by the Westminster Kennel Club (not the AKC) to not run Pedigree’s shelter ads on TV during the show this year.
As I’ve often said, what irritates me the most about these kinds of discussions of breed health problems is that people get so worked up over the obvious, phenotypical problems like the waddling, gasping Pekes, but are far less concerned by invisible or late-onset genetic problems of dogs who “look” normal and healthy but are genetic disaster zones, like the Golden Retriver AKA “Cancer Dog.”
Plenty of criticism to go around, I just wish we could critize for ALL of it, not just the problems we can so easily see.
I think you over-simplified the issue of the ads. As Linda said, there were shelter pet ads on the broadcast, but they were happy, positive ads. I don’t know which specific ads Pedigree wanted to run, but they themselves bragged about how much money in donations they raised on a previous year’s Westminster ads, not how many adoptions they’d driven.
And we know that positive ads push adoptions while sad ads push donations. Worse, ads focusing on sad stories or evoking our feelings of pity or guilt not only don’t get people to adopt, they actively push people away from adopting.
It’s entirely possible that Westminster, as they said, had an issue with THOSE ads, not the concept of shelter pets or adopting rescue dogs in and of itself. I think we’d want to know more about the decision before we assume we know they had ulterior motives, and not use it as the basis for criticism of them for not wanting to promote pet adoption.
I mean, I wouldn’t run any of the recent Pedigree ads on my teevee show if I had one, but I surely would run ads for pet adoption of I thought they were effective and positive.
The first Peke to be exported from the Imperial City can be seen, Taxidermiedm at the Rothchild Museum of Natural History in Tring, UK. And yes, he had a nose.
David, to be fair, neither the AKC or Westminster have anything to do with writing breed standards. The breed standard is written by the breed parent club. So, while it is sad that the AKC recognizes unsound, unhealthy dogs and condones them by accepting any breed that consistently produces unhealthy dogs, They don’t write the standard. I was not too upset to see the split with Pedigree – I really dislike the “shelter dog” ads (from Pedigree and the HSUS) that try to “guilt” me into adopting a dog from a shelter. I have 4 rescues, 2 purebreds, so I am not against rescue, but I don’t like the tone of many of these ads.
I’m surprised the article didn’t mention that the Best of Breed rough collie was sired by a deaf and blind double merle/ lethal white.
http://www.astraean.com/borderwars/2012/02/westminster-rewards-cruelty.html
BTW, I was pleading, not the Kerry, not the Kerry. I LIKE Kerries but the often don’t welcome strangers uninvited and the winner is expected to do a lot of meeting and greeting. I remember the look of frozen panic on Bill McFadden’s face when Charlie Rose reached over and hugged Mick the Kerry during an interview. Thank goodness Mick was on his best behavior.
I thought the goal was to pick the dog that best matched its breed standard? You’re saying the goal is to pick the best ambassador, instead?
If so, they blew it on that front, too.
As the owner of 2 now deceased Pekes(and currently one Peke mix) it pains me to see the Peke picked on. Don’t look at those show Pekes. Real-life Pekes don’t come like that. They don’t have coats puffed up like that. I bet not many people have seen a Peke in real life. Look at this picture of my dog(http://comedee.com/Dee.jpg). Can you not say she was beautiful? Those big expressive eyes melted hearts.
Way back in a comment on Pet Connection, I linked to a video of Pekes racing and jumping hurdles:
http://www.britishpathe.com/video/racing-pekes
Can you not say they were happy healthy dogs?
AKC can show all they want, but real Peke lovers go for Pekes that are pets first, that have manageable coats that don’t induce heat strokes, and don’t sit on ice-packs for even one minute a day.
Well thank DOG the judge at least didn’t pik the crippled GSD. Do you suppose judging BIS is also predicated upon which famous AKC handler is at the end of that lead? Hmmm….me thinks possibly so. I was actually rooting for the Xolo to win. Lovely, unspoiled (yet) breed.
Well, the Dachshund has been stretched to it’s limits (weak backs resulting in many dogs becoming paralyzed), the Dobe has so many health problems and such a small gene pool that no one can breed a healthy one anymore and I don’t know enough about the Kerry Blue’s health problems to comment. Seems to me the Peke is just the tip of the unhealthy iceberg.
Rock on. Thanks for taking the time to blog on this issue. Finding a whole lot of nothing against it. I say, “Emperor has no clothes!” and I see some of my fav peeps already had chimed in!
I only saw one commercial specifically about shelter dogs (though it was run at least twice) and it was actually about flying dogs to new homes and how satisfying it is for the man who does it. It said nothing about the dogs themselves, though those in the background looked to be happy enough.
The Purina ‘great dogs’ commercial showed at least one rescued dog, Lucy, a partially paralyzed former Puerto Rican street dog who ascended to the summit of Mt. Washington in her wheelie. But, if I hadn’t already *known* all that, I would never have guessed – she’s merely shown in passing, a black dog in a wheelie. Nor were the names or situations of any of the dogs given, save in incidental context – a back yard, greeting a man in uniform, at a competition.
There were no commercials I saw that promoted adoption. None.
I haven’t seen the 2011 Pedigree adoption drive ads either, but I have reviewed a number of their ads in the last few days. On the one hand, no, they’re not the ads I’d like to see, which would showcase how wonderful shelter dogs can be; on the other, they’re not pity porn, and the most depressing of them were followed up by codas in which the dogs were shown in their new homes, safe and happy. On the whole, I find them well-written, dignified (which most ads with dogs are not) and affecting.
Also, while the issue is not AKC standards, in a sense Frei *made* it about them when he stated that Westminster was about all dogs – and then, by chance, fate, or ornery contrariness, some of the dogs up for the final were among the poster children of why that’s not really true. Worse, the one who won looked a bit like an animated hassock.
Mind you, I actually sort of liked Malachy, when he was shown in closeup – he has very expressive eyes. But what I really wanted to do was scoop him up, give him a severe trim, and let the little dog in there out.
By announcing almost on the eve of the show that the Pedigree sponsorship was cancelled and it was specifically because of their shelter dog ads, well, that also made it about exclusion. As a PR move, it was bone stupid.
All in all, the show this year left me with a sour taste, and that’s why. No, the issue isn’t as simple as it seems at first glance. But that doesn’t matter, given how it’s played out – no matter what the WKC intended, no matter the provocation, they come off looking like self-absorbed, out-of-touch jerks with their fingers stuffed in their ears.
Here is a site with a picture of the taxidermied Pekingese. It’s in the next-to-last picture, as well as a nice photo headstudy of a 1948 puppy specimen: http://www.messybeast.com/history/1800dogs-1.htm
Great write-up, David. You pretty much hit the nail on the head. “Oh darn” indeed.
The change in sponsorship was announced months ago, but Pedigree and anti-purebred groups chose to publicize it just before the show in order to make Westminster look bad. From what I heard WKC tried to get Pedigree to change their Westminster campaign but Pedigree. I’m sure they weren’t objecting to including some pro-adoption ads in the mix, just not all of them. I actually think the barrage of shelter ads in previous years became very irritating, though they weren’t as bad as the ASPC ads that actually do make me change the channel (and I’m involved in rescue).
Lis – the goal is not picking the best ambassador, obviously, or there would have been a Golden BIS by now :-). I’m not the judge. Those of us at home all have our reasons for rooting for or against particular dogs. I was just stating mine.
I’m sure Malachi’s heavy show coat will soon be trimmed way down and he will enjoy the life of a pet, as is true of show dogs in breeds that require extensive grooming for show once they retire from the ring. Though if he’s like the show dogs I’ve known he will be jealous when housemates head out for a weekend of shows (and yes, they do recognize the signs).
I am glad something won that didn’t look like a Q tip or a dog that only old ladies own. I love his little pushed in face
Julie, which are the dogs you define as “looking like a Q tip” or “a dog that only old ladies own”? Because, for sure, that pushed-in face and stubby little almost-legs aren’t the characteristics of a dog for someone who wants an active companion.
I’d really love to know which breeds you’re intending to diss here.
As I’ve often said, what irritates me the most about these kinds of discussions of breed health problems is that people get so worked up over the obvious, phenotypical problems like the waddling, gasping Pekes, but are far less concerned by invisible or late-onset genetic problems of dogs who “look” normal and healthy but are genetic disaster zones, like the Golden Retriver AKA “Cancer Dog.”
Christie, the thing is, if you can’t identify the problem with the “little pushed in face” and non-existent legs of the Peke, you’re not going to be asking questions about cancer rates in Goldens. We’re talking about Westminster, and what won there this year.
The Peke is a disaster, and can’t be anything other than a disaster while the Peke standard is interpreted to mean that Malachy is an excellent physical example of the breed. OTOH, appropriate, controlled outcrossing might solve or greatly reduce the cancer problem in Goldens, without changing the appearance of the breed one iota. An example of this is the Dal. We can be nearly 100% certain that the BOB Dal is a high uric acid Dal, but one outcross thirty years ago gave us the solution to that problem, and the descendants of that outcross have at long last been recognized. We can now hope and expect that the Dal will become a much healthier breed overall, with zero structural changes.
And, jut to reiterate, if people don’t object to the obvious physical deformities, they’re not likely to be worrying about the invisible deformities. You have to do some digging to find out that the BOB rough collie was sired by a deaf and blind double merle, or that Malachy is quite amazingly inbred. But you can look at Malachy and see that breathing and walking aren’t his strengths, especially at the same time. And accepting that as “it’s the breed standard” is a serious problem.
I wouldn’t put a blind and deaf double merle into quite the same “genetic disaster zone” category as cancer-prone Goldens or breathing-impaired brachycephalic breeds. A double merle results from a single breeding “mistake” of merle to merle (I put “mistake” in quotes because sometimes double merles result from actual “oops!” breedings but – sadly – sometimes breeders produce them deliberately because the offspring of a double merle often has a beautifully clear merle coloring which breeders strive for). Each individual breeder solves the “problem” of double merles by not breeding a merle to a merle. Period.
Whereas pursuing a solution to cancer-prone Goldens or breathing-impaired brachycephalic breeds requires a more global, multi-generational cooperative among the breeders within the breed as a whole.
Yes, the double merle, and the use of him as a sire, is just an individual breeder’s bad choice.
Cancer in Goldens and not-breathing in the brachy breeds are breed-wide problems requiring breed-wide solutions, yes.
BUT, the standards for the Goldens and other breeds whose primary problem is cancer don’t have to be rewritten for that to happen; no appearance change is necessary. The brachy breeds, some more than others, need their standards rewritten to make the appearance and structure that’s currently prized not acceptable. Shorter muzzle is one thing; no muzzle is another. Every breed should be able breathe, walk, and breed and whelp naturally under normal circumstances. Those few things should be an uncrossable line, and currently, they’re not even officially acknowledged as desirable in the brachy breeds.
And then there is the winner of the Herding group. What the AKC has promoted as breed standard is also appalling. Yes, the judge was correct, you could not fault him on temperament and he was beautiful from head to shoulders, but from the shoulders back is a total disaster. (I won’t even go into the other problems). This is supposed to be a WORKING BREED. I know I’m preaching to the choir on this, but I looked far and wide to find a straight backed GSD and finally found one with that also has the temperament to boot.
“Every breed should be able breathe, walk, and breed and whelp naturally under normal circumstances.” Thank you Liz!
As obvious from my name I am a fancier of the Xoloitzcuintli AKA Xolo. The Mexican Kennel club has since the resurgence of the breed in the 1950′s tried very hard to prevent the genetic bottlenecks that have occurred in so many breeds. There are many Xolos in Mexico that are not bred for show but the club will register dogs that meet or exceed the standard as being of excellent type but have unknown or unregistered parents, thereby keeping the genetic pool open.
I know many breeds especially working and hunting breeds have several registries. If the AKC was interested in the health of these breeds they see if the AKC parent clubs would open their registry to these other dogs.
Urg, don’t get me started on what the breed standard can do to a dog’s health, I’m beyond pissed at a specific breed club at the moment, not to mention the AKC for letting them get away with it.
So instead I leave you with the headline a certain ‘news’ site came up with: “Tribble Wins Dog Show!”
If anyone watched the video of the racing pekes linked above and still say the peke is a disaster, then go ahead.
If Malachy was allowed to make a shorter round, was it only fair? There are small people and large people, and if small people are allowed some leeway in some physical competition, do you protest?
If a human puts on a thick fluffy fur coat and after running around under some bright lights demands a glass of ice-cold water to cool down, do you call the human a disaster?
Show people live in their own world, have their own rules, play their own game. We ordinary folks have our own ideas. Who has hours everyday to spend on fluffing up a dog’s coat?
My own pekes had their coats trimmed to clear way off the floor. They breathed, walked everyday, had no knowledge of ice-packs and could clear hurdles easy-peasy like those pekes did in the video.
Those aren’t show-quality Pekes. That’s not what wins shows and goes to Westminster.
Most toy breeds are able to go the circuit of the show ring without difficulty.
Show quality Pekes can’t breed or whelp naturally. The same is true of show quality French bulldogs. I have a serious problem with that, even if you don’t.
The complaint about overheating is not that Pekes need to rehydrate after physical activity under the lights, but that they are in so much danger of over-heating that they need to lay on ice packs when not in the ring.
Oh, and while there are humans who can’t walk a mile, and have serious difficulty breathing, we don’t intentionally breed humans for those characteristics, and they don’t make a human a more desirable mate for another human.
I am just glad that Australian Cattle Dogs will never win BOB on any dog show. They are serious (but fun) working dogs who are loyal to their people and make excellent pets as well as competition perfomance dogs (agility, obedience and rally).
Everyone of my dogs (currently 7) have been rescues. Until several years ago, the AKC didn’t allow me to compete because I had rescued mixed breeds (apparently inferior to genetically engineered dogs). It kills them when I win at a big performance competition with a mix.
I think that the Pedigree uproar has merit on both sides. Maybe the “shelter” commercials did bring people down. However, if it convinced one person to “fix” their dog and prevent unwanted “accidents” that end up in shelters, then that’s a good thing.
I currently have three purebred dogs (one who had four homes before mine, and two I’ve raised from puppies), and I’m frankly delighted that mixes are competing and would like them to be more involved in even MORE events. So I don’t know who “they” are, but I do know (if not most) a lot of people who compete at AKC events also have shelters dogs and rescue dogs (and other rescue animals) they love just as much.
Also, I’d bet an ACD has been best in show somewhere at some time. Or that someday, some will. They’re not uncommon at dog shows, after all. They’re BOB — Best of Breed — at shows every week, but I know that’s not what you meant. :)