I don't personally know many cavalier exhibitors Bet, but I have friends who show other breeds.I've no doubt it can be difficult managing your dogs at a show and I think if you've encountered something that you weren't comfortable with during your venture into dogshowing,then you made the correct choice to discontinue it as a hobby.
I still believe the real animal welfare abuses lie at breeding level, and not just at show level.A cavalier may have to put up with a cage during transportation and while waiting it's turn in the ring,a trolley might be a bit bumpy but it'll save the exhibitors lumbar discs.But keeping a realistic perspective on things,many bitches live their entire lives in cages, they live,eat,whelp and die in cages while never seeing daylight of feel the warmth of a loving owner.This is the dark side of breeding which we mustn't lose sight of either.
If there are problems at a dogshow then it's down to those who organise the show to make adequate provision for the welfare and safety of the dogs being exhibited. I think as a rule if a cavalier is not happy in the ring ,then it won't win and would be unlikely to be heavily campaigned??? Maybe I'm wrong......I'm just guessing here.
I have mixed feelings about this subject. I do exhibit dogs and greatly enjoy the bond that I feel with my dog while in the show ring.
I do not however fool myself that my dog, however happy he is to be out of his trolley and relishing the prospect of the bait I use to get him up on his toes, would not be just as happy running round the local park.
We show for our own gratification, not to give our dogs a fun day out, and on a hot summer day they would probably be much happier at home, finding a cool spot to lie in, than shut in a stuffy cage.
I agree the the real animal welfare abuses lie at breeding level, and that is in the obvious neglect in puppy farms, but also the callous disregard of inherited problems in beautiful typy show dogs.
If I said that there were breeders that were using blind dogs, dogs that cannot breath, dogs that have crippling inherited conditions, most people would think I was talking about unregistered breeders..... Just watch that youtube clip again...... This is happening among the most celebrated show dogs, remember Danny the Peke, another Crufts BIS winner, and the Kennel Club hierarchy know and condone it.
The show breeders keep saying that people like Jemima Harrison and Carol Fowler should tackle battery bred dogs first, but the reforms should surely start at the top.
While the Kennel Club registers puppy farm dogs, and the top people think that inherited disease can be dismissed as having no relevance if it does not show, then we do need to hold them to account.