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Pedigree Dogs Exposed: Three Years On

Margaret C

Well-known member
PDE was shown in August 2008 and had an extraordinary impact. The BBC dropped coverage of Crufts, the Kennel Club amended 78 breed standards and three in depth reports ( one jointly commissioned by the KC and Dogs Trust ) agreed that there were grave welfare issues in the way pedigree dogs are bred and a Dog Advisory Council was set up.

Many Cavalier owners, some of them members of this forum, saw the film and realised for the first time that the quirky traits they saw in their pet were symptoms of a painful inherited neurological condition called Syringomyelia.

I appeared in PDE1 and Jemima Harrison asked to film another interview with me last year. According to an article in 'Radio Times' Cavaliers will be featured again in PDE2.
I do not know if any of my interview will make it to the film ( Jemima will have hours and hours of interviews to choose from ) but I do rather hope so.

For those that have not seen PDE1, it is on YouTube in 6 parts. Cavaliers appear in two parts http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pm17MesMFRc and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4vyn14kIt4&feature=related

PDE2 is being shown on Monday, on BBC4, at 9pm.
 
Well, of course, we all will just have to wait and see (and I'll have to wait a bit longer than those of you in the UK, as even the on-line version is not available outside of the UK).

I focused primarily on the cavalier when watching PDE, and I found no fiction in those segments. PDE interviewed Simon Swift, the veterinary cardiologist for the UK’s Cavalier Club, who spoke only the facts about mitral valve disease (MVD), as did Clare Rusbridge, the UK’s leading veterinary neurologist on syringomyelia (CM/SM). The video of the little cavalier thrashing about, howling in agonizing pain from syringomyelia, was not fiction and no, her medications had not been withheld before that video was made. Maybe the interview with the CKCS breeder, holding the champion in her arms, was a gotcha moment, but that is what happens on a lot of television documentaries.

A recently expressed criticism of Jemima Harrison has been that she should devote her attention to other dog issues, like exposing puppy farms. Some even claim that PDE has driven responsible CKCS breeders from the fancy, forcing the pet buyers into the arms of the puppy farmers. To me, if responsible breeders have packed it in, it is not because of PDE, but due to CM/SM and MVD. Yes, PDE highlighted the existence of CM/SM and MVD and the agonizing pain and/or agonizing deaths which some affected dogs suffer. But, if PDE had an impact due to its CM/SM and MVD segments, it should have been to drive pet buyers away from the breed entirely, not away from the responsible breeders and into the arms of the puppy farmers.

While a lot has come to light about CM/SM since PDE debuted in 2008, most of what we have learned has had nothing to do with PDE; it as been due to neurological research. Over 50 neurological research articles about CM/SM in our breed have been published since PDE, and over 90 articles about MVD, and while they have served to educate us more and more about CM/SM and MVD, none of those studies have relied upon any information dug up by PDE. CM/SM and MVD research have been on a fast track for the past ten years, and PDE has had nothing to do about any of it (apart from possibly inducing charities to contribute funds to the research).

The overriding problem for the CKCS is that it suffers from two very widespread and extremely devastating genetic disorders, MVD and CM/SM, and if a television show happens to shed light upon them, then we all should be grateful and not hostilely dismissive.

Another criticism has beeen that Miss Harrison only focuses on the negative and not on the positive things the KC and the Cavalier Club have done. I suspect that PDE2 will discuss positive steps these clubs have taken since PDE1. But if CM/SM and early-onset MVD remain widespread, and very, very few CKCS breeders are doing anything about it -- like testing and following breeding recommendations -- then certainly not enough is being done.

The Cavalier Club's chairman told us three years ago that "There are many members who are still not prepared to health check their breeding stock, and of those who do, it would appear that many would not hesitate to breed from affected animals." So, this is not just a puppy farmer problem. But, if PDE2 discusses this shortfall of following breeding protocols, then surely it would be informing its viewers that they should stay away from the puppy farmers who could care less about testing for anything at all. So, PDE2's criticism of CKCS breeders should weigh more heavily against the puppy farmers than against the responsible breeders who do test and follow those protocols.

What really has driven responsible breeders from the CKCS has been the statistics showing that up to 95% of cavaliers may have CM and over half may have SM. And, as I noted above, that information came not from PDE, but from the extensive neurological research undertaken over the past ten or so years.
 
Rod wrote: The video of the little cavalier thrashing about, howling in agonizing pain from syringomyelia, was not fiction and no, her medications had not been withheld before that video was made.

Yes, but what the programme didn't say was that the dog was put to sleep a few hours after the video was made, that the video was deliberately taken by the dog's owners to show the effects of SM and had been available on the internet for some time before PDE. The implication was that this was the norm for dogs with SM, whereas the evidence of the members of this forum is that this is not so - yes, some SM dogs do have pain that becomes uncontrollable, and even if this is a minority it is still too many, but most will lead fairly normal lives. I am NOT saying that this in any way excuses the level of SM in the breed - 'fairly normal lives' does not mean pain-free lives, and breeders that knowingly risk inflicting pain on the dogs they breed should be condemned - if they kicked their dog and seriously injured it, the RSPCA would take them to court, but SM is just as much a serious injury. I am simply saying that even if one agrees with much of PDE, it is also true that a fair amount of editorial manipulation was going on. Investigative documentary makers start out with a thesis they want to prove, and it must be a constant temptation to see (or look for) only what proves their thesis. This is why people in many breeds got so angry with PDE (apart from those with a guilty conscience or their heads in the sand!) - they felt that there was another side - breeders who work hard to breed healthy dogs - and this was not, in their view, given fair coverage.

Kate, Oliver and Aled
 
Does anyone know if any other breed clubs besides BG and cavaliers are scanning? I know not all breeders are and I disagree with Rod about very few. I'm impressed with the number who are in Canada especially in their regional club. I think there are more and more in UK and more (slowly) in USA. There have been grants from the AKC and i am sure other regional clubs. many breeders have contributed to research.

Without dog shows, i feel it would hurt advancements in research. THATS what i care about. We will not find an answer today (besides scanning and following recommended protocols). I thought I read that the BVA suggested Japanese chins also?

We have learned a lot in 3 years thanks to people here with Rupert's fund, FTR, breed clubs around the world and to breeders submitting their scans. I don't know how changing breed standards (if that's the focus) could change any of that.

I have heard a lot of things and if someone does not buy a cavalier because they think their skull is too small then fine. My parents will not because of Ella and not PDE. I try to say that there are breeders who are researching lines, scanning, but there are no guarantees. It's depressing but I hope people still realize that breed clubs do more than if we did not have them.
 
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I'm sorry that I'm in a mood today. Elton is yelping and shaking his head and I still can't figure out what's wrong. I just get frustrated sometimes.
 
We purchased two Cavaliers in 2007, we were very naive! Our dogs were heart and eye checked but I had never heard of sm.

We looked forward to sharing our life with these two little charmers.

When PDE was advertised we watched it because we knew Cavaliers were going to be featured not because there was any big problem. We were shocked at the health problems highlighted but so was our vet !

We watched the poor little Cavalier screaming in pain but we were intelligent enough to realise this poor dog was suffering acute symptoms. (This was not the norm)

Molly did not show any screaming/scratching symptoms but I knew watching PDE she had sm. I could feel myself going hot as I watched PDE with one eye and Molly with the other.

If PDE had not been aired Molly would now be DEAD.

A junior vet at our practice remarked "I remember syringomyelia vaguely from my Uni days" Most of the Cavaliers they see now are properly diagnosed thanks to PDE.

A great number of Cavaliers are now on pain medication and have quality of life. These same dogs (including Dougall (cm)) would be suffering if PDE had not been shown.

Thank you Jemima for saving the life of my Molly and saving Dougall from a life of pain.
 
Tania,

I feel the same way about the book "For the Love of Ollie". Actually Rod's website brought me to that book so thank you Rod and Ollie for saving Ella from more pain.
 
Totally agree with Tania. If it wasn’t for PDE things would still be the same then three years ago.

I know that what they showed on PDE was extreme and a lot of dogs do live a decent life with pain medication but I wouldn’t call that a good life for the dog or owner I call it a flipping nightmare. Sorry nobody should have this kind of worry, trips to the cardiologist, vets (I see my vet more often than my husband) all the way to London to the neurologist because I want the best for my dogs. Trial and error with medication. It is a nightmare and then you see the advert for Crufts “ Happy Healthy fit for function dogs” Who is the KC kidding? I think they truly believe what they are saying themselves.
There are still not enough breeders that follow the MVD protocol set 10 years ago so how many will follow the SM guidelines.
 
Ruby was diagnosed only because of PDE. Who knows how much longer she may have suffered with out it! I watched in horror, like Tania said, because I had a cavalier and knew at that stage she had a murmor. I knew in a second that Ruby had SM and so did my family. My sister called and said, thats Ruby, thats her symptoms!
So thank you Jemima for saving my babies life!!
 
Ruby was diagnosed only because of PDE. Who knows how much longer she may have suffered with out it! I watched in horror, like Tania said, because I had a cavalier and knew at that stage she had a murmor. I knew in a second that Ruby had SM and so did my family. My sister called and said, thats Ruby, thats her symptoms!
So thank you Jemima for saving my babies life!!
 
Tommyrot!!!

... I am simply saying that even if one agrees with much of PDE, it is also true that a fair amount of editorial manipulation was going on. Investigative documentary makers start out with a thesis they want to prove, and it must be a constant temptation to see (or look for) only what proves their thesis. This is why people in many breeds got so angry with PDE (apart from those with a guilty conscience or their heads in the sand!) - they felt that there was another side - breeders who work hard to breed healthy dogs - and this was not, in their view, given fair coverage.

PDE should not be blamed or held responsible for failing to show that some breeders are not as bad as others are. The main accusations against PDE were that the content was nothing but lies, and the producer was filled with hate, and she manipulated the filmed dogs so that their pain and agony would be exaggerated. Those accusations were the real lies.

If members of the purebred dog community felt that they did not get a fair shake in PDE, then they should have produced their own documentary, showing how dedicated they and the KC and the breed clubs have been in discouraging breed standards which produce genetic deformities, and showing how the judges refuse to put up dogs which are obviously deformed, and showing how the KC and the breed clubs require breeders to health test their breeding stock, and how the KC has imposed mandatory breeding guidelines on certain breeds, like the MVD and SM breeding protocols for the cavalier.

Why did not those members of the purebred dog community produce such a documentary? I cannot imagine what has been holding them back, with all of their good works they surely must have done, to so inform the UK dog-loving public. Instead, the KC produced an Internet video called "Dogs -- A Healthy Future", in which the head of the KC, Steve Dean, lies that "the whole ethos of the Kennel Club is the health and welfare of dogs." And in it the KC lies further when it claims that it is "working to eliminate inherited diseases," and "the Kennel Club has always taken the lead in addressing the problem of inherited diseases." What's the word? Oh, yes, TOMMYROT!!!, that's the word. TOMMYROT!!!
 
We'll be watching this with interest on Monday night and myself and Paul have posted various links to promote the show on our FB pages. It's televised 2 years to the day that we lost Sonny to MVD and on Friday the rescue dog we took on in April 2010, Kaley, was diagnosed with CHF and we had a dreadful day as in the morning our vet thought we might lose her. Well said Rod!!
 
Reading the breed notes in Our Dogs every week, I don't ever remember anyone actually saying that PDE was all lies and skewed - where did you read that, Rod? The main accusation was that it was unbalanced, which can be said about very many documentaries on all sorts of subjects made by passionate people. I don't necessarily agree with the critics, but neither do I agree with everything Jemima Harrison says just because she is Jemima Harrison (any more than I would necessarily agree 100% with anyone else making a documentary on a subject about which I was quite knowledgeable)..

In Pekes, for example, numbers being bred and shown have dropped astronomically in the last 30 years, mainly because people have voted with their feet and refused to breed or buy the monstrosities that show Pekes have become. The same is true in Bulldogs, I think. But I don't remember anything being said about this - an uninformed viewer could have got the impression that producing show Pekes was a large and thriving industry (and that this is what all Pekes are like today), instead of a few dinosaurs clinging on to power, to the detriment of their poor dogs. Away from the show ring, there are breeders quietly continuing to produce old-type Pekes, with longer noses and without the huge coats - a friend of mine has a beautiful, active, healthy cream one, though she had to search patiently to find it and join a waiting list to get a puppy from this breeder. By all means attack the show breeders - they deserve it - but it isn't the whole picture, and a good point could have been made that not all Pekes are like this - even today they can be like the happy, active, healthy dog that I was given on my 10th birthday. The contrast would have been even more damning to the show people. It's a matter of balance. A similar telling contrast could have been made between working and show Labradors and working and show Cockers, which almost look like different breeds.

Kate (aka Devil's Advocate!), Oliver and Aled
 
Reading the breed notes in Our Dogs every week, I don't ever remember anyone actually saying that PDE was all lies and skewed - where did you read that, Rod? The main accusation was that it was unbalanced, which can be said about very many documentaries on all sorts of subjects made by passionate people. I don't necessarily agree with the critics, but neither do I agree with everything Jemima Harrison says just because she is Jemima Harrison (any more than I would necessarily agree 100% with anyone else making a documentary on a subject about which I was quite knowledgeable)..

I have read a lot more than Our Dogs' breed notes, and in fact, I seldom read those, except occasionally the cavalier page, unless someone mentions that an article is worth reading. I have not saved copies of all of the attacks, but I have read many of them over the past 3+ years, and "unbalanced" was about the weakest that I remember. For example, here is what the chairman of the board of the American Kennel Club called PDE: A "piece of sensationalist fiction and tabloid journalism masquerading as a documentary", and he called on the BBC to do a documentary called “Jemima Harrison Exposed”.

In Pekes, for example, numbers being bred and shown have dropped astronomically in the last 30 years, mainly because people have voted with their feet and refused to breed or buy the monstrosities that show Pekes have become.

I had not heard that, but I hope word about it gets over here in the US. Too bad that word had not arrived earlier this month, before a judge who I know and consider a friend picked a mutant Peke named Malachy as best in show at the Westminster Kennel Club show. When a best-in-show judge picks a dog, she is choosing the dog that comes the closest, among all of the other breed representatives in the ring, to its breed standard. Was Malachy a closer match to the Peke breed standard than all of those other group winners were to their standards? If so, then there is something terribly wrong with the Peke breed standard.

I realize that the Westminster KC show is not in the UK, but is there any difference between the Peke standards in the two countries? I have not yet checked, but if Malachy stands a chance of winning in the UK, then all of that voting with feet has not sent a message to the Peke breed club.

... Away from the show ring, there are breeders quietly continuing to produce old-type Pekes, with longer noses and without the huge coats - a friend of mine has a beautiful, active, healthy cream one, though she had to search patiently to find it and join a waiting list to get a puppy from this breeder. By all means attack the show breeders - they deserve it - but it isn't the whole picture, and a good point could have been made that not all Pekes are like this - even today they can be like the happy, active, healthy dog that I was given on my 10th birthday. The contrast would have been even more damning to the show people. ...

Then those non-show Peke breeders and fanciers should embrace PDE, because PDE's focus is the breed ring, along with the KC, the breed clubs, the judges, and, of course, the show breeders. If you read Jemima Harrison's blog -- http://pedigreedogsexposed.blogspot.com -- you will find that she highlights and praises the counter-culture purebred breeders who produce dogs that look like the show winners of decades ago, back before the craziness took over that has produced the mutant champions of today.
 
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PDE should not be blamed or held responsible for failing to show that some breeders are not as bad as others are.


'Watchdog' programmes highlight bad builders and unscrupulous plumbers and 'Panorama' programmes expose careworkers that abuse those in their care.

Good builders and trustworthy careworkers do not blame the messenger & complain that it is unfair to disclose poor practice, they are much more likely to put the blame where it lies. They disassociate themselves from those that act disgracefully & express their disgust that such people tarnish the reputation of good practitioners.

It is such a shame that reputable breeders do not speak out about those that they are quick enough to condemn in private. Instead they collude to protect and defend those that bring the whole breeding community into disrepute.

If members of the purebred dog community felt that they did not get a fair shake in PDE, then they should have produced their own documentary, showing how dedicated they and the KC and the breed clubs have been in discouraging breed standards which produce genetic deformities, and showing how the judges refuse to put up dogs which are obviously deformed, and showing how the KC and the breed clubs require breeders to health test their breeding stock, and how the KC has imposed mandatory breeding guidelines on certain breeds, like the MVD and SM breeding protocols for the cavalier.

The Kennel Club and the Cavalier Club both refused invitations to appear in the programme. The Cavalier Club has this statement on their website:

The Cavalier Club & PDE 2

The Cavalier KCS Club offers the following: The Cavalier Club has decided not to take part in the programme other than to give the following statement which we request is read out in its entirety:

"The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Club has continued to support by its actions, the health and well being of this much loved breed. We have worked with the Kennel Club and the BVA with regard to its new CM/SM scheme and its accompanying explanatory advice leaflet. We have raised funds for specialist veterinary equipment and are sponsoring vital veterinary research into Mitral Valve Disease at the Royal Edinburgh Veterinary Hospital."
 
Hi
I can watch all the terrible news that appears on T.V. about the ongoing atrocities in Syria and all/any other disasters that happen
to mankind on this planet of ours, but I cannot watch any programmes or read any news that relate to any form of animal cruelty.
So I admit I have never viewed P.D.E. though of course I am aware of its content and thank the makers for all the improvements in health and welfare that have occured as a direct reasult of it, and I will no doubt record P.D.E. 2 but I am unsure whether I will be brave enough to actually watch it,though I did enjoy my amateur boxing days so am not averse to a bit of blood and guts so long as its the human type and not from any animal ,is there anybody else with similar thoughts .
 
... The Cavalier Club has this statement on their website:

"... We have worked with the Kennel Club and the BVA with regard to its new CM/SM scheme and its accompanying explanatory advice leaflet."

Help me here. Exactly WHAT new CM/SM scheme? Here is what the BVA has on its website about the so-called scheme:

BVA/KC chiari malformations/syringomyelia (CM/SM) scheme

The new BVA/KC Chiari malformation/Syringomyelia (CM/SM) Scheme will launch in January 2012. Full details will be posted shortly on the website but Procedure Notes and submission Certificates are now available from the CHS office. Telephone No. 0207 908 6380.

Notice anything odd about that notice? Here are a couple of clues:

(1) This notice was first posted by the BVA on February 1, 2012.

(2) No such "launch" has yet taken place.

And, here is the full content of what the KC has on its website about the scheme:

 
What Jemima says in the Express is right. “The Kennel Club is just tweaking; it is fiddling while Rome burns.
 
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