Size zero and no heroes
Did you catch the enormous comment on the last blog from Sirius? Gosh that must have hit a nerve!
(This is the person who crops up on numerous forums spouting the KC line yet maintains they don't work for the Kennel Club. If Sirius isn't an employee she/he should be as no one works harder on their behalf than he/she!)
Thanks for the references Sirius, but I was well aware of all the KC had done on this issue - despite them sending us to Coventry on the press release front!
We can all see that the KC had sniffed a potential PR disaster a couple of years ago and banned the scales at Crufts as they didn't want any anorexic Dachshunds swooning under the lights.
It was a quick fix - but it didn't really stop any Dachshunds suffering, it just stopped it happening in the full glare of publicity on the famous green carpet.
The KC had recognised there was a problem - which was great - but they just never followed it through and sorted it out at grass roots level.
To have qualified at Crufts all the Mini Dachshunds would have been weighed at the qualifying shows even if there would be no weigh-in spectacle at the NEC.
I had flagged up this issue a couple of months ago in our mag and even in Our Dogs predicting this would look terrible to the outside world if the KC didn't take action and the Dachshund world didn't clean up its act.
But still the KC didn't do the relatively simple thing and ban the use of scales at all KC licensed shows. Instead we had the suggestion of a bowl of water in the ring to offset any negative publicity.
Well whoever gave them that piece of PR advice wasn't very good were they? It didn't stop a predictably grumbly piece in the paper which reflected badly on the whole show world in general - and that's obviously upset the KC judging by Sirius's response.
This story had already been in the friendly press in plenty of time for the KC to take action - so why didn't they?
The progressive Dachshund people who want the weighing to stop are being pretty brave and need all our encouragement - judges who want to stop weighing are being put under enormous pressure by the sort of doggie dinosaurs the KC has to force to evolve or die if they ever want to improve their reputation. Not wanting to make a rule change seems an odd reason not to take action. If you want to be in charge you have to make changes - you have to rule and in this case sitting on the fence has resulted in a pain in the posterior for the KC.
The KC need to consistently support the reformers if the public are to trust them to do the right thing when they are out of the media spotlight.
Oh and if you're wondering about the Fluffikins reference, it's my pet name. And yes, romantic fiction I don't like to talk about it, but I may have penned a few steamy volumes under another name.
Funnily enough I was talking to the postman just a few minutes ago and he mentioned he'd heard I'd answered the door at home in my PJs at the weekend - I was the talk of the local post office.
Yes - they were pink and those slippers were definitely a bit fluffy.
Sometimes I do wonder how well Sirius knows me - or is it my doppelganger that hangs out with the Poodle boys on Hampstead Heath?
(This is the person who crops up on numerous forums spouting the KC line yet maintains they don't work for the Kennel Club. If Sirius isn't an employee she/he should be as no one works harder on their behalf than he/she!)
Thanks for the references Sirius, but I was well aware of all the KC had done on this issue - despite them sending us to Coventry on the press release front!
We can all see that the KC had sniffed a potential PR disaster a couple of years ago and banned the scales at Crufts as they didn't want any anorexic Dachshunds swooning under the lights.
It was a quick fix - but it didn't really stop any Dachshunds suffering, it just stopped it happening in the full glare of publicity on the famous green carpet.
The KC had recognised there was a problem - which was great - but they just never followed it through and sorted it out at grass roots level.
To have qualified at Crufts all the Mini Dachshunds would have been weighed at the qualifying shows even if there would be no weigh-in spectacle at the NEC.
I had flagged up this issue a couple of months ago in our mag and even in Our Dogs predicting this would look terrible to the outside world if the KC didn't take action and the Dachshund world didn't clean up its act.
But still the KC didn't do the relatively simple thing and ban the use of scales at all KC licensed shows. Instead we had the suggestion of a bowl of water in the ring to offset any negative publicity.
Well whoever gave them that piece of PR advice wasn't very good were they? It didn't stop a predictably grumbly piece in the paper which reflected badly on the whole show world in general - and that's obviously upset the KC judging by Sirius's response.
This story had already been in the friendly press in plenty of time for the KC to take action - so why didn't they?
The progressive Dachshund people who want the weighing to stop are being pretty brave and need all our encouragement - judges who want to stop weighing are being put under enormous pressure by the sort of doggie dinosaurs the KC has to force to evolve or die if they ever want to improve their reputation. Not wanting to make a rule change seems an odd reason not to take action. If you want to be in charge you have to make changes - you have to rule and in this case sitting on the fence has resulted in a pain in the posterior for the KC.
The KC need to consistently support the reformers if the public are to trust them to do the right thing when they are out of the media spotlight.
Oh and if you're wondering about the Fluffikins reference, it's my pet name. And yes, romantic fiction I don't like to talk about it, but I may have penned a few steamy volumes under another name.
Funnily enough I was talking to the postman just a few minutes ago and he mentioned he'd heard I'd answered the door at home in my PJs at the weekend - I was the talk of the local post office.
Yes - they were pink and those slippers were definitely a bit fluffy.
Sometimes I do wonder how well Sirius knows me - or is it my doppelganger that hangs out with the Poodle boys on Hampstead Heath?
Comments
The Breed Council openly threatened the judging career of any one who did not fall in line & weigh the dogs.
The KC may say they will promote judges who do not weigh, without breed council approval, but it is unlikely that anyone will be foolhardy enough to put themselves forward. If passed to judge at Championship shows they would face a well organised boycott.
As many health representatives have discovered, anyone standing out against the organised breed clubs can say good bye to any real success in the show ring.
The KC lacks the will or ability to tackle the stranglehold that top breeders/exhibitors have on the breed clubs & the pedigree dog scene.
The KC has been shown to be unable to enforce their own rules or breed club codes of ethics.
We will now see dehydrated dogs being pulled past bowls of water they will not be allowed to drink and be expected to believe that a welfare issue has been sorted?
I cannot believe that anyone can defend what is being done to make these dogs conform to a breed standard
Tell me again how much all owners of show dogs love their animals.
Margaret Carter
I just read the March issue and saw about the jerk who phoned you. Well good for you. I think we need to stand up to the KC.
You have my full support
Courtney