Dirty tricks and dog shows: Is Crufts 'poison' scandal sign of competitive world?
IS THE alleged killing by poison of an Irish setter at Crufts the most chilling example yet of the fiercely competitive world of showing and breeding?
Whispers about sharp practice at the world’s biggest dog show are nothing new.
At the very first Crufts in 1891 there were grumbles from some owners when Queen Victoria decided to enter her beloved Pomeranians.
It was claimed that only a very foolish judge would dare to mark down the monarch’s dogs.
The records show that Victoria duly emerged from the Royal Agricultural Hall in London clutching a rosette for equal first place. Ever since there’s barely been a Crufts without some whiff of controversy but it reached new levels this year with claims that a dog was deliberately poisoned.
Police are investigating the death of an Irish Setter called Jagger, who was descended from a previous Crufts winner.
The dog’s Belgian owner says the three-year-old was fed poisoned beef cubes and suspects it could have been “an act of jealousy”. CCTV cameras at the show’s venue, the NEC in Birmingham, are being studied.
Crufts might have a genteel reputation but scratch the surface and it’s not all tweed skirts and doggie treats. Although the prizes are modest, just £100 plus pet food vouchers, there are handsome rewards for winning breeders. Puppies born to the top dogs, or from the same breeding line, can be sold for small fortunes.
The prestige is immeasurable and at Crufts reputations are made and lost.
There is great pressure to win and, unfortunately, competitiveness does sometimes spill over into unpleasantness
“Crufts is the pinnacle,” says Marcia Forman, who breeds wire fox terriers in Dorset and is a regular competitor at the Kennel Club event.
“There is great pressure to win and, unfortunately, competitiveness does sometimes spill over into unpleasantness.
“You do see grudges. It’s horrible but that’s human nature.” She has also been a judge at dog shows for more than 20 years and is shocked but not altogether surprised by the poisoning allegation that has overshadowed this year’s Crufts.
In the past it has been claimed that dogs’ food and water has been spiked with sleeping pills and laxatives but, if proven, this is a more sinister development. Another dirty trick is rubbing chewing gum into a dog’s fur.
Mrs Forman adds: “It is very difficult to police because part of the charm of Crufts is that people can mingle with the top breeders and their dogs. It would be a shame if that tradition was ended because it’s a very sociable event.”
You won’t find anyone willing to admit it publicly but some breeders believe the show began to go downhill when pet passports came in a decade ago. The consequent easing of quarantine regulations resulted in an influx of foreign dogs.
In 2001 there were fewer than 150 overseas entries, this year there were almost 3,000 out of 21,500 dogs. France, Germany and Italy – providing a total of more than 1,500 competitors – were the most prolific but there were also hounds from South Korea, Brazil, Thailand and the US.
Crufts Judge On Poisoning Allegations- 'We Don't Harm Dogs'
The Best in Show title this year was handed to a Scottish Terrier called Knopa, bred in the US and with Russian owners. It’s hotly denied but some British breeders believe the newcomers are getting preferential treatment as organisers try to extend the annual event’s global appeal.
Pampering is part of the game but two years ago Crufts relaxed a ban on the use of hairspray and other products, including fine chalk, to enhance dogs’ coats.
They’re tricks used extensively abroad, whereas British owners have traditionally relied on water alone. Campaigners against the former ban said it was akin to requiring would-be Miss Worlds to compete without make-up.
Then there’s the slow clapping by spectators when dogs are in the ring, another trend that’s crept in from the Continent.
Purists insist it’s distracting. However supporters of Crufts becoming the canine equivalent of the World Cup insist that the foreign invasion has helped raise the bar.
One owner says: “The best dogs always win, irrespective of where they come from, but you do get some xenophobia. The people I’ve met from overseas have been charming and at the end of the day we’re all dog lovers.”
The Kennel Club, which can slap lifetime bans on anyone bringing the name of Crufts into disrepute, is determined to keep the competition clean.
Kennel Club secretary Caroline Kisko says: “So-called dirty tricks which involve sabotaging other competitors are certainly not in the spirit of competition and something that will not be tolerated, particularly if a dog’s welfare is put at risk.”
One of the joys of watching Crufts is the sight of a cherished dog bounding into its owner’s arms after the business of judging is over. However, most people are unaware that some ambitious breeders now employ costly professional handlers for the show ring.
This tactic has attracted criticism, while there have also been calls for Crufts to be scrapped altogether. It’s claimed the obsession with appearance causes genetic defects to be bred into pedigree dogs.
Some desperate breeders are even said to have resorted to putting hopefuls under the surgeon’s knife to give nature a bit of a helping hand. It appears that when it comes to seeing off your rivals at Crufts it really is a dog-eat-dog world.
