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Originally Posted by QuickSilver  Yes, you are right, because I do disagree with a lot of it. Explaining my position on that would take way too much time, but to me, just saying "it's the standard" is not meaningful. In what area of our lives do we decide to do things the way we did them 100 years ago, just because? I'm sure there are some things that aren't coming to me, but especially our understanding of animal behavior and our standards of what's humane (to all creatures, including ourselves) has changed SO much over the last century, why cling to it here?
Again, whether PETA says this or that is irrelevant. You can disagree with 99% of what PETA says, and agree with 1% of it. BTW, I have read a fair amount on PETA. Don't worry, I'm not a member. 
Also, just because a dog can function without a body part doesn't mean it's not necessary. A three legged dog can run just fine, but it doesn't mean three is as as good as four. |
Standard has changed over the years, but it should change slowly, and not bend to what's the new popular trend. Some breeders seem to want to keep up with trends, and this has proved to be disastrous to other breeds. The Yorkshire Terrier breed's standard seems to be changing very slowly, and the YTCA which is the mother club is often criticized for not accepting new trends or colors fast enough, but until something has been thoroughly tested for safety the breeding of a particular trait should be discouraged. For example, breeding for the recessive gene that gives the parti color, we know that there are certain health risks with breeding for the recessive gene; many syndromes attach themselves to the recessive gene, it takes a lot of time to know if this is truly safe. Another example might be breeding excessively small noses or flat faces that could ultimately interfere with breathing, and the health of the dog. Standard isn't just an arbitrary thing, it's what sets one breed apart from the others. Few breeders actually pay that much attention to standard, and in 100 years a dog could be a full purebred yorkie, but have the kinky hair look of a poodle, long ears, and so on, and yet be sold as a pure registered AKC Yorkshire Terrier. I mean this is being done today, but most of the time we can see a
LITTLE yorkie in the dog; in 100 years . . . I wonder? If you truly love the Yorkshire terrier breed, you should also want to protect the standard, and those breeders who breed to standard.