Well, I hope they aren't giving dogs silicone injections at the very least!

Great topic and info. I was on the sofa watching the dog show and feeling bad because my bichon isn't as snowy white as the one in the dog show.

Tinalove, please show pictures of your Bichon Frise, I lost my Missy, Bichon Frise in August of 2010 at the age of 12. I miss her every day, Keno my giant yorkie has helped me so much with my grief. He makes me smile and laugh every day. Bichon's are wonderful pets and one of my favorite breeds.

Yes. They are beauty pagents for dogs and just like the human kind...there's alot of "beauty aids" used to enhance what they have. The difference is...people (other than lil kids...but that's a whole other convo...) chose it and dogs don't have a choice.

There's alot of controversy involving dog shows and breed standards. Crufts kicked dogs out this year for being unhealthy. Too many people breeding for rediculous looks and not breeding HEALTHY dogs.

I went to a dog show in Detroit a few weeks ago. A yorkie that won one show I watched, looked like a bug-eyed chihuahua. How that reflects the yorkie breed standard I have no clue. But certain "looks" seem to trend.

You are correct, Certain looks do trend. That is the way it has always been. I only showed Standard Poodles, but have owned other show dogs, usually thru a partnership and each breed seems to have "LOOKS" trends thru out the years. I see alot of breeding for a certain look and little or no regard for health issues. Money talks I guess.

IMO, those do not compare to what I am takling about in this thread. Using those things are not considered as "cheating". Now, had you said what if male (in DRAG) won a female beauty pageant, then I think there would be some comparison. I am not talking about "legal" enhancements. I am talking about breaking rules and cheating in dog shows - which is what people are doing if they are altering the looks & features of their dogs, just so that the dog can be considered within breed standards.

[QUOTE=KazzyK810;3857783]Yes. They are beauty pagents for dogs and just like the human kind...there's alot of "beauty aids" used to enhance what they have. The difference is...people (other than lil kids...but that's a whole other convo...) chose it and dogs don't have a choice.

There's alot of controversy involving dog shows and breed standards. Crufts kicked dogs out this year for being unhealthy. Too many people breeding for rediculous looks and not breeding HEALTHY dogs.

I went to a dog show in Detroit a few weeks ago. A yorkie that won one show I watched, looked like a bug-eyed chihuahua. How that reflects the yorkie breed standard I have no clue. But certain "looks" seem to trend.[/QUOTE]


Exactly, I have seen so many dogs that look like this and they look HORRIBLE!!! They look as if they are 80 years old - and very frail. You're right - since when is this the standard?

As I said I have never shown a dog myself but I have attended several shows with friends and family. I did, in the past, show Himalayan cats. At that time the breed had a small nose but that was not good enough. People wanted a "small" nose so the breeders had to go to the extreme to an almost no nose look. The Siamese people decided they did not like the apple head look and decided to make the head so angled it was beyond freakish.

I have seen this sort of thing happen in the dog world as well. The Collie was once a beautiful dog but now they have make the head so extreme that it has caused some serious health issues. Anytime breeders decide to go for the extreme and judges go along with the trend there are going to be problems in the breed because so much line/in breeding has to be done to accomplish the changes.

Yes, there a lot of tricks going on. It is a very political and competitive world. Many of the dogs that you see in the Westminster dog show have been being show from one end of the country to the other for more than a year by professional handlers. If those dogs have a home they may not have seen it in a very long time. Dogs at that level are sometimes owned by several people and are a kind of sport for the owners. It takes a lot of money to get to that level. It's big financial investment and no one likes to lose on their investment.

GracieLove, I can see where you're coming from. It all just caught me off guard. I never would have though that those things went on. I thought people had a little more integrity than that. Well, I think I have the best Chihuahua and the best Yorkie in the WORLD!!!! Their imperfections are what make them special.