Quote:
Originally Posted by Halibut
Okay, but what about grooming? Is there outrage about making dogs stand for long periods of time in order to shave their fur into fancy clumps and lumps? What about the entire show dog/cat industry? Hauling animals around, sometimes cross country, putting them in crates for hours at benched shows, making them "perform" for judges and audiences? Not to mention selective breeding/eugenics to develop specific physical characteristics that may, in the long run, be injurious to the breed.
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Actually, a good groomer never takes hours, even for the fancy cuts. As to showing dogs and cats, some critters love it. I had one Afghan who would bounce with joy every time I loaded the portable crate into the car. She knew she got to prance around and look pretty. I had another dog that hated it. I took him to two shows and that was it. If a dog doesn't like to be shown, it is patently clear in the ring and I've heard more than one judge recommend that the dog not be shown again -- it's just too miserable. I won't comment about benched shows since I totally agree with you -- no animal should be in a cage for that long.
Selective breeding is what it is. It has caused a lot of issues for a lot of breeds -- hip dysplasia, proclivity to bone spurs; aggressiveness; shyness. If purchasers would insist on getting complete breeding records and refusing to purchase a dog that has a lot of inbreeding, it would help. Sadly, you can't stop inbreeding programs any more than you can stop puppy mills unless someone has the courage to truly change and enforce laws. They are both obscenities.
Hauling a dog around is no big thing to my mind. Some dogs love to travel, some don't. If they don't, everyone is going to be miserable and, ultimately, the dog will not be shown.
What I hate more than anything is how some animals have to be physically altered (ears and tails docked). You'll never convince me that this didn't create great pain. Sadly, in the show world, it is necessary to achieve the "look". So, until there is a total change in mindset, show dogs are going to be tortured when young. Not sure what the excuse is for pet-quality dogs. One of the prettiest dogs I ever saw was a dobie that totally natural -- cute floppy ears, happy tail. He was such a sweet and happy boy.
Go to a few dog shows. You'll see that most of the dogs there are happy. They love to prance around the ring; they love when they win; they're happy guys and gals. The ones that aren't quickly quit being shown -- gait in the ring is a big thing and an unhappy dog just doesn't move right and, thus, doesn't place, let alone win.
And, now, back to the subject at hand. The dog is going to have to stand while the dye job dries. Unlike blowing dry a dog who has just been groomed, they're going to have to make sure the coat dries evenly and that the dog doesn't lie down until dry. So, much longer standing periods, plus longer standing period while the dye is applied. So, I still feel that dying this poor dog pink head to toe is wrong.