Breedist...

[Happylittlegreensquirrel]

Pets As Therapy recently ran a 'PAT Dog of The Year' competition, which I thought I would enter Tess into just for fun. However, when I made further enquiries I was told that only KC registered dogs were eligible to enter.

 

I thought this was an absolute disgrace, not to mention a complete slap in the face to all the people and non-pedigree dogs that give up their free time to represent the charity. When I relayed this to them I was told the reasoning behind it was due to the fact that the dogs would be going to Crufts, so they had to be of ' Crufts standard'.

 

 

 

good grief thats so insulting and not in the spirt of PAT dogs surely

 

 

 

 

[celeste]

Just this summer I got a poll through the post from the Duchess asking for support to include Staffie crosses in the type of dog Scottish Staffie Rescue would help, some of the committee thought they weren't worth bothering with as they weren't "pure " .......twats

[Karen]

Pets As Therapy recently ran a 'PAT Dog of The Year' competition, which I thought I would enter Tess into just for fun. However, when I made further enquiries I was told that only KC registered dogs were eligible to enter.

 

That's shocking! Surely some of the dogs in the activity events at Crufts aren't pure bred?

[lil_angel]

That is totally shocking would never have expected that. Not all dogs who compete in the flyball or the KC Good Citizen displays at Crufts are pedigrees.

[BillyMalc]

Kiera is KC registered! Had to register her to be able to compete with her in agility, so now she is "It's Kiera Innit"! I love it how they have to read that out between the "Midsummer Night's Sky Full of Stars Doolally" kind of names

So Kiera, a mutt of unknown parentage, with ears the size of a donkey's, is for all intends and purposes, of Crufts standard!! (insert dripping sarcasm here! ). Cost me all of £12 to achieve that, heheheh....

[blackmagic]

perhaps you should point out that there a hundreds of non pedigrees who attend Crufts every year.

 

Hearing Dogs for the Deaf demonstrate with crossbreeds, agility dogs, flyball dogs, obedience dogs to name a few. In fact the dogs in three latter categories will all be KC registered, on the working register

 

I would point out that they are giving the impression to the public that only 'Crufts standard' dogs can be PAT dogs.

 

I think I would also be inclined to also advise the Kennel Club, who I am sure would not support their view.

 

perhaps you should point out that there a hundreds of non pedigrees who attend Crufts every year.

 

Hearing Dogs for the Deaf demonstrate with crossbreeds, agility dogs, flyball dogs, obedience dogs to name a few. In fact the dogs in three latter categories will all be KC registered, on the working register

 

I would point out that they are giving the impression to the public that only 'Crufts standard' dogs can be PAT dogs.

 

I think I would also be inclined to also advise the Kennel Club, who I am sure would not support their view.

[BillyMalc]

The KC will support their view, because it lines their pockets

 

But I understand that Tess would have to be KC registered, not registered as being of a certain breed - Kiera sure as 'L' ain't! Sparky's KC registered as well, he has to be if I want to take him along to shows, even if he's not competing. I think it's kind of a safe guard that, if anything happens, they have proof of which dog was involved and whose owner was responsible for what. Basically, any dog, whose owner can be asked to fill out a form, pick a fancy name and pay the KC £12, will have a dog of Crufts standard - if that is what they mean I can see Crufts standard meaning registered, for the same reason as that both my mutts had to be registered, so that they would have some sort of accountability in place should anything go awry - which, in a big hall with over 1000 dogs, is not unreasonable. All the dogs you see doing agility (and I'd presume flyball) at Crufts will be KC registered; on the agility or flyball register, NOT on a breed register. Sparky's registered on the companion dog register - as "Sparky Flies For Pancake"! (Shout "pancake" at Sparky and prepare to get headbutted! )

[blackmagic]

from tth PAT website

 

 

 

All Pets As Therapy dogs and cats are required to pass an assessment to check their temperament by Pets As Therapy accredited assessors or qualified vets, be fully vaccinated, wormed and protected against fleas. Records are required by the charity and each volunteer is bound to send copies when boosters have been given

 

Each Pets As Therapy dog has an identifying tag on its collar and many of them wear a distinctive yellow coat. The owner has a photo ID badge which is worn for security at all times when visiting. Pets As Therapy have introduced a photo ID tag for its Pets As Therapy Dogs & Cats as well.

 

I think that makes a dog more reliable and more accountable than any KC registration does. Any dog of any temperament can be KC registered.

 

If a dog is suitable for visiting as a PAT dog, then surely it is more than suitable to attend a place like crufts.

[BillyMalc]

from tth PAT website

 

 

 

All Pets As Therapy dogs and cats are required to pass an assessment to check their temperament by Pets As Therapy accredited assessors or qualified vets, be fully vaccinated, wormed and protected against fleas. Records are required by the charity and each volunteer is bound to send copies when boosters have been given

 

Each Pets As Therapy dog has an identifying tag on its collar and many of them wear a distinctive yellow coat. The owner has a photo ID badge which is worn for security at all times when visiting. Pets As Therapy have introduced a photo ID tag for its Pets As Therapy Dogs & Cats as well.

 

I think that makes a dog more reliable and more accountable than any KC registration does. Any dog of any temperament can be KC registered.

 

If a dog is suitable for visiting as a PAT dog, then surely it is more than suitable to attend a place like crufts.

 

Totally agree with you there, what I meant to say is that, although they require a dog to be KC registered, it doesn't mean that they would have to be breed registered, giving my 2 hooligans as examples of dogs who are KC registered while being of totally unknown descent And I tried to explain why they had to be registered for agility purposes, as a kind of safety guard, if you will. Maybe they just operate a 'one size fits all' policy.

What I was trying to say is that it would be easy to register Tess with the KC and not miss out

[blackmagic]

I agree, but i suspect the PAT people concerned don't know about the working register.

 

I do think it is breedist as in purebred.

 

 

 

p.s. I would love to see their faces if they were meaning purebred and a crossbreed owner produced a KC registration.

Edited November 30, 2010 by blackmagic

[cycas]

I agree, but i suspect the PAT people concerned don't know about the working register.

 

I do think it is breedist as in purebred.

 

p.s. I would love to see their faces if they were meaning purebred and a crossbreed owner produced a KC registration.

 

Yeah, surely if they just meant 'has a KC registration' then when Laura contacted them to say, Oi! then surely they would have come back with a message to say 'no any dog can be registered' and give a link?

 

Of course, could be that it's one of these left hand doesnt' know what the right is doing situations...

[BillyMalc]

Just had a look on the KC website, have to say it's not that user friendly but hey ho. Anyway, they've got 21 different forms for dog registration - but why on earth have they got a separate form for registering Border Collies?? - with the last one being 'Companion Dog'.

Basically, I'd just phone PAT central and ask exactly what KC registration they want your dog to have. I so doubt it that they'd want to only have purebred dogs, there are plenty of PAT dogs that aren't of a specific breed.

[blackmagic]

the Border Collie form is for those bc'c where both parents are not on the breed register so the dog cannot be registered in the normal way.

 

but where the dog

 

Is already registered with the ISDS

or

Has both parents registered with the ISDS

or

Has the dam registered with the ISDS and the sire with the Kennel Club

These dogs can be given KC registration because the ISDS register provides a fully traceable 'pedigree'.

 

Some collies are ISDS registered only and known as 'working sheepdogs'

 

Some are KC registered as Border Collies

 

and some are both ISDS and KC registered.

 

http://www.isds.org.uk/

 

The Companion dog registration is for the KC Companion Dog Club

 

The Companion Dog Register:

 

The Companion Dog Club is open to any dog – purebred or crossbreed puppy or older dog, or a rescue dog and is a great way to become part of the dog world and celebrate the company of dogs with others.

 

When you join the Companion Dog Club you will receive a personalised certificate and access to an online section of our website with monthly updates, competitions and special offers. There is also a gallery of your canine pals and more. Members can also participate in exclusive Companion Dog Club classes at Companion Dog Shows taking place throughout the UK, not to mention our grand finale at Discover Dogs each year. You can join at www.thekennelclub.org.uk/companiondogclub or call for an application form on 0844 4633 980.

[BillyMalc]

How to make things more simple eh? And why on earth just for BC's or do they not want to start on other breeds for fear of ending up with 1000's of different forms?

[Laura_E]

I would point out that they are giving the impression to the public that only 'Crufts standard' dogs can be PAT dogs.

 

 

So far I haven't come across any other PAT dogs that are mutts. Not to say they don't exist (I sincerely hope that Tess isn't the only one flying the flag for mongrels!), but if the forum and Yahoo group is anything to go by, 90% of them are Toy Poodles and the other 10% seems to be made up with Spaniels and Leonbergers!

 

All of the heats for the competition were being held by championship clubs- which clearly stipulated that dogs had to be pedigree. To be honest, I only made the initial enquiries in the first place because I thought that it would be something fun to go along to, I didn't realise it was a competitive show and quickly lost interest when I discovered that it was. I have no desire to run around the ring like a lunatic, whilst casting a critical eye on the competition. I'm a strong believer that dog shows should be fun, but having seen how some people treat them (like a life or death scenario) I'm quite happy to stick to companion shows (although you do still get some serious ones at those as well).

 

Earlier this year I ran a stall for the Oldies Club at what I thought was a 'fun show'. However, as the dogs started to get wheeled in by the trolley load, I realised I'd made a huge mistake. I've said it before and I'll say it again, the only thing more inbred than those poor dogs, were the owners! I've never seen such a carry-on, and not a sense of humor amongst the lot of them.

 

I'm not saying that all serious competitors are like that, but it was enough to put me off going to any other shows that might attract a similar crowd.