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Ch Akasha Banana Split passed a vet check yesterday to take Best of Breed. As you can see, she has marked ectropion (the drooping of the lower eyelids). This is abnormal eye anatomy and it makes her eyes vulnerable to a host of painful problems. But if they weren't obviously sore on the day, the rules state that the vet has to pass her.
Same goes for the stupidly-long ear leathers, which make her ears prone to yeast and bacterial infections. And then there's all that gross and entirely unnecessary extra skin which flobs around as she moves.
Show breeders think this is a
good thing, a desirable breed feature. They claim it prevents the dogs getting snagged when working in dense cover - despite the fact that a) the dogs that actually work have never had this much skin and (b) when this amount of skin is concertina'd on to the show Basset's short, chondroplastic legs, it clearly hinders the dogs' movement.
But the show vets are not allowed to disqualify a dog for exaggerated features. Which means, essentially, that for all the fine talk it's business as usual when it comes to the Bassets at Crufts this year.
More pix - and a list of this Italian dog's extensive show wins -
here.
And just to remind you what a proper Basset Hound looks like, here are some new pictures of the working
Albany Bassets - which the show breeders think are mongrels.
Note, btw, that although the Albany hounds still have large ears, they are very different from the floppy, flabby appendages on the show Bassets. The Albanys can lift/move their ears more normally, allowing vital air flow into the ear chamber. This helps reduce the risk of infection.
