robertafleck: French Bulldogs - from nose to... er...

Yep, no tail.. it's a clear risk for spinal/anal issues and yet Frenchies with no tails continue to be rewarded in the show-ring.

And so do those with no noses.. just look at this:

A dog with such stenotic nostrils should be penalised. But what did this judge do at Windsor Championship Dog Show this weekend?

Breed specialist Jim Peach (Rosdyke)

Why, he gave the dog the Dog CC - and Best of Breed. Meet Ch Renuar New War Bonnet, one of the UK's current top Frenchies. Like many of the Frenchies at Windsor, he was not comfortable in the summer sun.

Last autumn, the Kennel Club announced that French Bulldogs were to be downgraded from a Category 3 breed (those that are subject to vet checks at champ shows) to a Category 2 breed which is not vet-checked. (See blog here)

As I wrote at the time, this had nothing to do with the fact that Frenchie health had improved - it was some kind of misplaced reward for the French Bulldog Club appearing to be proactive on health issues. A Frenchie farce.

Because it's all about appearance for the Kennel Club. Always has been and always will be. And, really, it's not good enough.

Here are some more pix of the Frenchies at Windsor. The first three are of Geoff Corish's bitch Ch Boule and Onuba Zinderella at Sealaw who has featured on this blog before. Her noisy breathing was really evident at Windsor. Despite this, she still got placed - 4th in Open Bitch (a class of 10).

No tail

And the other end of the bitch above...what's with the flat skull?

Best Puppy- slightly better nostrils but struggling in the heat - Chelmbull Rumour Has It

And a reminder of what French Bulldogs used to look like before the show-ring got too great a hold of 'em.

They used to have tails, too.

If you feel as strongly about this as I do, please help keep the pressure on by emailing the following asking for stronger action. It makes a difference - it really does.

• Kennel Club Chairman, Steve Dean - steve.dean@thekennelclub.org.uk

• KC Breed Health Co-Ordinator Penny Rankine-Parsons: honsecfbce@aol.com

I don't have an email for judge Jim Peach. But here's his snail-mail address:

Bankend Cottage

Boston Road

Gosberton

Spalding

Lincs

PE11 4NN

As ever, please keep it polite - it gives them less excuse to dismiss it.