Comments on: The Dog Illuminati http://www.astraean.com/borderwars/2009/04/dog-illuminati.html A Border Collie Manifesto Tue, 07 Feb 2012 21:21:20 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Christopher http://www.astraean.com/borderwars/2009/04/dog-illuminati.html#comment-3564 Christopher Mon, 15 Mar 2010 05:57:06 +0000 http://astraean.com/borderwars/2009/04/the-dog-illuminati.html#comment-3564 I've written this before, but there are two basic types of distortion that the show community carries out on dogs: the intentional (furnishings) and the unintentional (brain squishing skulls). I think it's worth talking about both, because the later often happens as the result of the former. The GSDs didn't get crippled rear ends accidentally, it started because the look of a roached back was popular, then later it got to the point where there was no recourse... don't think anyone really thinks that tucked in hocks and wobbly walking is aesthetic... but it's all there is. This is not the first time in history that we have fetishized inbred disease. The lisping of Castilian Spanish is a good example. While this is a touchy issue among some native speakers, their rebuttal doesn't really disprove the story that the "lisp" is caused by the inbred Hapsburg lipped King Ferdinand. I’ve written this before, but there are two basic types of distortion that the show community carries out on dogs: the intentional (furnishings) and the unintentional (brain squishing skulls).

I think it’s worth talking about both, because the later often happens as the result of the former. The GSDs didn’t get crippled rear ends accidentally, it started because the look of a roached back was popular, then later it got to the point where there was no recourse… don’t think anyone really thinks that tucked in hocks and wobbly walking is aesthetic… but it’s all there is.

This is not the first time in history that we have fetishized inbred disease. The lisping of Castilian Spanish is a good example. While this is a touchy issue among some native speakers, their rebuttal doesn’t really disprove the story that the “lisp” is caused by the inbred Hapsburg lipped King Ferdinand.

]]> By: Edward Diggs http://www.astraean.com/borderwars/2009/04/dog-illuminati.html#comment-3563 Edward Diggs Mon, 15 Mar 2010 05:13:44 +0000 http://astraean.com/borderwars/2009/04/the-dog-illuminati.html#comment-3563 I watched Pedigree Dogs Exposed. I thought it was interesting and in some ways I found it informative. After I watched the documentory I read some critisisms. Specifically the documentory exagorated the frequency of a certain breed of dog having too small of a skull. I also suspect that the documentory was edited to be as impactful as possible instead of being focused on demonstating the truth as accurately as possible. But personally if I had been in chage of the documentory I would have focused more on him displacia in German Shepards and I don't think I would have bothered pointing out how ugly furnishing is on a dog. The portions of the video that focused on dog health seemed more relavent to me than the parts that argued that dog shows are really "mutant freak shows." I watched Pedigree Dogs Exposed. I thought it was interesting and in some ways I found it informative.

After I watched the documentory I read some critisisms. Specifically the documentory exagorated the frequency of a certain breed of dog having too small of a skull. I also suspect that the documentory was edited to be as impactful as possible instead of being focused on demonstating the truth as accurately as possible.

But personally if I had been in chage of the documentory I would have focused more on him displacia in German Shepards and I don’t think I would have bothered pointing out how ugly furnishing is on a dog. The portions of the video that focused on dog health seemed more relavent to me than the parts that argued that dog shows are really “mutant freak shows.”

]]>