Pekes - some progress?

Danny the Peke

We gave Pekes a hard time in Pedigree Dogs Exposed, mainly on account of the 2003 Crufts winner looking like a Tribble. Ah, and the fact that the dog had needed a soft palate resection the year before in order to breathe and was so prone to overheating that he had to sit on an icepack when it was warm - in common, indeed, with many Pekes.

After the film, the Pekingese was the breed that the Kennel Club was the first to act on. It changed the breed standard in order to encourage breeders to return the dog to something more like the Pekes of old - ie, less coat and more muzzle.

A Tribble

There has been a mixed response.  While many accept that the breed's health does need to improve, many fought hard to retain the description of the breed's "rolling gait" in the breed standard (in fact a side effect of being achondroplastic - a dwarf) and some diehards refuse to accept that the breathing problems in the dog are to do with the Peke's very flat face.  The Peke Clubs, then, have decided to help fund research to find a gene for Bracychephalic Airway Syndrome.

100 years ago... a Peke from 1911

Sigh.

Now it is certainly true that some Pekes with very flat faces can breathe much better than others. But that is surely due to the variation in the amount of bunched-up tissue inside blocking the airways - something that is never going to be controlled by a single gene for which a DNA test can be developed.

It is hard not to see this as a ridiculous time-and-money wasting exercise so hopefully it won't take too long for the researchers to conclude that this is not the way to go.

A much better initiative from the Peke clubs is a new health survey - UK based, but open to all Pekes, wherever on the planet they may be.  Here's a chance for Peke owners to really help the breed by establishing what the main health issues are.

If you have a Peke, please take a moment to fill in a simple online survey form here. 

And spread the word on the Peke lists and forums.

The survey closes February 15th, so be quick!