Exclusive: worrying affliction evident at Cruft's 2013

It's called Obsessive Grooming Disorder.

Apparently these are dogs.

I spent some time ringside at the Pekes and saw fewer gasping guppies this year than in the past. Compared to the likes of Danny, who won Crufts in 2003 despite waddling into the ring clearly fighting for oxygen (and this despite surgery to address his brachycephalic airway syndrome), this is an improvement.  The continued highlighting of breathing problems in brachycephalic breeds by me, the vets and others has undoubtedly made dogs that are struggling to breathe much less acceptable to everyone. We have better-informed judges, breeders and public and I honestly believe that dogs like Danny could not win today.

Danny the Peke - Crufts Best in Show 2003. 

But let's not get carried away here. There is still w-a-y too much coat and the breed standard still demands "a rolling gait" - an abnormality that has been deliberately selected for and why most of them move so v-e-r-y slowly. Indeed, I saw more sprightly, less profusely-coated Pekes get thrown out at Cruft's this year.

And the Best of Breed dog, while not showing any signs of respiratory distress, still had very narrow nares and the slightly-squiff eyes commonly seen in flat-faced breeds with shallow eye sockets.

If you have ever toyed with the idea of getting a Peke, please buy a Tibetan Spaniel instead. Enjoyed seeing these at Cruft's this year. What a Peke should be.

Indeed, pretty much what a Peke used to be.

1910 Peke - Ch Broadoak Beetle - sourced from Pietoro's Dog Breeds Historical Pictures

Above and below: Tibetan Spaniels @ Crufts 2013