Thanks Marianne, interesting she's not listed on their site as a current member of staff!  I see she's married to one of the Directors.

Having a member of staff 'spouting off' must be a double edged sword for the practice they work for... 

In saying that though, according to Pete the Vet facebook/twitter (whatever it was) there was a lot of agreement from other vets to her comments.....if that is the case then it is truly disturbing.

It could be but yet again alot of people could be from a small group and so that comment should be taken with pinch of salt and the poetic licence I think it is written in :-)

There's a long article in DW about it, few good points there such as people now breeding designer crosses and selling them for up to £2000 each. http://www.dogworld.co.uk/News/39-Front-Cover-%281%29

Thats because she married her third husband and went to Yorkshire with him.....

Third!!

Two questions many more but haven't got much time can somebody tell me crossing will mean better socialised dogs and all you people who show labradors dogs do you have to go the the vets to give them a brain transplant ??

Ok one more how can permanent marking puppies help stop puppy farms ?

Oh yes , Joe Inglis No 1. then Jamie , then Mark

http://www.mirror.co.uk/advice/money/2002/06/26/celebrity-money-emma-never-vets-her-cash-115875-11981897/

> Ok one more how can permanent marking puppies help stop puppy farms ?

It would make dogs traceable back to who bred them, so puppy farmers activities, output would become more evident.  At present if they don't use any registration who can say how many puppies are bred and sold.

The puppies get KC registered so not sure how the numbers can become more visible ?

> The puppies get KC registered

Very few Puppy farmed puppies are KC registered.  I believe somewhere the KC published that 90% of litters registered with the KC were by people registering one or less litters a year, or it may be that 90% of those registering litters with KC breed one or fewer litters a year.

When you have Puppy farms licensed for 200 breeding bitches that is someone breeding more litters a year than a reputable person devoted to their breed may breed in a lifetime in dogs.

Ok but this is down to going back to the dog licence which we all agree didn't work ?

not really it's a one off, permanent identifcation.

Yes but how are they going to make people do it ? :-)

That is the question, at present puppies sold though pet shops are required to have a collar with the breeders details, but it isn't done or enforced.

Exactly so instead coming up with 'simple' but unlikey to be enforceable suggestions then they should be coming up with things that would help with change which is not an easy task but would be more constructive with getting people on board :-)

I had to check the calendar after reading this but nope it's not April the 1st - what could have got an eminent body of folk like the BVA in such a tizz that they allow someone like Ms Goodman Milne to share her usual nonsensical rantings at their conference and then run around like headless chickens frantically trying to think of something placating to say on PDE 2 ......come on now, neither Ms Milne or Ms Harrison have exactly achieved anything of note in ANY area of the dog world -they appear to exist soley to produce sound bites that will make good headlines and keep them in the public eye -a prime case of 'Emperors New Clothes if ever there was one ! ...... does anyone really believe that showing is 'Human entertainment at the expense of animals'- any more than working with gun dogs is ? ...or Agility....or Schutzhund ..or indeed simply having the dog in your home as a pet ! ....Ms Milne tells the conference that show breeders value phenotype over temperament and health ...what rubbish - every breeder I know breeds with all three in mind ...we do after all have to live with results of what we breed !!!...but never mind - her pronouncements fit nicely with the current show bashing trend .. shame on the BVA for allowing such a predjudiced viewpoint and thus giving it credibility.... .and what about this from Sheila Crispin...... "Ruth Barbour said when I first joined the KC committee which was looking at changing the conformation of breeds, that most breeders weren't readers of the Guardian or the Times. And she was probably right. "We have to make things as simple as possible in terms of showing them what they are doing is so wrong, because quite often they don't know. Showing has gone in a funny direction " ....how incredibly patronising ! ....- the fact is that rescue kennels are not full of dogs bred by show breeders despite the so called 'funny direction' they were bred in but they are pretty well stocked with those working Border collies, Labs and Spaniels that Ms Crispin thinks we all should be breeding - just WHO is getting it right ? ....

Yvonne

> shame on the BVA for allowing such a predjudiced viewpoint and thus giving it credibility....

I am not sure that booking her gives any credibility to her particular view point. Look at some of the people that have been invited to speak at Oxford University! 
This was a debate.  It would be a pretty lame one if you did not have opposing viewpoints represented :)   

the letter here: http://www.ourdogs.co.uk/Letterstotheeditor.php?pageNum_Recordset1=10&totalRows_Recordset1=36 entitled change of heart is heartening and shows how preconceptions occur and fortunately for this person have changed.