Controversies abounded at Britain’s premier show this year

It’s been a week since Britain’s most distinguished dog show crowned its Best in Show winner, a Clumber Spaniel named Bruin. But turbulence over the show continues apace.

Regarding the Best in Show winner, pick your controversy. For starters, there’s the debate over whether he should have won at all, because of concerns that his eye showed excessive haw. Next came reports that the breeder-owner-handler, himself a judge, had been convicted decades ago for animal cruelty. Then, a petition started circulating — with more than 15,000 signatures at last count — to strip him of the win. Finally, a statement was issued by the Royal Kennel Club that the same dog’s 2024 breed win photo had been doctored — without its approval, by a freelance editor — to minimize the droop in his eyes.

The 2026 Crufts Best in Show winner, Clumber Spaniel Sh Ch Vanitonia Soloist. Photo: Crufts.

I could go on about the drama in other breeds, such as the German Shepherd that was deemed not fit for function after it had won Best of Breed and so was barred from entering the Pastoral Group ring. The kerfuffle that should interest Molosser lovers, however, involves a few unfortunate moments in the Dogue de Bordeaux ring that have fueled some internet lynch mobs.

But before we get to that, some overall perspective.

Just as no dog is perfect, no dog show is perfect, either. But the Crufts contentions are not just about that big British dog show or the Royal Kennel Club that oversees it: They are also about how much latitude European dog breeders have given the animal-rights crowd over an area — the breeding of purebred dogs — about which most have zero practical hands-on knowledge. Extremes don’t just happen in the whelping box: They also happen among people with an agenda. Today, because of this frenzy to micro-manage down to the millimeter of muzzle length, we have breeds being banned, dog shows being cancelled, and winners being scrutinized under a microscope.

Why should Molosser lovers care about a Sporting breed that is being raked over the coals? Well, it doesn’t take a great leap to see Molosser characteristics in the Clumber, from temperament to construction, as I wrote about in a story a few months ago. As Molosser lovers have learned all too well (Rottweiler docking in Germany, anyone?), capitulating to animal-rightist demands in one space is the slipperiest of slopes. Now virtually nowhere in Europe is it possible to crop and dock those breeds that for centuries have traditionally been so. And it all started with one breed in one country.

Before criticizing a breed as old and unique as the Clumber — or the Neo, or the Mastiff, or fill in the blank with your favorite Molosser — I would respectfully suggest that those armchair judges who have zero depth in the breeds they are opining on learn about the whole dog — not just its parts and pieces. Like any good judge, before passing judgment, you should have assessed the whole animal — which, in a coated breed like the Clumber, involves putting your hands on the dog. After that thorough exam, you may decide that the dog does indeed have problems, perhaps even bigger than its most visible fault. Or you may decide that the dog has so many other virtues that you are willing to accept its weaknesses in other areas. In the end, like all dog-show outcomes, it’s an opinion. But at least it’s an informed one.

Dogue Drama

Now, let’s get on to the Facebook post that concerns Molossers. It shows footage from the Dogue de Bordeaux ring of a handler in a blue pantsuit striking her dog as the class prepares to go around together.

"A handler treating a dog like this should have been immediately removed from the ring and banned from competing all over the world for at least a year!" wrote the bold-face-loving poster of the video (who is also a Dogue fancier — I have no idea if she has personal issues with the lady in blue). "Anything less sends a terrible message: that winning placements matters more than the welfare and dignity of the dog."

Now, let’s say this loud and clear: It’s never acceptable to hit a dog. Beyond that, it’s certainly not smart to do it in a forum as public as Crufts, where it inevitably will draw negative attention, as this incident very much did.

But there is context here, which the majority of pearl-clutchers seem to be dismissing.

Clearly, this is a young, headstrong male who has become fixated on the dog behind him. In fact, when the video starts, his head is already turned to his left and he is ignoring the food that the handler is trying to distract him with. As for that handler, who begins struggling the minute the group of dogs is asked to move together, she has the collar down too low, and the dog lowers his body and center of gravity, further inhibiting her ability to control him. The handler behind her is not helping matters; though he presumably sees her becoming overwhelmed, he advances with his dog, further triggering hers.

Yes, the handler in blue then hits her own dog with an open hand — presumably to snap him out of his hyperfocus on the dog behind.

In any situation, context matters. This handler clearly thought her dog was readying to go for the dog behind him, and she reacted — badly, to be sure, but who hasn’t done stupid things in moments of high stress? It’s obvious to me that she didn’t just whack her dog simply because she was annoyed that he was acting like a goober. She did it presumably to avoid a brutal dog fight, which likely would have happened if she lost her grip on that lead.

How do you stop a 140-pound dog from doing what he wants to do? The answer is: You don’t.

A favorite 19th-Century illustration: "The Old English Mastiff Club Show At The Crystal Palace,Taking a Photograph Under Difficulties," published in The Graphic in 1890.

We also don’t know what happened before this snippet of video. Do the dogs have a history? Did they engage previously, whether at this show or a previous one? Were there bitches in season, which can turbo-charge the machismo of males in the ring?

If you’re into apportioning blame, this scenario offers a candy store of them: The handler for not gaining control of her dog earlier, or, if that was not possible, for not excusing herself. The handler behind for escalating the situation by continuing to inch up while the other handler tried to regain control. And, possibly, the judge, who could have instructed the dogs to move further apart, strategically placing them so that this intensity could evaporate, or the stewards, who might have seen this percolating earlier and intervened if the judge’s focus was elsewhere.

Shoulda, woulda, coulda.

Blame Game

I do not know the rules at British dog shows for behavior that onlookers consider to be prejudicial to the sport. But had this happened in an AKC ring, it is likely a bench trial would have been called, witnesses brought forth, and a specific procedure followed so that a fair assessment could be arrived at. The handler might very well have been reprimanded, or even suspended for a period, but whatever the verdict, it would have reflected the totality of the situation — not simply immediate outrage from Monday-morning quarterbacks tapping away across the world on their phones and laptops.

Again, the handler reacted badly, but it’s clear to anyone who knows large Working dogs and can read their body language that her motivation was not frustration at the dog. Rather, it was a reflexive attempt to short-circuit a loss of control — and the bloodbath that could ensue. She was not, after all, showing a Bichon. As one poster on the Facebook page of a famous trainer critical of the incident asked, “What would you have done to stop him at that point?” Last I looked, she was still waiting for an answer.

Let’s end on a positive note, with this Dogue drama at least. In a breed that arguably can tip quite easily into hypertype, how nice to see a group of such sound, healthy dogs — and they are not even eligible to earn championship points in the U.K., despite years of showing. I sat and watched the entire Dogue entry when I attended Crufts the year before last, and I noted the same overall balance and soundness — both of mind and body. Kudos to their breeders, owners and handlers.

Above and below: Dogues de Bordeaux being judged by breed expert Anne-Marie Class of France at Crufts in 2024, with calmness and cameraderie. Photos: Denise Flaim.

As for the purebred-dog naysayers, most of the prominent muckrakers among them have never bred a litter, much less tried to breed successfully over decades. If they did, they might know how little they actually do know about that complicated endeavor. It’s easy to sit back and criticize. Roll up your sleeves, and after your rubber has met the road for four or five generations, see if you still hold the same opinions. They will, at the very least, finally be informed ones.