Pugs are anatomical disasters. Vets must speak out – even if it’s bad for business

[Independent voter]

I've always heard this, pugs have a lot of problems due to how they are bread. Are they ethical?





https://www.theguardian.com/commenti...n-bad-business

I still remember when I was introduced to the concept of a “brachycephalic” (squashed-nosed) dog as a veterinary student. We were having our first anatomy lectures on the skull and the lecturer put up various slides (yes, slides – that’s how long ago I trained to be a vet) showing x-ray images of dogs’ heads. Various different-sized ones went up – a collie, a jack russell, a beagle and then suddenly an extraordinary image of a skull with a crushed nose and distended forehead. “What is wrong with this patient?” our lecturer asked. “Has it been hit by a car?” The students responded. “Has it been kicked? Is there a birth defect?” None of these was right, of course, because the lecturer had been waiting to give his punchline. “You are all wrong. It’s just a pug”.
Vets ask prospective dog owners to avoid pugs and other flat-faced breeds
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And there you have it, brachycephalic dogs (which include pugs, bulldogs, French bulldogs and shih tzus) are an anatomical disaster. Every structure that should make up the nose has been squashed flat. The only time these dogs are not in some degree of respiratory distress is when you have them intubated under anaesthetic.

I have seen it myself: a bulldog comes in panting away with blue-tinged gums (normal for the breed), I anaesthetise it and put the tube in and as if by magic it pinks up and breathes normally – presumably its body is overjoyed to actually be receiving enough oxygen for once. Breathing aside, most of these animals also have other genetic abnormalities that result in illness, from back problems to eye issues.

This week, the British Veterinary Association’s (BVA) recommendation to think twice before buying one of these dogs hit the headlines and suddenly people are talking about the issue. But if you had asked any practising vet in the past few years what they thought of brachycephalics they would have been as critical of these breeds as I am.

‘Breathing aside, most of these animals also have other genetic abnormalities that result in illness, from back problems to eye issues.’ Photograph: Alamy

In light of all this, the question has to be – why do vets not speak out more often? And therein lies the rub; the vast majority of us work in general practice and our income is based on mending people’s animals and getting paid for it, and, like it or not, a large number of those clients have brachycephalic dogs. In my practice alone we have a number of pug, shih tzu and bulldog breeders and dozens of owners with squashed-nosed pets.
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If I stood up and told the truth about these breeds I would immediately alienate them and they would up sticks and move to the neighbouring practice where the vet was not as outspoken. Vets in general practice simply cannot afford to be honest and to speak out. You would be hard-pushed to find a general practitioner who likes the concept of a brachycephalic dog but you would be equally hard-pushed to find one being openly critical of them because this would put their livelihood on the line.

So I am delighted that the BVA has come out with its headline-grabbing advice – at last we can talk about the subject a bit more openly (although not openly enough for me to put my name to this column). My colleagues often debate the ethics of being in a profession that, despite its better judgment, helps to perpetuate these anatomical abominations – maybe it is time for us to take a stand.

[Deleted]

Never heard about this specifically, but I do know that most breeds do tend to have certain elevated problems, because of the selective breeding. But this does seem rather negative.

[Smog]

Pugs, though sweet dogs, are absolute breeding trainwrecks. They can't breathe and their eyes can literally pop out of their heads.

[Gamdwelf]

Dog breeders are animal mutilators most of the time.

[Stormspark]

Pugs, though sweet dogs, are absolute breeding trainwrecks. They can't breathe and their eyes can literally pop out of their heads.

They're hideously ugly too. It's not the dog's fault and they shouldn't be made to suffer because of it, but people need to stop intentionally breeding things like this.

[the game]

we should stop breading them.

[TITAN308]

Like the previous poster said, all things aside, Pugs are some of the ugliest dogs I've ever seen. Not to mention every one I've been around is literally a heavy mouth breather and sounds like a nerd with a nasal problem. lol

- - - Updated - - -

Dog breeders are animal mutilators most of the time.

My Pembroke Welsh Corgi's come with docked tails. They don't seem to give a shit to be perfectly honest.

[Deleted]

I've always heard this, pugs have a lot of problems due to how they are bread. Are they ethical?

But they r so darn cute!

[Lollis]

The breeders and kennel clubs know all about this shit, and they promote it.

It is the same situation with the ridgeback, a breed for which if the puppies do not have the ridges on their back, the suggested course of action is to destroy them. What the fuck.

Bulldogs cannot give birth naturally. Spaniels have conjenital eye disorders. German shepherds lose their backlegs in old age.

Breeders of 'pedigree' dogs are vermin.

[Techno-Druid]

Make bulldogs great again #MBGA

No, but seriously, we should address this issue by taking it to the breeders themselves and the breed standards set by kennel clubs.

Dog breeds are entirely manmade, so its not like we can't just readily change the breed standards of bulldogs or pugs to our liking. You already have breeders trying to create a healthier breed of English bulldog by crossing them with American bulldogs, mastiffs and pitbulls.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olde_English_Bulldogge

[Leodok]

I thought this was going to be an angry post about LFR.

But yeah, I agree.
Breeding these "designed" dogs is kind of cruel, we should just let them mix with the other races.

That goes for a lot of other kinds of dogs as well.

[Miyagie]

WTF cute.....looks like the brainbug from Starship Troopers

Post of the day

[I Push Buttons]

I thought this was going to be an angry post about LFR.

But yeah, I agree.
Breeding these "designed" dogs is kind of cruel, we should just let them mix with the other races.

That goes for a lot of other kinds of dogs as well.

How would passing these incredibly flawed traits on to other breeds help?

Just make it illegal to breed them and they will go away eventually.

[TITAN308]

Breeders of 'pedigree' dogs are vermin.

The breeder I use for Corgi's is extremely professional and keeps up to date on all required medical information on the breed.

Bit of an over blanketed statement IMO.

Not all breeders are scrumbag puppy mills, but all puppy mills are scrumbag breeders.

[Static Transit]

The whole brachycephalic problem has been common knowledge for a while. Dogs like pugs tend to overheat easily, among having other problems. One contributor to this problem is backyard breeding. These backyard breeders are causing massive problems by churning out problem dogs that end up flooding shelters and such. That's why you should never buy from those kinds of people. If you're going to get a dog, get one from a shelter or from a respectable breeder. I feel like breeders get a bad rap, but any respectable breeder will keep track of genetic problems and breed them out. They make sure the dogs they breed are as healthy as they can be.

That being said, dogs like pugs are a terrible thing. The best we can do as individuals is to make sure to spay/neuter our pets. You can also participate in stuff like Operation Catnip, which spays and neuters cats. There are similar programs for dogs that you can volunteer for as well.

[ShadowofVashj]

I think I dislike pugs the most out of any dog species. They are ugly and smell bad.

[Deleted]

I like the doggie that was in that movie with richard gere, u'know, that fluffeh pooch in japan

[TITAN308]

I think I dislike pugs the most out of any dog species. They are ugly and smell bad.

I'm gonna vote for these guys:



They always get that pink gunk stain going on below their eyes and their fur is just a mess constantly.

They are like the ewok hobo's of the dog world.

[Beazy]

I had a Pug named Frank. He could show emotion in his face. Not many dogs can do that. He was the best damn dog on earth. I miss that little fucker. =o[

He did have breathing problems, and between his eyes, there are creases of skin where nasty goo would build up throughout the week and I had to put a towel in every crease to clean that filth out. It was hard to take care of a pug, but man its worth it.

[Independent voter]

The internet is full of pugs wearing costumes. A normal dog would thrash around and tear that stuff off. Pugs don't get enough oxygen to their brains to care.