French bulldogs are designed and bred to have health problems. They should be verboten to breed at all, but that's not possible.
The nose is so short that they have breathing problems, also their teeth don't fit into the shorter snout, and the ears are getting infected more often because of ... geometrical changes for lack of a better word. Also the genetics that makes the tail so cute and small messes up the other vertebrae and leads to a higher incidence of issues with the spinal column. Which are expensive to treat, more expensive than buying a new puppy, usually.
> French bulldogs are designed and bred to have health problems. They should be verboten to breed at all, but that's not possible.
Well, to a certain extent all the AKC dogs have health problems. Even big dogs have stuff like hip dysplasia. Some breeds are healthier than others, but the most important bit is buying from an ethical breeder if you must get a pure bred. Sketchy breeding practices are what exacerbate the health issues in popular breeds.
I wouldn't even say "sketchy". The written "standard" and even the breeder's attitudes what makes a beautiful dog are the culprit, even when the breeders have high standards regarding health, genetics and welfare otherwise.
Genetically, people who breed by accident or intentionally without "proper breeding practice" at least don't breed their dogs to have health problems on purpose.
> Genetically, people who breed by accident or intentionally without "proper breeding practice" at least don't breed their dogs to have health problems on purpose.
The argument is even stronger than stated here: Mutts are on average much healthier than breed dogs. The life span of e.g. village dogs is higher on average than pretty much all breed dogs.
There can be big dogs with an acceptable risk of HD. But it takes an effort most breeding organizations don't want to take and the breeding standard usually works against that anyway.
Hard to say what the most healthy "breed" is, in general, even for me who actually studied this stuff. Even crossbreeds will inherit the problems from their ancestors, crossbreeding isn't inherently better. For most people I recommend going for a dog that is around the size of a Beagle, but even Beagles are bred to have shorter legs than "wild type".
Also beware of breeds who reportedly have fewer issues... sometimes it's just that there haven't been published studies to that effect and often because the sample sizes are too small.
You can screen out hip dysplasia genetically, but the fundamental breed standards for bracycephalic dogs mean they always have compromised respiration. There is no way to breed them that avoids it.
I generally agree. With the breeding standards of German Shepherds for example there will always be a tendency.
But also in general, I'd like to caution about overinterpreting the "x percent genetic" figures. They are computed for a particular population of individuals at a particular time. If a breeder's association then changes their guidelines to screen, for example, for HD, and they actually do a good job at it, that figure will go down, because the following generations will have fewer variation in the genes responsible for it.
Completely subjective. The final rating is the average of what three radiologists think about the joint conformation. And, it gets worse, some breeds are rated more harshly that others. For instance, a GSD with an ok looking hip joint will get a “good” rating, but a white Swiss shepherd with the same hip would get a “fair” as OFA wants the WSS to have better hips, so they judge it differently. Also, they take age into consideration, so a 2yro dog will be judged more harshly than a 4yro.
We use PennHip, which measures the distraction in the joint, and uses it as a predictor of future health.
GSDs on average have a median rating (working from memory, numbers will be handwavy) of something like .5. Thd WSS is more like .4.
I’ve seen our kids come back with a pennhip rating of .28/.29, and a fair OFA rating.
We’ve stopped sending X-rays for Ofa hips as it doesn’t give us any actual information.
The Atlantic ran a great article a looong time ago (80s?) about how professional breeders were/are ruining dogs with health problems. Hip dysplasia is just an appetizer.
I absolutely adore French Bulldogs, but I would never buy or adopt one due to this. If they were more common and proven to be healthy, I might consider a mix, but getting a 'hype' dog has it's own ethical problems.
I think adoption is OK from an animal welfare standpoint. Just don't create extra demand and don't breed them. Of course, they may cause more medical expenses than others, so if you have a choice...
There has to be more genetically going on than physical dimensions alone. Boston terriers have almost identical dimensions, so much so they’re frequently mistaken for each other by people not familiar enough with either or both breeds, but don’t typically have such severe respiratory problems.
I mean I don’t generally recommend either breed unless someone is really prepared for the dog they’re signing up for—frenchies mostly for health factors, bosties mostly for the enormous energy commitment. But they’re very different breeds in a very similar exterior physical package, enough to confuse people very enamored with one or both.
It's called brachycephaly which means short head. Brachycephalic dogs have a shorter nose and face in general, which leads to most of the mentioned problems: Teeth, ears (Bulla) and problems getting air. Distinct from that is the "wedge vertebrae" problem (spine and curly tail). Yet distinct is the chondrodystrophy: Shorter, deformed legs. The latter is more pronounced in Dachshund or some other bulldog breeds.
Not sure if Boston terriers are that much better though. Don't have evidence in front of me.
The head needs to have certain things in it for the animal to ... live.
When you breed the head smaller, the same things still need to be in there, they'll just have less space.
Thus, breathing problems, brain literally not fitting in the skull, eyes bulging out...
Breeding dogs for looks and not for features is just plain stupid. It's like the dog world is stuck in the ye olde web times when we gave designers Flash and they went completely nuts with "user" "interfaces" which were neither usable nor could they be called interfaces.
There is someone trying to breed actually healthy French bulldogs, they're called "Hawbucks" if I recall. I suppose it will take some years to fully accomplish.
Their nose still looks quite short and the tail is still short and curly. Those genetics are fixed and hard or impossible to change without breeding in other breeds, which would ruin the "frenchiness" of it all.
In my opinion this breed should be abandoned. Too many problems to fix and the generations between now and the "fix" still have to live with them.
The bigger problem in the US is that dog owners are in general less educated about the relevant topics than in some other countries (like Germany). They will usually prefer to go to a breeder rather than adopt, and in terms of breeders they prefer cheap prices over other qualities of the breeder. I recently learned "Amish Puppy Mills" are a thing...
In Germany, people will usually go to a shelter first. But there are usually no dogs in a shelter suitable for the average dog owner (no extreme medical or behavioral problems, not too big, and "fighting" breeds can be a regulatory hassle). It's gotten so bad the shelters are screening applicants like job seekers. It's gotten so bad we import tens of thousands of "street dogs" from the mediterranean and Eastern Europe. Yes, also with plenty scammers. It got worse during the Covid years. And now all the "unsuitable" dogs get dumped in a shelter again.
"Adopt, don't shop" is very trendy in the US right now, and many shelters ran out of desirable dogs during COVID and had to ship dogs in from other states or even other countries. It seems very similar to what you describe in Germany, where desirable dogs get snapped up immediately and shelters end up being 90% pitbulls or pit mixes with behavioral issues.
.. by those "breed rescue" groups, which exist by fostering and adopting out shelter dogs which would get adopted anyway. They show up at the shelter first thing in the morning and take any of "their" breed.
I am a bit triggered by calling them a "amish" puppy mills. why not just call them puppy mills. of course they are run by amish, but they are also run by humans. So even if 90% of them are run by a amish, that does not mean that 90% of Amish people are running puppy mills. Does using ethnicity in this case adds to the definition?
Yes, it adds to the definition. The Amish seem to have particular incentives to breed dogs, as far as I understand it, breeding dogs is for them a profitable low tech business.
For other people it's much less commercially interesting, because you need the space, neighbors that don't complain, and some seclusion and privacy from animal welfare activists probably doesn't hurt either.
Small "-doodles" under 40 lbs fit nicely in NYC apartments. Not shedding and hypoallergenic makes these dogs ideal city pet. They are also very smart (inherited from poodles).
Possibly. Judging only by my own (heavily Asian) neighborhood, little white dogs gave way to (Goldens / Labs and -doodles). I can't even remember all the yellow Labs' names anymore.
Lovely maybe. Smart less so. Certainly not healthy. And being "energetic" is a problem when your legs are short and deformed, your spine and vertebrae are deformed and you can hardly get enough air to run for longer distance.
My chihuahua-pit mix loves people, and gets excited about other dogs just to try to get people introductions started. Once she’s met the other dog she loses interest and just wants to hang out and see how the humans get along. She’s clever, because she knows I don’t much like random people but she knows I like dog people.
Pitbulls are in general healthier than French Bulldogs, they certainly have a better anatomical configuration. They can be socialized to be excellent companions.
I've heard a famous German dog expert recommend them for children, because they let children do virtually anything to them without getting pissed. Just make sure you get one that is socialized properly or when a puppy, that you socialize and train him properly and with enough effort.
We rescued a French Bulldog/Pug/Jack Russell mix. I think he was a attempt to breed a more robust/less unhealthy pug - failed in that he's not very pug-like, but successful in that he's a delight and very healthy.
It's because Jack Russells are practically bulletproof and live forever :D
And that's because they've been bred for use, not for looks for tens of generations. As is proven by the high variance on dogs you can call "Jack Russell". You get tiny ones with stubby-ish legs, you can tall ones with long legs, you have completely smooth haired ones and the ones that look like a ball of wire wool. =)
My JR died in 2021 - at 16 years of age! Yes, she was bulletproof! Failing eyesight, stage 4 heart failure - but she kept chugging along! Super smart, too!
In Japanese cities, it's nearly impossible to find a place to rent that allows large dogs. Landlords have strict weight limits on pets. Out in the countryside, you can get away with big dogs, but most of the population lives in the cities.
There's other problems too: if you have a tiny dog in the city, you can put it in a carrier and bring it on the train/subway with you. You can't do that with a large dog, so you're barred from using trains, which means you have to drive when you want to go somewhere with your dog, or take a taxi ($$$$, assuming you can find one that allows the dog). A large portion of the population doesn't have a car, because it's very expensive to park it, and even if you do have one, where are you going to go? There's very little parking and it's expensive. So having a large dog is a huge restriction on your lifestyle.
Basically, a large dog in the city is a huge luxury and a status symbol, because it shows you're really rich. A small dog is also a luxury and status symbol, but it's much more affordable and doable for middle-class people.
Interesting. Thanks for the explanations. NYC has similar limitations but there are plenty of large breeds. Maybe the first bullet about weight limits is the key differentiator.
Could be a cultural thing, but can be a smart choice. A smaller dog will enjoy living in an apartment and a "limited" (from a canine view) urban life more than a bigger dog.
They're also easier to entertain, especially because many people don't know how to entertain/exhaust their dogs without getting exhausted themselves. No, you're not supposed to run marathons with your dogs. It's much easier to train them to fetch stuff like frisbees and you can sit in a chair all day for all they care.
My dog has a knee problem so the vet told me to not fetch with him. Fine by me but it makes tiring him out all sorts of tricky. Training him for treibball at the moment as that's one of the few dog sports I've found that doesn't involve quick direction changes or jumping. Fingers crossed he'll take to it.
Well poodles can be decently large, though I’m impressed with the sheer consistency of breed popularity there, no ebb and flow of top breed’s compared to the other countries
Ehh, I feel like people use that as a justification for tiny dogs but it's not a great one.
I have an 80lb greyhound in a not-very-large apartment and life is easy. Energy levels are more important than size (greyhounds sleep a lot) when it comes to apartment living for dogs.
In most western societies there is now a totally overblown standard of what you are supposed to provide to a child. Yes, it's good to talk about what children need or even to argue what is optimal. But the best you can do is all you can do.
My personal opinion: If you feel an honest need for children and have the opportunity, don't wait. Maybe there are some reasonable caveats or reasons to wait a few years, but not many. People with a desire to have children (some people like me don't have it) won't be much happier without having at least tried than in a "suboptimal" situation after becoming parents.
I wish I had kids earlier (I was almost 40 when becoming a parent). But it’s hard to come to that conclusion until you have kids and realize you’d rather have more shared time on earth than whatever you were doing prior.
The nose is so short that they have breathing problems, also their teeth don't fit into the shorter snout, and the ears are getting infected more often because of ... geometrical changes for lack of a better word. Also the genetics that makes the tail so cute and small messes up the other vertebrae and leads to a higher incidence of issues with the spinal column. Which are expensive to treat, more expensive than buying a new puppy, usually.