Dog breeds Discussions

Gdsslave mentioned too that you can't go on 'appearance ' to know if, a dog is healthy. I'm sorry and I stand corrected on that statement I made.

However,

I was reading the article below which made me think about the changes in dog breed appearance and having a dog with a flat face and know they struggle with breathing I made the decision not to get another one of these breeds.

Do breeders want to discourage or encourage health problems?
Eg, if, you want a dog to have problems breathing, ensure it has a short snout.

What do people think of the article below?

http://thescienceexplorer.com/nature/how-popular-dog-breeds-have-changed-after-100-years-breeding

I'm sorry I stand corrected on the statement I made about GDS straight legged pic being 'healthier' wrong use of words.

Is it right to encourage or discourage breeders to keep breeding abnormalities into certain breeds?
Eg, breeds with flat faces, seem to have breathing problems, certainly the ones I know such as, pugs, shih tzu, French bulldogs

What do people think of the link below?
http://thescienceexplorer.com/nature/how-popular-dog-breeds-have-changed-after-100-years-breeding

I agree there ate problems in certain breeds. I don't encourage anyone to breed problems. Though there are a lot of health issues in for example French Bulldogs or even some in English Bulldogs, there are also healthy dogs of those breeds without breathing problems as well. I have seen French Bulldogs that have been properly fed and exercised (which they have no problem doing) that are just as lean and muscular as any Pit Bull or other such athletic breed.

Imo tnt article might have a few valid points, but it's also deceptive and bias. For instance using an extreme example of today's English Bulldog and pretending as if they had great structure in the past. I'm not even certain their bulldog picture is an adult, it might be one with excessive wrinkles, but it looks young and immature imo - which means it will grow into the loose skin and not have anymore wrinkle than the average E. Bulldog.

These English Bulldogs from 1910-1915 do not appear to have great structure (or better structure in geranal) and clearly have brachycephalic skull and wrinkles.

This winning show dog of the past clearly has facial wrinkles and brachy skull, not to mention that structure!


I don't see this dog (believe photo from 1913) as having a better skull or muzzle and was toughted as great sire to use and a show winner.


This dog looks like average English Bulldog I see today. No better or worse. There will slats exist extreme examples in the breed, I don't agree with breeding those or making them the norm, but if they are not the norm or dogs of the past were just alike let's not bend the truth against modern show dogs.


This is not a god quality pic, but anyone can see this dog has bad structure, very bad and typical E Bulldog head/muzzle. You can read the ad to see how this was considered a good example of the breed, and this ad predates the 1915 photo in the article of when supppsedly English Bulldogs were better, healthy, not deformed, ect

But nope they haven't changed much of at all.

these are modern dogs obviously and they don't look much different I'd argue the structure overall is better than Cinnamons (listed in ad of the past).

So, really it may be that there a lot of people who breed without much thought putting into them it may just people not feeding or exercising the dog to the recommended amount for the breed.

Thank you for all the time you have put in to replying, very helpful and informative and easy to understand for someone who isn't a breeder.
There must be an awful lot if people who are not helping their dogs, especially the pugs, French is etc breeds, it's pretty sad to see these dogs struggling to breathe.

I met someone when I was living in Portugal and she had two bischon Frise, one was obese, she fed them ice-cream etc, lots of dog snacks/human snacks on top of meals, very little excersise They both were aggressive to others and to thir owners if, they didn't want to do something. I did speak with her but it landed on deaf ears. Makes you angry and sad.

There is no reason brachycephalic breeds should have problems breathing, you are assuming they ALL have problems, this is not correct, its ll down to good breeding and breeding from dogs that do not have problems including the size of the nostrils , the problem is that these breeds have become so popular that anyone without an ounce of knowledge can breed a litter for nothing more than ££££`s , there are plenty of healthy pugs , bulldogs, frenchies , and so on in this world that have been bred for health, you seem to think the fact they have short noses means they cant breathe , it`s misleading and I suggest you do a little more research before you put them all in the same box.

Research the breeds you are condemning as to the job they were bred to do, the GSD for instance should not have straight stifles, (no dog should) they were bred as a trotting dog to patrol boundaries all day long , they cant do that with straight back legs .

After the Foxhound, the Greyhound has the second longest recorded history of deliberate breeding by man. Private stud books exist from the 18th & 19th century, well before the founding of the Kennel Club. Nevertheless, it is often quoted as being the healthiest breed of dog, as it has so very few inherited complaints. As a breed, it is a picture of perfection in motion, and is the perfect companion at rest. What it definitely does not have is a level topline and straight hind legs. The majority of working and sporting dogs have evolved in order to assist man in carrying out a specific purpose, the suitability for which is reflected in their size, colour, energy level, and physical shape.