wheezing pugs and bulldogs are cute??? brachycephalic dogs have trouble breathing because of unnecessarily short muzzles and stenotic nares, it’s not cute it’s terrifying, and it needs to change for the good of the dogs.
Okay LETS TALK BOUT THIS OKAY Yall tryna be all saints out here tryna care about every little FUCKIN problems. The reason they have those problems is because of genetics. There is really no way to fix it unless you make a time machine and tell your ancestors to not breed them into existence. I’m sorry “the good of dogs?” WHAT is you TALKIN BOUT CHILD.
First of all, saying that there’s no way is ignorant because there IS a way to fix it, if only people knew about it publicly and breed clubs embraced it.
These are called Retro Mops (website here), and they’re pugs bred specifically to be longer-legged, leaner, with smaller eyes, longer muzzles, and more open nostrils. And while the project is still a work in progress, it’s heading in the right direction.
This new breed type started in Germany, and developed from the selective breeding of purebred pugs with longer muzzles and a longer legged frame.
From the website:
“We want to prove that a pug does not have to be short of breath and phlegmatic, but a very sporty and docile family and companion dog”
And there’s also the Old English Bulldog, which is a muscular and athletic bulldog that can actually clean itself, mate, and give birth on its own (something that mainstream Bulldogs cannot do)
This should be the goal of EVERY pug breeder and owner, to have a healthy dog that doesn’t struggle to breathe and walk.
I’m sure you’re a pug or bulldog lover, which is why you’re so eager to defend them, but you’re not helping these dogs out by ignoring the problems in the breed. This is not a “little problem”, it’s a HUGE issue that’s killing dogs, and it’s prefectly preventable if pugs were outcrossed to have longer muzzles and wider nostrils.
Just look at the difference and tell me you’re not horrified:
As long as people stay blind to these issues, nothing will change. Which is why I’m saying this here so at least some people will see that there IS an alternative, and that wheezing pugs and bulldogs are not cute. When the public realizes the difference, the demand for these mutants will stop and more healthy, longer-lived alternatives will replace them.
But it starts with someone talking about them, and not just thinking there’s nothing to be done. Although if there were a time machine at my disposal you bet I’d use to pinch the nostrils of the original Victorian breeders and see how they like it.
also re: taking a time machine and telling our ancestors not to breed pugs
the thing is, our ancestors actually bred dogs pretty sensibly. because, you know, dogs used to do things, and specific breeds fulfilled certain purposes like hunting, ratting, herding, etc. dogs had to be healthy enough to run, breathe, eat, breed, and take care of themselves. it’s only in the last 100 years that selective breeding has started actively degrading the quality of life and health of purebreed dogs because we’re breeding according to some fictitious image of what the breed “should look like” that is 100% in stark contrast to reality
if you look at historic pictures and paintings of what these breeds were like, you find something pretty different
oh hey! what are these reasonably proportioned, non-brachycephalic dogs? pugs. actual pugs.
and these beauties? bulldogs. bulldogs that can breed on their own.
even when you get into modern “working class” breeds which you think wouldn’t be bred just for looks, you find the same thing happening, and it has horrible, painful consequences for the dogs.
modern german shepherd: back legs are bred to be shorter than the front, the opposite of natural dog skeletal structure which causes hip dysplasia
here’s a picture of a german shepherd from the turn of the century, which was considered the breed standard i.e. what german shepherds are supposed to look like
natural, functional skeleton and gait.
i have several other examples off the top of my head: king charles spaniels bred to have seizures, rhodesian ridgebacks bred to have misaligned spines, all manner of brachycephalic dogs that can’t breathe, corgis and dachsunds whose backs give out on them because their bodies are too long – i could go on but i think y’all get the point.
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