Sister-in-law is getting a french bulldog puppy and am feeling very judgemental about it!

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From all I’ve read, this breed is riddled with health problems. And the mothers can’t give birth, they have to have c-sections.

I think my sister-in-law is being superficial to get such a breed. I think she likes them because celebrities have them.

I’m being a judgey cow, aren’t I? But who would get such a breed? It must be a vanity thing, right?

I'm boggled by the earlier poster who drew parellels between human 'races' and dog breeds. There is no comparison. Most breeds have 20+ generations of being selected for particular attributes of character and ability as well as appearance, and at the start of those 20+ generations, the foundation stock was drawn from types of dog that had been selectively bred for centuries if not millennia (yes, the Romans had sighthounds, mastiffs, farm dogs and toy dogs). So far as I am aware, no eugenics experiment selectively breeding people has lasted more than about 10 years.

Rant over.

As for frenchies, pugs, bulldogs and other dogs bred into shapes almost guaranteed to cause health problems: it appalls me. I wouldn't be able to keep my mouth shut if someone I knew well was contemplating getting one.

I agree @frostedviolets. The same can be said for some of the big breeds like St Bernard’s and Great Danes - they’ve been bred to grow huge (and not live particularly long as dog years go) when actually over a century ago as working dogs they were no where near so big.

I know a woman who gave a mutual acquaintance a hard time because she was buying a dog. Said she should have adopted one. Fair enough, however she owns a french bulldog which she paid thousands for and then later tried to breed to sell the puppies!

Honestly - I'm judging her too.

Firstly because of getting a designer breed (i have 2 dogs, one is a rescue and ex fashion dog poor thing is so screwed up because of being treated badly for being a popular breed then dumped. The other is ex puppy farm).

Secondly I judge her for getting her kids a puppy for Christmas! Most Xmas puppies end up in rescue by January :( also no reputable breeder has litters available at Xmas for this reason so pup isn't coming from a great place. A pet isn't a gift, it a member of the family. Christmas pets make me so angry.

Yes frenchies have problems as do all badly bred dogs (westies have bad skin, daxies prone to spine problems, shepards bad hips... A good breeder will dna test and have a long family history of the parents) it's also certain 'designer' colours that carry health issues for example so called blues and lilacs have skin issues, allergies and alopecia. It's bad genes. Frenchies suffer with breathing problems from a flat face, cherry eye, also a bad breeder means a pups have a poorly tum and immune system (they take pups from mum too early so are weaned too young).

So yes you are judgy but for the right reasons. If she is getting a blue frenchie then be extra judgy! She's just fueling the market for commodity pets by jumping on the bandwagon.

whatthehelldowecare have you quizzed the dog sitter/walker about their knowledge of the breed? Are they aware that steps are not recommended and they need lifted in and out of vehicles, all four paws must be touching the ground before they let go, they should be discouraged from jumping, etc? I run my own dog sitting business and I make a point of researching any new breeds that come to me, because so many so called purebreds have so many health problems. Have they done this? Not being argumentative, but I’ve met too many bad sitters/walkers in my time.

I haven't read all of the posts, so someone may have already made this point, but what infuriates me the most is the bl, fu*, Kennel Club. They not only encourage malformations in dogs, but insist on them for people who want to 'show' their dogs. The Kennel Club, and it's serious money grabbing shows, should be banned! I don't know how any of the officials in it can claim to even like dogs, never mind care deeply about them. 😡🤬

frostedviolets - The "original" types that you've shown on your photos are the "working" types of these breeds which I also mentioned. They are healthier, tend to be much sweeter-natured, and in my opinion are at least as beautiful (often more beautiful) than the "beautiful" show types. Because they haven't been breed to a standard which exaggerates particular physical features at the expense of everything else.

(The cocker spaniel is very like my boy dog - he's orange and white, too, but mine looks cheekier . . . )

(I also want to know what "known aggressive breed" a PP's ex hs bought for their son.)

We have an aged golden retriever who we’ve had for fourteen years who is adorable but getting very frail now - he was a failed guide dog, too food orientated! - and we have two working flat coated retrievers. I try not to be judgemental but I struggle to see the attraction of all these trendy dogs. My ex daughter in law (and yes we are friends before you jump in) has recently bought my grandkids a ‘jugapoo’ - mum is a pug and dad a jack Russell poodle cross. Sorry But these £600!!! Mutts are just common or garden mongrels which people like my ex daughter in law spend a flipping fortune on.

I was out running this morning with our flatties and saw two people dressed in all their shiny new Barbour coats and spotlessly clean hunter wellies applying their designer padded coats to their designer French bulldogs in the back of their designer 4 x4. I’m sure my fit, active, non designer mud splattered retrievers were much happier!

The same can be said for some of the big breeds like St Bernard’s and Great Danes - they’ve been bred to grow huge (and not live particularly long as dog years go) when actually over a century ago as working dogs they were no where near so big

Yes they are horrific also.

The head shape is shocking now.
The originals of both of those breeds were relatively tight lipped and proportional.

Both are now bred with massive pendulous lips, drool an absolute shit tonne.

And those droopy eyes.
Shameful.

we have two working flat coated retrievers

Flatties are stunning dogs! You lucky duck! I'd love one, but they're out of my price range (also Mr Schadenfreude has capped me at three dogs these days . . . )

I'm not involved with the RSPCA and I have 3 rescue dogs, my choice to resc them and I'm glad that I did, also glad they weren't from the RSPCA. Do you realise how many healthy dogs and cats they pts 🙄

The "original" types that you've shown on your photos are the "working" types of these breeds which I also mentioned

I know.

They are healthier, tend to be much sweeter-natured, and in my opinion are at least as beautiful (often more beautiful) than the "beautiful" show types. Because they haven't been breed to a standard which exaggerates particular physical features at the expense of everything else

Completely agree.
I have a working bred variant of a popular breed and would never opt for a show line where a working bred exists.
As far as I'm concerned, you can easily have a beautiful dog with a vile temperament, but its not so easy to have a working dog with a vile temperament because a good working dog requires a biddable, stable temperament to work effectively.

Give all your dogs a cuddle. So very sorry to all the unloved and neglected animals out there... Some people can be so cruel.. Just watching poor boo. On Paul o,'grady...

My brother would love a dachshund but he just couldn't justify getting something so faulty. He's an engineer and he said that if he designed a bridge like that he'd be fired as it's just not a sustainable design. SIL bought FIL one as a surprise present. Extra bonus idiot points for that.

Actually, if you want to know what it is like to run if you are a pug etc.

Run 100 meters only breathing through a straw 😕.

I have a working bred variant of a popular breed and would never opt for a show line where a working bred exists

Same here - I think that a lot of people aren't even aware that there are working types of many breeds. I meet a lady on walks whose "show type" cocker has cost her (or at least her insurance company) a fortune for treatment for ear problems (including quite radical surgery). His ears are so long, and his ear canals so narrow, that for years he has had constant painful, debilitating infections. His recent surgery is a last resort.

She was asking if mine have/had any problems (they don't) - she hadn't;t realised there was an option. She adores her dog, but said that she wouldn't get show type again, knowing what she knows now.

They tend to be cheaper to buy, too. And to maintain - I don't need to have my spaniels clipped because their coats are manageable. Otherwise it's £35 - £60 every 3/4 months or so. Much more if you have your dog stripped rather than clipped.

I have a Merle border collie, a working cocker spaniel, a “Chorkie” (I would call that a mongrel) and an Irish wolfhound. All are rescued. You don’t need to shop around to far to find posh dogs in rescue centres.

Krustykittens I appreciate your view however I completely disagree. Both of my dogs were purchased from reputable breeders and not from someone wanting to make quick money. BOTH of them girl and boy have been neutered and are regularly health checked. They walk several miles a week. Enjoy high quality food and more than anything were brought into my family to be apart of the family. Not everyone purchases this breed to make money nor to be apart of an ever changing fad. The fact that people think my dogs should be allowed to die out because they dont meet there perfect labrador standards is sickening to me and I hope to god they dont own any pets themselves

I don't think it's perfect labrador standards, more acceptable quality of life standard. I had a sheepdog mongrel cross and if he had started breathing in the manner of most frenchies and the vet said there was no way to improve it, I would have put him down.

I dread to think what all you people think about human disabilities. Your opinions on my beautiful dogs sicken me and I really think the old adage "if you have nothing nice to say, say nothing at all". Quiet simply to the original poster. Its non of your business what she does! Get a grip

Nobody sets out to deliberately make people disabled because they think they look better.

I dread to think what all you people think about human disabilities.

Yes, because being opposed to humans deliberately breeding dogs with severe disabilities over several generations is the same as having thoughts about disabled people you 'dread to think about'.

Btw, I'm opposed to people breeding and buying these dogs. Not to people owning them. There's a fairly crucial difference.

I hate the fact that there are thousands of dogs looking for homes and yet people breed dogs to make money for them and people ignore those dogs in desperate need of hones and buy from breeders and puppy farms.
If you feel I'm judging you then you're correct. It's wrong.

Flatties are stunning dogs! - SchadenfreudePersonified - can’t disagree with that! We’ve had them for forty year and they are marvellous dogs. Smart, biddable, hard working and everybody’s friend. Thankfully not at all trendy but I do get a bit tired of the ‘are they some kind of Labrador, are they black golden retrievers (go figure) or are they black red setters (really?) When someone speaks to us who actually knows what they are I could kiss them! At least when my husband is on the moors working with them, people do know what they are. 😁

I have a Merle border collie

Something else I would like to see the end of.
The Merle gene is a defective gene, when merles are bred to merles the resultant puppies are often blind and deaf.
It isn't as simple as breeding a Merle to say a tri colour either as you can get 'cryptic' Merle whereby the pattern is hidden and the dog appears black and white or red or whatever but genetically it is actually Merle.

The fact that people think my dogs should be allowed to die out because they dont meet there perfect labrador standards is sickening to me and I hope to god they dont own any pets themselves

Perfect Labrador standards 😂
The only 'standards' I believe dogs should be held to are genetically stable temperament and conformation that does not impact quality of life in anyway.

I certainly do have pets, what joy I get from watching my dog race laps with joyful abandon and leap over hedges on a walk.

Something frenchies and pugs and the like have had callously robbed from them.