Pugs not “classed as dogs” anymore

[Soubriquet]

Stupid headline, and stupid phrase but the idea is good.

Experts are saying that pugs should no longer be bred from and sold unless their noses are sorted to be longer than what is currently being sold.

Frankly all short nosed breeds should have the same thing. They are now so badly bred that some suffer hydrocephalus and nearly all of them struggle to breathe, especially in the summer.

The breed standard from 50 years ago, is vastly different from the standard today. It’s a shock to see really.

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Rescue/purchased. What does it matter. If the kennels were full of them then eventually the 'value' would not be there and breeders would stop breeding them for profit.

If you want something to stop, you dont ban them as that just increases the reward/risk to the breeder. You stop having anything to do with them and take away their popularity. All these comments about personalities etc, its sickening when real dog lovers just see abuse when we look at pictures of their dogs.

Sorry it should have said 'their deformed dogs'

@Fridgeorflight Working dog breeders breed for health. My family has corgis (I don't personally, I have cats) and whilst there are certainly badly bred-corgis with extreme dwarfism we do not support those, and they've retained their functionality as a breed. The last boy we lost came from a working farm and lived to over 16 with absolutely no health issues in his life, until cancer got him at the end. He was nimble, active and fit though. Too many people (and some breeders...) think a 'chonky' corgi is cute. That said, the latest edition (whom I did not chose) is also from working farm, but has a much 'posher' pedigree. He's very healthy too, and startingly intelligent, but highly strung. Old boy was bombproof.

The thing is it would actually be quite simple to make massive strides towards them being a healthier breed.

Two thirds of all pugs need surgery to help them breathe. Half of these pugs get this, the others have owners who choose not to do the surgery for whatever reason. Financial I expect, or because they think pugs are supposed to sound like they are dying 🙄.

Every pug who has to have surgery should be neutered. Because they are not fit to breed from.

Every pug should be tested for breathing issues. No exceptions. Queens at Cambridge do this and they grade for severity. I’m sure this could be rolled out uk wide. Certification should then be issued and a prospective puppy buyer could see the certificates for both parents, either from the breeder or on a national database.

Obviously there are still the skin issues, eye problems and spinal problems to address but if they could at least breathe a bit better it would be a good start!!

Awww I recognise our pug in you description so much! We also have a black one. I think their coat and skin are quite different to the fawn ones. Ours never sheds for example as he is single-coated and doesn't have many wrinkles at all, so no skin issues (touch wood).

I would love for them to start testing every pug for health before breeding any further to make the breed healthy as it originally was. They are really special dogs.

imagine purposing breeding for such a long back and short legs they thy can't fully function.

This is what I don't understand. Who decides that these sort of deformities are desirable. Where does the desire for deformed animals come from and why do some people find it 'cute'.

To me there is absolutely nothing cute about an animal that can't live it's life to the full because it's been bred in such a way that it struggles to walk or breathe.

When I look at a pug with its tongue curled in an effort to get air into its lungs I just see a poor creature struggling to breathe, not a cute little dog with a curly tongue.

So many ruined dogs. It's heart breaking.

Rescued/Purchased. What does it matter

Seriously My dog would be dead if I didn't 'rescue' him. I didn't create the fucking demand for him !!!

Yep. It's an Arab and they naturally have a slight dish to their faces. Some breeders have taken to breeding for extreme dishes for a "seahorse" face.

There's also Quarter Horses and Paints bread for halter classes that have horribly straight legs and tiny hooves which can't hold up to the weight of their massive bodies. (Which in some cases is achieved by breeding horses with a generic defect called HYPP that causes increased muscling but can also cause the horse to drop dead suddenly.) this is (was?) a top QH halter broodmare. www.equinechronicle.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/ThisGirlsGotCharm_4.jpg

@pigsDOfly Generally its extreme exaggerations of adaptations that once had a purpose. Daschunds were intially bred to go down badger warrens. The shar pei's loose skin provided protection of the organs while fighting. No idea what the flat face is supposed to be for though.

@LaurieFairyCake if you had left him where he was that would be one more pug without a home. Eventually the breeders would deem Pugs pointless to breed as no one wants them.

I wonder if insurance companies are already loading costs against certain breeds. I imagine it would influence some owners motives if they couldnt insure these dogs for their expensive breathing issues.

Well that's possibly the most horrible thing to say about leaving dogs in rescue

And obviously it makes NO SENSE as the breeder and the rescue are not connected so leaving him in rescue harms no breeder but just the dog ....

The breeder has (unfortunately) still had their money

But we are not discussing the whys and wherefores of dogs in rescue. We are discussing the issues of missbreeding Pugs. How they we have ended up with animals with poor quality of life and incredibly painful breathing issues.

Some have suggested sterilisation etc. My solution is to effect the demand for them.

Trust me, if the refuges were full to the brim with unwanted pugs, the breeders would quickly realise there was no market to sell them. Take that further, if everyone realised how damaging and unkind we have been to allow this kind of breeding and refused to buy them, the breeders would stop.

Its all about supply and demand, nothing more, nothing less

Trust me, if the refuges were full to the brim with unwanted pugs, the breeders would quickly realise there was no market to sell them

how does that work? All those pugs in rescue must have been bought from a breeder somewhere…

that and many people can’t or won’t meet standards for adoption set by rescues so will go to a breeder. Especially when the pugs in rescue are probably at the worse end of the health scale and a rescue will be open about their vet needs. So people will go get a cute puppy.

there’s shit loads of dogs in resue, yet breeding and selling is a bigger industry than ever.

Rescues have loads of pugs in them and the breeders have all had their money

There are 6 Frenchies in my local rescue at the moment

Again, the breeders have had their money

Holy shit. Talk about selective reading.

I said

"Trust me, if the refuges were full to the brim with unwanted pugs, the breeders would quickly realise there was no market to sell them. Take that further, if everyone realised how damaging and unkind we have been to allow this kind of breeding and refused to buy them, the breeders would stop."

Therefore, leave all the pugs in rescues so that its obvious no one wants them. Then take that further and everyone else stop buying them as well from the breeders. Demand dries up, supply realises its pointless.

How difficult is that to understand?

That's horrible they can't help how they breath or how they sound.

Look, rather

I don't think the pugs will be offended 😉

I find it really hard to see how you could achieve the pause. Legislation banning breeds (albeit for other reasons) has no good history. In fact the whole history of trying to regulate dog breeding is a history of epic cock-ups so gov't intervention is likely not to help (and isn't what the RVC are asking for). But the KC wringing its hands won't help either, the most they can do is discourage breeders who take KC guidance seriously and that's the ones who sign up to the KCAB scheme and therefore the 'good' ones. The rubbish ones will carry on as long as there is demand. Even if KC went nuclear and refused to register any pugs backyard breeders would still sell loads. Look at the number of doodles and poos being sold for £1000s - their purchasers are not worried about registration status. Meaning the only thing left is driving down demand. So ironically the best thing you can do for pugs if you love them is tell everyone who awful they are and that they shouldn't get one! With luck people will stop buying them and eventually just a few hardcore pug breeders, hopefully with some long snouted ones will be left propping up the breed club and keep their lines alive.

As well as birthing by CS I also understood that Frenchies and such like had difficulty breeding naturally and were mostly artificially inseminated. They are a breed that should not exist, humans at their worst. Once ownership of them is looked upon with the same judgement as wearing a real fur coat, then hopefully the breed will become unpopular and naturally die out. Poor wee things.

I've only ever had brachycephalic dogs, SBT, Bostons and Boxers. All have been healthy, loved exercise and lived to a good age. None had breathing difficulties beyond noisy snoring. They had fantastic characters and temperament.

Could not give one shiny shit what you think! Wouldn't trust something with a long pointy snout.

However, I do think something needs to be done to ensure selective breeding for health, especially with pugs, English bull dogs and French bull dogs. It seems that rescue shelters are full of highly strung hysterical french bull dogs with health issues. Its very sad.