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Our Obsession With Cute Canines Is Killing The English Bulldog
Most dog-lovers can agree: English bulldogs are pretty darn cute.
After all, those trademark flat faces, adorable underbites and stocky bodies helped make them the fourth most popular breed registered with the American Kennel Club.
But breeding bulldogs to have those desirable traits may come at a dangerous cost.
According to a new study published in Canine Genetics and Epidemiology, hundreds of years of inbreeding to produce desirable traits in purebred bulldogs has caused extreme damage to the breed.
And researchers believe it would be nearly impossible to save them without crossbreeding them with other dogs.
As one of the study's authors told The Washington Post, "The English bulldog is the most egregious example of getting carried away with oneself in actually designing a dog that’s as far from nature as you can possibly get."
SEE MORE: Humans May Have Tamed Wolves Twice Because Dogs Are Worth It
To come to this conclusion, scientists studied the DNA of 102 healthy English bulldogs.
They found the average bulldog is "genetically equivalent to offspring of full sibling parents that came from a highly inbred subpopulation."
Translation: The dogs were more closely related than if their parents had been siblings. And that definitely causes issues for them.
Selective breeding to produce the perfect bulldog has given them many health problems, including poor eyesight, shortness of breath, skin allergies and hip dysplasia.
The breed's health has deteriorated so much, one section of the study claims, "Bulldogs that reproduce without assistance, move freely, walk or run for long distances, and breathe normally even at rest are the exception."
And, because bulldogs are so genetically similar now, one researcher says the chances of breeding those harmful traits out of the gene pool are slim to none.
The study has gotten a lot of attention in the U.K. and renewed calls for important revisions in breed standards.
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17 Responses to Our Obsession With Cute Canines Is Killing The English Bulldog
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Typical of people to want looks over health. I pray god has mercy on people.
God does not exist.
My neighbors have a English bulldog and he gets on my nerves, that dog makes noises all day and night. They never take the bulldog outside I think it’s because the bulldog can’t walk and he easily gets sick. And they live in an apartment.
I don’t think bulldogs are ugly. I just don’t like the fact that they can’t even run or breath without snorting. These dogs have changed so much, have people forgot that these dogs were bred to bait bulls. Do you seriously think a dog like this can take an animal as large as a bull? We’ve seriously have not preserved this breed.
Charlie And Lola and Hazel too! True I have an oeb and so much better
Charlie And Lola and Hazel too! , I thought they named them bull, because they are bullies and dominant. My neighbors bulldog reacts to any noise I make.
You are absolutely right my friend. The worst part about this is that this poor breed is on the verge on extinction. They have been inbred so badly that they cannot even mate without human intervention. When mating is successful, giving birth is even more traumatizing for the female English Bulldog than it is for other, healthier breeds.
British Bulldog Breeders need to research who they sell them too firstly plus keeping the price up for good dogs ($10,000 )will also keep the bread safe ! Regarding the above We would not have all the offshoots Staffordshire Bull Terrier , Pitbull Terrier ect if it weren’t for our beautiful English bulldog’s and diversity of breeding with other breeds
This kind of trend is why I adopt mutts.
The bulldog is the freak of the k-9 world. I’ve never understood what the attraction to them is. I’ve been a petsitter and trainer for decades, and the English bulldog was not only the stupidest dog I’ve ever cared for, it was the most unhealthy. Really? What’s the attraction?
cute and chubby
loving, lazy & chubby
Vile beasts. They should all die. Literally any kind of dog is superior to them
Chase Kaplan That’s very mean! Olde English Bulldogges have little none of these health issues.
Charlie And Lola and Hazel too! Yep but new bulldogs have fucked up deformities.
I have 5 English bulldogs and when one of them died of parvo and another died of heart problems, I cried until my tears had some red specs in them.
Oh no!