Three summers ago, before I knew that I was going to be a veterinarian, I began my job as a receptionist at an animal hospital near my Chicago home. The phone rings and I pick up: “My dog is breathing really hard, he’s collapsed and I can’t carry him! I’m calling an Uber to bring him to your hospital.” Before I could explain that we were completely full for the day, she hung up. Shortly after, she arrives and her Bulldog is laying on his side, breathing hard, quivering, unable to move. Our team of assistants, technicians, and doctors were able to revive him with the help of an oxygen mask, but he could have easily lost his life. All of this happened because he took a short walk in the summer heat.
A normal dog of about the same age, say a Golden Retriever, would not experience this life-threatening event in the same circumstances. Why? Imagine you have a clay model of a Golden Retriever face (so cute!). You observe the soft, pointed nose, and the peek of some of the teeth from under their lips, just below their smooth, lengthy snout.
Now, press the nose against your hand and compress it. Keep going until you nearly squish the nose against the eyes of the model. You have effectively just turned your Golden Retriever clay model into that of a “brachycephalic breed,” which is the umbrella that Pugs, Bulldogs, French Bulldogs, and a host of other “squish-faced” dogs fall under (“brachy” is Latin for “short” and “cephalic” is Latin for “head”). Observe this new model. Where there was smoothness, there are deep wrinkles. The teeth fall at odd, painful-looking angles. The pointed nose is flat and you wonder, understandably, how it is possible for such a dog to take an unburdened breath. To answer plainly, they cannot. Yet, these dogs are prized for their form and bred for increasingly squat face shapes.
With the rise in brachycephalic dog ownership over the past few decades, veterinarians are taking a strong stance against these breeding practices. Dr. Hale, a Canadian veterinary dentist, reflected in 2013: “Some breeds are predisposed to certain serious conditions… but these animals are not intentionally bred to have these conditions. That would be crazy, inhumane, and unethical. So why is it that we condone, even promote, the breeding of animals whose very design has a negative impact on health and quality of life for every single member of the breed?”
It is an easy argument: we cannot support the proliferation of breeds that, by their nature, cannot breathe. If only that was the only problem with these dogs! With faces so squished, their eyes pop out of their skulls and they are at increased risk for eye disease and damage. They are more likely to experience gastrointestinal (tummy) upset. They chew their own mouths with every bite of food because their teeth are uneven and compressed. Without going into too much detail, I cannot tell you the number (but the percentage is 100%) of severely brachycephalic dogs (Bulldogs, French Bulldogs, and Pugs) whose wrinkles I’ve needed to clean because they were getting a skin infection. Like ours, dogs’ skin is meant to breathe. And these dogs don’t just have wrinkles on their faces, but everywhere. Their tails. Their genitals. Their sides.
Source: https://sevneurology.com/blog/brachycephalic-dog/
To be a severely brachycephalic dog, is to live in a state of constant discomfort. This means that there are NO responsible Bulldog breeders. There are NO ethical Pug breeders. While there are a number of reasons that people may pursue dog ownership through a breeder, I see no excuse for people to do so when they are looking for brachycephalic dogs. It is under our poor stewardship that these dogs came to be, so it is under our stewardship that we must stop their suffering.
However, if you want a brachycephalic breed, get one! Surprised? I’ll explain. If you want to own a Pug, have experience owning a Bulldog, or otherwise know what you’ll be facing as a brachycephalic owner, get one from a shelter or rescue. Many people, drawn by their cuteness, obtain brachycephalic dogs and are quickly overwhelmed by their medical maintenance needs and surrender their dogs. (There are those, of course, who surrender their dogs due to unforeseen life circumstances. Their experiences are valid, but that is a different animal welfare topic.)
By knowing the risks and the work that these breeds require and opening your home to an otherwise homeless pet, you are automatically a responsible owner. When you buy a dog from a rescue, you are doing more than adding to your own family. You are opening a spot for another pet in need at that shelter or rescue. You are donating funds to the medical care and spay/neuter surgeries of other animals in that shelter’s care. You are doing good.
Responsible pet ownership is beautiful and should be encouraged; I’m sure that most people who want these dogs don’t know about the serious pain they face. If you hear about someone wanting to adopt or buy a Bulldog, Pug, or even a Boston Terrier (also a brachycephalic breed, just less severely so), I invite you to bring up some of these talking points. And if the person considering brachycephalic ownership is you? Talk to your veterinarian about how to exercise them safely, how best to clean their wrinkles, and whether it would be worth considering corrective surgery to improve their breathing. While there are ZERO ethical brachycephalic breeders, there can ABSOLUTELY be ethical brachycephalic pet parents. Encourage people in your life or even motivate yourself to be those pet parents.
Sources:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3552601/
https://vethelpdirect.com/vetblog/2016/05/09/vets-to-end-suffering-of-brachycephalic-dogs/#
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5508944/
Non-profit brachycephalic rescues in the Chicago area:
http://www.ebullymatch.com/About-Us.html
http://northernillinoispugrescue.org