SOME DOG BREEDERS PUT STANDARDS OVER HEALTH

As the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show headed toward its conclusion Tuesday, a TV audience of dog lovers watched the best in breeds strut their stuff, striving to show that perfect championship form. And while the public saw many lovely, healthy dogs in the ring, some breeds have paid a high price — a wide array of medical problems, even difficulty breathing or moving — in the pursuit of human-designed breed “standards.”

In some cases, beauty, as dictated by breed clubs, has trumped health, and dogs are suffering unnecessarily.

No breed better illustrates this tragic descent than the once-proud English bulldog, whose short, flattened face makes breathing and cooling down difficult, while its massive head, large even in puppies, makes natural birth all but impossible. Bulldogs often require cesarean sections.

At a Boston veterinary clinic, surgeon Nick Trout says he and colleagues perform surgery on as many as 30 bulldogs a year to correct airway problems. Because of the dog’s difficulty in panting to cool off, hot days can be fatal to a bulldog.

Troubling conditions also plague other breeds.

Read about some of the other breeds that are suffering due to poor breeding practices:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2016/02/15/dogs-breeding-westminster-kennel-american-kennel-club-editorials-debates/80373002/#

Yours In Great Health,

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Disclaimer: The information provided is not intended to replace any veterinary or medical advice or treatment.