Why breeding bulldogs is borderline inhumane

[MikePal]

Yet another breed front and centre with the Kennel Club....

Birth defects, such as flat chests, have led to high puppy mortality. A skeletal disorder common to the breed causes high rates of hip dysplasia. Bulldogs’ wrinkly faces beget acne and eye problems. Their underbites often mean dental troubles. But the biggest issue is their smushed, “brachycephalic” faces, large palate and narrow nostrils — visages their wolf ancestors might not even recognize as canine. They can cause a bulldog to pant like mad while exercising, slobber like a fountain while resting, choke and gag while eating, suffer from heat stroke, and, to top it off, have unusually wicked flatulence.

The litany of health problems common to the English bulldog, as the breed is formally known, has been at the center of a controversy over breeding in Britain since 2008. That year, a damning BBC documentary on purebred dogs’ poor health and welfare, “Pedigree Dogs Exposed,” prompted several independent reports and caused the Kennel Club — the British counterpart to the American Kennel Club — to modestly revise its standards for several breeds, including the bulldog.

Pedersen, who has long researched canine genetics, figured the debate needed some science. So he and colleagues carried out a study on the DNA of 102 English bulldogs, most from the United States. What they found was sobering: A breed so lacking in genetic diversity that it would be nearly impossible to make it healthy without crossing it with other breeds.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...line-inhumane/

[MikePal]

Video from above link...AKC responding to recent criticisms...

AKC talks to HBO on the "Growth of Dog Sports"

It should be noted that this is AKC's heavily edited version of the actual interview...and they still come off sounding like a couple of idiots in denial

[MikePal]

Here is part of the HBO series that looked into the problem with the BullDog....

Who do you believe ???

[welsh]

Video from above link...AKC responding to recent criticisms...

The Washington Post cited that video incorrectly. It's not "the AKC" responding; it's the parent club of the breed, the Bulldog Club of America. In other words, not the AKC in general, but a tiny corner of the AKC dedicated to that one breed.

http://www.bulldogclubofamerica.org/newsroom?id=483

That may seem like a minor distinction, but it matters. The AKC aren't the people who set the standards or do the judging. That's the breed clubs. And the AKC (and the CKC, and the Kennel Club) have very limited power to tell the people in the breed clubs -- the fanciers of a given breed -- what they ought to fancy. So let's place the blame where it lies.

[bellerivercrossbowhunter]

My bro in law has an American Bull-dog. Not the same breed as done in the study. He is a great dog,very calm & well behaved however he has health issues with his eyes & snorts when he breathes/slobbers constantly. I cant believe his dog & my lab are of the same species. My lab is cranked up most of the day & runs around like a maniac & only slobbers when she is hungry...lol

[terrym]

Unfortunately man makes some stupid decisions when dogs and breeding are involved.

[MikePal]

It's not "the AKC" responding; it's the parent club of the breed, the Bulldog Club of America.

So let's place the blame where it lies.

Well since the Youtube Video says it is the AKC responding and the video was posted on Youtube by the "American Kennel Club"..(no mention of the BCA)..I'll stick with that being the source...

[welsh]

You understand how organizations like the AKC work, right? It's made up of all its breed clubs, with an umbrella over them all. The response is coming from the breed club with the AKC stamp on it.

My point is we can't go painting the AKC, Kennel Club, etc. with the broad brush that the "adopt don't shop" movement is pushing. Not all purebred dogs are unhealthy, not all breed standards are a problem, and there is more to the AKC than dog shows.

It's the breed club that sets the standards, the breed club that creates the whims of the show fancy, and the breed club that provides the show judges. "The AKC" as the overall umbrella group never said, "A bulldog should have a nose so short that it can't breathe and a pelvis too narrow for the head of a puppy to pass through the birth canal." That was the breed club.

Problems with a breed need to be laid squarely on the fanciers of that breed, because that's where the fault lies.

[MikePal]

But yet...the American Kennel Club are the organization that posts a video on THEIR Youtube channel defending the standards...so the have dirty hands in yet another debacle of breeding.

Six months ago HBO Real Sports asked AKC to help them produce a story about the dog sports in America, how it has evolved and the role that health plays in competition and breed standards.

The AKC is the largest organization in the world entirely dedicated to our love for and devotion to dogs, so naturally we wanted to talk to them about this beautiful and exciting sport.

We were promised a "fair and balanced" story and we unfortunately believed HBO Sports had the best of intentions. We were disappointed to learn that HBO Real Sports hid their real agenda and did not disclose their goal of telling a story filled with misinformation and fabrication intended to mislead their audience.

Important facts and responses about the AKC's deep commitment and passion for healthy and thriving dogs were left on the cutting room floor.

So, we thought you might like to hear what we really said and see what they didn't show you. Thank you.

[welsh]

How do you expect the AKC to dictate to the breed club how the breed will be judged, etc.? Where do you think the judges come from?

This blanket condemnation of the AKC, Kennel Club, etc. arises for two reasons: first, because the media doesn't understand how kennel clubs function, and second, because someone is pushing the narrative on the media, "AKC bad, 'adopt don't shop' good." Their aim is to address pet overpopulation by making it socially unacceptable to own a purebred dog. And a gullible public that loves simplistic good-guy, bad-guy scenarios laps it up.