How we have destroyed our favourite dogs

High demand for certain species fuels vanity breeding. The result? 1 in 3 pugs cannot walk properly, suffers higher risk of spinal cord disorder

One could blame a top cellular network provider for making pugs popular in India, but vanity breeding and over breeding has been taking the dog out of our best friend for quite a while. In May 2022, a study by researchers from The Royal Veterinary College of England found that the flat-nosed breed faces dire health risks and can “no longer be considered as a typical dog” when being treated for health issues.

“There is growing concern about serious health and welfare issues in the breed,” the study authors wrote. Dr Dan O’Neill, senior lecturer in Companion Animal Epidemiology at the Royal Veterinary College, says that pugs lack “basic functions” expected of a canine, such as blinking; It cannot shut its eyes fully due to protruding eyeballs. One in three pugs cannot walk properly due to vanity breeding, higher risk of lameness and spinal cord disorder.

PUG, On the brink of not being able to perform innate health functions such as blinking, breathing, mating, giving birth and having a comfortable skin. Pic/Getty Images

Vanity breeding, which is defined as selective breeding to emphasise or exaggerate a physical feature—is also responsible for seven out of 10 dobermanns in the US carrying genes for dilated cardiomyopathy—a condition in which the heart loses its ability to pump blood due to enlargement and weakening of the main chamber (as per The Forever Dog, by Rodney Habib and Dr Karen Shaw Becker).

Pugs join other brachycephalic cousins, most notably the British Bulldog, on being on the brink of not being able to perform innate health functions such as blinking, breathing, mating, giving birth and having a comfortable skin. The British Bulldog is now unable to even procreate without human help. If nature was in charge, it would be extinct. Bred to be stocky with short legs, the male needs a trapeze-saddle-like contraption to mate. Vanity breeding has given them a big head, literally. It cannot travel down the vaginal canal for natural birth, necessitating surgical intervention. Even French bulldogs require artificial insemination and are mostly born out of C-sections. This complex and expensive mating and maternity ward dictates a puppy’s price-tag.

A file photo of an English bulldog dressed as Raggedy Anne with owner at the annual Boston Halloween Pet Parade and Costume Contest.  The British Bulldog is now unable to even procreate without human help. If nature was in charge, it would be extinct. Bred to be stocky with short legs, the male needs a trapeze-saddle-like contraption to mate. Pic/Getty Images

“English bulldogs also have more arthiritic issues because of their stocky build. They have respiratory weaknesses, which could be softened by pre-emptive surgery to widen their nostrils or trimming their soft palate. But these bulldogs don’t do well under general anaesthesia,” says Dr Nicole Rego of Happy Tails Emergency & Critical Care Facility in Khar. Other popular breeds, such as the Pekinese, pugs and shih tzus, are predisposed to eye, skin and respiratory issues, according to her. “Cavalier King Charles spaniels are prone to mitral valve disease that leads to heart failure,” she adds.

In India, the pug was made popular by an ad that showed its nub-tailed bottom following a little boy through all kinds of terrain. The dog symbolised the cellular network, but it also spread the misconception that this was an energetic breed that likes to gambol.

The pug popularity spiked after it was featured in an advertisement, leading to rampant in-breeding. Studies say one in three pugs cannot walk properly, has higher risk of lameness and spinal cord disorder. Pic/Ashish Rane

It does not.

“Flat-faced breeds can’t take exercise in the heat,” says Dr Rego. “Pugs in India have a much narrower respiratory tract than required for normal breathing,” adds Dr Nameeta Nadkarni, a veterinary surgeon at Happy Tails, Govandi. The respiratory weakness means that the dogs can’t be exercised as well as they need to be, bringing down their quality of life and risking excess weight. It also means anything that has the potential to aggravate their breathing—smoke, irritants, or even heat stroke—can kill them. Since there is such high pressure within their narrow trachea, they could also potentially choke on their food or vomit at any time.

 “The sudden popularity of the breed in India,” says Dr Nadkarni, “gave rise to a huge demand. Unscrupulous inbreeding followed, leading to the worsening of their pre-existing genetic conditions that make it difficult for them to breathe. The windpipes and nostrils became narrower, and the soft palate became longer, practically obstructing the opening of the trachea. Eyes started bulging more and risked corneal ulcers, the skull changed shape, the lower jaw protruded more (welcoming early onset of dental diseases) and eyelashes started growing inwards, all because of unethical breeding on a large scale…”

Dr Nameeta Nadkarni

Beagles, the current on-trend breed, run risk of eye and skin issues such as atopic dermatitis (a red, itchy skin common also in shih tzus). “When a  breed becomes popular,” says Dr Rego, “the temperament goes out the window because breeders don’t need to be judicious—there is enough demand for puppies.” Dr Nitya Nirody, a veterinary surgeon at Cessna Lifeline Veterinary Hospital in Belapur, says beagles are at high risk for not only allergic skin conditions but also cherry eye (eversion of the third eyelid gland) and epilepsy.

Dr Nadkarni sees 14 to 20 dogs a week with hip-dysplacia—golden retrievers, labradors, and German shepherds. “Though not a factor in survival, it definitely is a painful condition making daily movement and activities far more difficult,” she says. For Dr Nirody, 50 per cent of her canine patients a week suffer from various genetic conditions such as hip-dysplasia and atopic dermatitis, among others.

Dr Nitya Nirody

The brakes on this deterioration of our pets could come in two forms: Regulation of breeding and prudent purchase. “Breeding laws should include issuing of licences based on stringent objective tests of the individuals to be bred,” says Dr Nirody. “People should be more aware of the genetic conditions of the breed they wish to bring into their family. They should select the breed, breeder and the pup based on these conditions.” Dr Nadkarni adds registration of breeding dogs to this list, as well as neutering dogs with genetic defects.

Eventually, it’s the dog’s best friend who can put a stop to this.

A beagle at the 9th India International Pet Trade Fair in Noida. Beagles run the risk of eye and skin issues such as atopic dermatitis. Pic/Getty Images

4.5yrs
UK-based study found French bulldogs to have the shortest life expectancy of any breed

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No. of times pugs are more likely to have severe breathing problems, according to a study published in Canine Medicine and Genetics

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