I’ve been meaning to write this post for a while but have been hesitating. It is a difficult topic to write about, do I talk about all the issues? do I say I think we should probably rethink breeding them? (gasp!). Some people are absolutely crazy about their pugs, boston terriers etc. These flat faced breeds are cute,…in their own right,…but have a few noticeable health issues due to our genetic design. Consider the following:

Respiratory: holy moly we designed an animal that needs to put in three times the effort just to breathe…. Known as brachycelphalic airway obstruction syndrome, our genetic breeding has designed these dogs to have narrow nostrils, elongated soft palates, bigger tongues, and smaller/narrower trachea, all of which makes it more challenging to breathe. Ever heard a pug sleep? yea you know what I’m talking about. Sometimes these problems even need to be surgically “repaired” (is repaired the correct term if we have purposefully designed these animals?)

Eyes: the eyes, the poor poor eyes. Basically popping out of their head. The shallow eye sockets of these breeds make them more predisposed to things like,..eyes literally popping out of their sockets. Also things like eye ulcers or dry eye seem to be quite common in these breeds. None of the above are good.

Skin: that bunched up face? with all the folds? that likes to harbor moisture and bits of food? yea that is a problem, it ends up growing all sorts of stuff resulting in some nasty skin infections. Often these nasal folds need to be wiped clean daily/regularly.

Teeth: So imagine having a box of 42 pencil crayons then you find a box half that size and then cram the same 42 pencil crayons into that new box. It’s a mess. Same thing with their jaws, they still have 42 teeth they just need to be slammed into a smaller space. Like a toddler forcing a square peg through a round hole it doesn’t quite work, and if it does, it is not pretty. This exercise results in crowded misaligned teeth that collect debris and develop periodontal disease much earlier than other breeds.

Now I realize it is probably ridiculous to say we should stop breeding them (despite the above concerns, the higher risk of heat stroke, and the higher anesthetic risks,…). Maybe this is an article to help people critically reflect on our actions in terms of pets and our desires. With each decision in our breedings of these animals, they have a subsequent effect maybe beyond our immediate observations. We must consider health implications for the decisions we make for their appearance.