Animal Lovers

Now vets and animal welfare groups have said enough is enough. They claim that the marketing is increasing demand for dogs with deformities. They have written a joint letter to the companies involved asking them to stop using these dogs, even cartoon versions, to prevent welfare crisis. Credit : The Register The animals’ faces have been so flattened and distorted by selective breeding that they suffer severe health problems, including breathing difficulties caused by restricted airways, eye disease and infections resulting from skin folds. Yet the popularity of brachycephalic, or flat-faced, breeds continues to rocket, aided by celebrity owners such by Lady Gaga, David Beckham and Holly Willoughby. The number of French bulldogs registered with the Kennel Club has increased 30-fold in ten years — from 670 in 2007 to 21,470 last year. Pug numbers have trebled and bulldogs doubled. The letter from the Brachycephalic Working Group (BWG), which includes the British Veterinary A...

How Certain Dog Breeds Looked in 1915 vs. 2016 The images on the left are from a 1915 book titled  Dogs of All Nations .  The pictures on the right are today’s poorly bred version of the dog on the left. By:  Science and Dogs On the left is a well-conditioned, athletic Bull Terrier. The dog on the right has an altered skull and thick abdomen. Today’s Bull Terriers are prone to a long list of disorders, including extra teeth and compulsive tail-chasing. By:  Science and Dogs Look at how low to the ground today’s Basset Hound is. His shorter stature is the result of changes to the rear leg structure. He also has surplus skin, and needlessly long ears. Today’s Basset Hound’s droopy eyes are prone to eyelid abnormalities, and he also often suffers from problems related to his vertebra. By:  Science and Dogs See how much shorter the Boxer’s face on the right is? Boxers are brachycephalic dogs, meaning they have pushed-in faces. Like many brachy ...