Due to its flat face and short profile, the English bulldog is beloved by purebred dog lovers, but the reason for this success comes at the cost of an increased risk of health risks, according to British scientists.
If the rooster is a Gallic, then the bulldog is English. Originally bred to fight bulls, Molosser became a pet in Victorian England in the 19th century, he recalls from a study published Wednesday in the journal Canine Medicine and Genetics.
Then the breeders, by crossing, exaggerated the distinctive characteristics of their ancestors, to get a shorter face with a wide lower jaw, a thicker constitution and arched legs.
The animal is now considered among the most valuable animals in the UK. It came fourth in 2020 in the Great British Kennel Club’s Great British Kennel Club dog registrations ranking.
But the study by Dan J. O’Neill, of the Royal Veterinary College, proves the ransom of this success. English Bulldogs are twice as likely to experience affection as another dog, according to a 2016 statistical study of a sample of more than 24,000 dogs, including more than 2,000 English Bulldogs, that were passed by a veterinarian.
Its beautiful folded coat promotes dermatitis. His watery eye is a reaction to what the British call cherry eye, cherry eye, due to tissue inflammation. His flat face is the cause of respiratory syndromes that limit, for example, his resistance to stress. And the extra weight of his muscles is the reason for the appearance of cysts between the fingers. Not to mention the radical shift in animal morphology, making it difficult to give birth to females, and the use of cesarean sections.
These problems are not new, and their prevalence in this breed has been documented for decades. But this is the first time that scientists have quantified: “Many of the predispositions to the diseases described in this study are closely related to the severe formation of the English bulldog” of breeding standards.
The study authors therefore call on breeders to change these criteria, “to prevent the UK from joining the growing list of countries where English bulldog breeding is prohibited”.
In a resounding ruling, the Oslo court banned the breeding of the English Bulldog and Cavalier King Charles Spaniel in Norway, on the grounds that the practice caused them suffering inconsistent with animal welfare law.
