Puppet/Steff | 23 | Female | Aussie
Artist | Graduate | Games DesignAywas ID #6177
Life Ruined By:
Persona 5, Tokyo Ghoul, The Flash, Cow Chop, Monster Hunter, One Piece, Attack on Titan, Jurassic Park.
How dog breeders have “improved” breeds over the past 100 years.
The basset hound never used to sit so low. The dog has suffered changes to his rear leg structure, has excessive skin, vertebrae problems, droopy eyes that are prone to ectropion and entropion, and excessively large ears.
The bull terrier used to be an athletic dog, but over the years his snout was mutated to be oversized and bending downwards, leading to respiratory issues. Many bull terriers have supernumerary teeth and are compulsive tail chasers and air biters owing to brain deformities.
The boxer now has a much shorter face with an extremely short snout. The hindquarters are also lower. Like all brachycephalic dogs, the boxer has difficulty controlling his temperature in hot weather, meaning they are prone to overheating and collapsing in the summer. The boxer also has one of the highest cancer rates among dog breeds and many modern day boxers suffer from seizures.
The english bulldog has evolved into a creature that suffers from almost every known disease. A kennel club survey conducted in 2004 found that they die on average at only 6 years and 4 months old. They cannot mate without human intervention, and cannot give birth naturally due to their giant heads. There is no such thing as a truly healthy bulldog.
The dachshund, at one time, used to have functional legs and necks for their size. Their backs and legs have gotten longer, chest jutted forward, and legs have shrunk to such proportions that there is barely any clearance between their chest and the floor. Obese dachshunds usually have to actually drag their bellies across the ground. Their risk for intervertebral disc disease - which can result in paralysis - is extremely high. They are also prone to achrondoplastic related pathologies, progressive retinal apathy, and problems with their legs and joints.
Pugs are the most inbred breed of dog in existence - an investigation carried out found that amongst the 10,000 pugs found in the UK are so inbred, the gene pool consists of the equivalent of only 50 individuals. They are extremely brachycephalic, and suffer severely from all the associated problems - the folds in their face frequently get infected, they struggle to breathe (making snoring/snorting/huffing noises even without moving), they have high blood pressure, low oxygenation, often collapse and die in the summer or if allowed to overheat, dentition problems due to their skulls being so curled in, and perhaps most shocking - their double curled tail is actually a genetic defect, and in its most serious forms leads to paralysis and many dogs needed a wheelchair or being euthanised if this progresses. These dogs are usually culled if they fail to produce this ‘attractive’ trait.
Healthy puppies that do not succumb to these ridiculous modern day breed standards are usually culled. One very heartbreaking example is the rhodesian ridgeback. The ridge is actually a genetic deformity - a mild form of spinal bifida - and puppies born without this ridge are healthy - but since the ridge is their namesake, healthy puppies are normally culled at birth and only those with noticeable ridges are bred from, thus passing the disability down to future dogs. Below is a ridgeback alongside a healthy, ridgeless dog.
3 to 4 million dogs and cats are killed every year because shelters are too full…. people are choosing to buy from breeders or shops instead of offering them a home.
Homeless animals outnumber homeless people by 5:1.
Only 1 in 10 dogs will ever find a permanent home.
25 PER CENT OF DOGS THAT ENTER SHELTERS ARE PUREBREEDS.
Please consider adopting a homeless dog. Please don’t encourage breeding these animals when there are so many being killed every year. Breeding is a profit, not “just” a hobby, and even if you think your breeder is reputable, they are still churning out puppies into a world where pets are seen as disposable.
This post is EXTREMELY important and I want all of you to read it.
NEVER buy a dog. Adoption should be your only option.
THIS. EVERYTHING IN THIS POST IS GOLD. YOU FUCKERS READ UP
Do not buy a dog from a breeder. A dog is not the living equivalent of a designer bag. Adopt a dog. Stop supporting the business of genetic mutilation for aesthetic.
I don’t care if this isn’t my blog aesthetic, you shouldn’t either. Please please PLEASE ADOPT!!!!! IF YOU TELL ME ABOUT YOUR NEW PUPPY THAT YOU “BOUGHT” I WILL FUCKING PUNCH YOU!
Adoption is seriously the best. Plus foster if you can.
I am truly horrified. And the fact that pugs are super inbred does not surprise me, you can see it in their faces :O
I tried to pass this up but I just I can’t. Breeding is not inherently bad. Ignorance is bad. Having no KNOWLEDGE is bad. Someone adopting a puppy from a shelter with no information or knowledge or education about dogs or dog training is just as harmful as someone who buys from a breeder with the same lack of knowledge.
You know who depends on breeders? Service dogs. Service dogs bred and raised to HELP people who NEED it. So go on and punch me in my fucking face for researching for TWO YEARS in the right breeder and BREED for my disability. Go on and punch me in the face for spending the next FOUR years making sure she’s trained right and healthy and actively helping OTHER people find their right dog for them be in adoption or breeding.
Breeding is NOT the problem. Ignorance is. Lack of activism is. You really want to battle this shit??? Get fucking involved. Join the AKC and the breed clubs, push for more strict breeding regulations, push for healthier codes, push for the codes that decide what the dog breed standard is changes. Make a fucking difference in the community instead of standing back and judging because you know what DOESNT end up in shelters? Dogs from reputable breeders. from breeders who spend their every dime to keep their dogs safe and healthy and that they do not breed until they know these puppies have homes and if they DONT they keep them.
Are there problems in dog shows and the AKC?? Hell yes. But standing on the side lines complaining won’t DO anything. You don’t like the breed guidelines? HELP CHANGE THEM. Because dog shows and SERVICE DOGS and breeders aren’t going anywhere but helping change how they are raised or judged in dog shows CAN change.
Also to think that adopting has no issues is ignorant as well. ANYONE can adopt a dog. You know how many irresponsible people just adopt dogs? How many horrible shelters out there are there? How many people adopt then just send them back? How many get a dog with no knowledge or a puppy then just stick the dog outside?
There is no one solution fits all- actually there is! It’s called spreading knowledge (like the OP post of breed standards) but also getting INVOLVED. voting, being apart of the community, pushing people to learn and if they want to adopt to help make sure they are ready and if they want to get one from a breeder to find one who does it correctly.
Knowledge is the solution. Not shaming someone who buys from a breeder.
Me and my bred-SERVICE DOG thank you.
^ That’s important!! Buying a bred dog isn’t inherently “bad”, I don’t think that was the intended vibe of the original post.
For a lot of people, buying a certain breed is the best way to purchase a dog whose temperament etc. will be best suited to their lifestyle and often, dogs purchased directly from a good breeder will never see the inside of a shelter.
I think the point is not to buy designer breeds, and to be aware of the history and current standing of the breed you’re looking into. If the dog you’re interested in suffers from one of the atrocious aesthetic deformities, reconsider, or look around for those blessed breeders that are trying to revive the historical founders of the breed by introducing other breeds to their stock to try and breed out this laundry list of problems. A good breeder should always be striving for a healthier, sounder dog with no health issues - not just to meet the AKC’s ridiculous standards.
The message here is to do your research, and ask your prospective breeders a million questions. Some of the harmful mutations aren’t as glaring as flat faces and short legs, like the flopped ears of the scottish fold cat or a pug’s curled tail. -shakes everyone- Yes, please, for the love of all things adopt a shelter dog if you are able - especially the older dogs, and not just the cute floppy puppies. But breeders aren’t necessarily the problem, its the backyard breeders, the one-time “oh our dog is so cute and so lovely wouldn’t it be fun for the kids to see puppies growing up!” owners, and the asshole guys who are so insecure in their manliness that they can’t neuter their dogs that are the problem.
sincerely, a person who has been on prozac for 9 years
this is in response to some shitty stuff i’ve seen on my dash recently. it’s super simplified, so if you’d like to know some more indepth stuff on how exactly it works, google it—OR BETTER YET actually talk to a mental health doctor psychiatrist person wow
Prozac has literally stopped me killing myself. I would be dead if it weren’t for antidepressants. If you spread misinformation I’ll come to your house and smack u into orbit.
This is good, the one thing I’ll point out is that sometimes antidepressants will make you numb- it’s happened to me and my sister- but that’s a sign you’re on the wrong one. So if it happens, go back to your doctor and say you want to try a new one.
signal boosting the fuck outta this SO HARD because the right medication can make all the difference
Also it takes a while to settle into your meds. They will tell you two weeks but it’s actually more like 6 weeks.
Thinking of getting a dog? Know someone who might be? Please read this first.
I’m a vet. Some details changed or omitted for anonymity purposes and because I’ll get flamed for this.
Today a man brought his dog in to me.
The dog was a large, boisterous adolescent puppy. He hurtled into the room, bouncing up to me excitedly, wagging his tail all the time and nudging at my hand with his muzzle. His big squishy paws crashed against my chest each time he paused to greet me, as he bounded around the room investigating all the smells. He was an unusual cross, very striking to look at and obviously a bright and energetic dog. He was adorable.
The history went like this:
The dog had been bought as a tiny puppy by a couple who were told it was a “designer” cross between two specific small breeds. Now, if the people who bought this puppy had had the slightest inkling about what they were doing it would have been immediately obvious to them that this was most certainly not a cross between two small breeds. But anyway, they didn’t have a clue so they bought the cute little puppy from this dubious source (probably at a cost of several hundred pounds) and took it back to their family home, complete with toddler.
The dog grew a bit and it became clear that it was actually going to be really big. It was bouncy, energetic and destructive. It kept racing around and knocking over their small child. So they rehomed it to a family member.
The family member also had children but they were slightly bigger children. The family member really wanted to do the right thing, so they tried to “discipline” the dog. The dog began to show occasional signs of aggression and was completely hyperactive in the home, destructive and unmanageable. I was not surprised to hear this, since it was obvious to me from this dog’s heritage that it was the sort of dog which had significant needs in terms of exercise and stimulation. In an attempt to magically resolve the issues the family member had the dog neutered. Which unsurprisingly made no difference.
Today the dog was brought in to be put to sleep. It had growled very aggressively when a child had put its face near his, and between this and an imminent change in circumstances the family member felt unable to manage the dog any more. He had tried local and national rescue organisations, all of which were full. He had nobody to care for the dog overnight tonight. He was not able to take the dog home, partly because of safety concerns and partly because the decision had been taken together as a family that it was the right thing to do.
So I put this healthy, affectionate, vibrant dog to sleep while it munched on treats and the third owner in its short life cried into his fur. Then when it was just me and the body of this poor puppy I had a good old cry myself.
I know there will be people who think I was right to put down a dog who has shown any signs of aggression under any circumstances. I disagree.
I know there will be people who think I was wrong to put down a dog when I could have taken it and found it a new home. I disagree.
I also know that there will be many many people who have no idea that this is happening all the time in this country because of irresponsible ignorant greedy people, selling dogs to irresponsible ignorant feckless people, who then pass them on to naive and thoughtless “rescuers” who eventually get to the end of their tether and bring them to me for euthanasia. All the time.
These are the dogs who bite children in the home due to a total lack of knowledge, reasonable expectations and effort to socialise them adequately.
These are the dogs whose owners can afford four figure sums to buy the latest random mongrel “breed” with a stupid made-up name, but cannot afford fifty quid to get it vaccinated, far less any money at all to treat even minor illnesses.
These are the dogs who clog up rescue centres all over the country, waiting along with thousands and thousands of others for the home with no children, no other pets and eight-foot fences, with an owner who has experience of managing behavioural problems, works from home, has stainless steel furniture and can write blank cheques to pay for the inherited illnesses the dog suffers from. Homes which don’t actually exist.
These are the dogs who I have to put down because I know that it is more responsible of me to painlessly take their life than to condemn them to wait with the rest of the enormous population of “difficult” dogs sitting in rescue kennels all over the country.
Please, please, I implore you. Get advice before you take on a dog - from a vet, a qualified positive behaviourist, the Kennel Club, the Blue Cross, the Dog’s Trust, the RSPCA - the information is there for the taking, there is no excuse. Go to a decent breeder, who has a waiting list, or a rescue centre which really grills you thoroughly before matching you with a pet. Find out how to bring your puppies up properly so if you do find your circumstances change then at least they are rehomable. Make sure you can afford to pay for the unexpected. Make sure your expectations are fair.
