Why are breeds with genetic problems becoming more popular?

Sometimes you can hear the French Bulldog before you see it. It’s the wheezing sound they make as they breathe. French people seem 30 times more likely to suffer from brachiomatous obstructive airway syndrome than other breeds. This troublesome respiratory disease is the result of facial deformity, characteristic of extremely flat arm membrane varieties. These include French Bulldogs, Pugs and English Bulldogs.

Many owners of Brachy-Breeds find attractive things about their pet’s bulging eyes and enlarged skulls. However, the facial features of these infants are intentional deformities and the result of intensive selective breeding to meet the conformational criteria established by purebred kennel clubs. Certainly, people for the ethical treatment of animals recently submitted Litigation Against the American Kennel Club. PETA argues that the AKC requires “certain breeds, such as the French bulldog, to exhibit physical properties that reduce pain, choke and cause premature death.”

For example, the AKC breed standard states that the ideal Frenchman has an “undershot jaw” and “a large square head, with heavy wrinkles forming a soft roll over a very short nose.” As a result of these arbitrary aesthetic rules, brachiosphere varieties suffer from many chronic disorders, including dental problems, itchy skin, sleep apnea, and sudden death. For example, in a A study of 30,000 dogs in the UKThe average life expectancy of French bulldogs was only 4.5 years.

Paradoxical popularity of suffering dogs

It’s like a media headline “The cuteness of French bulldogs is a sudden sacrifice.” You may think that extreme brachiosphere varieties are clearly unpopular. Still, it’s the exact opposite. In 2022, the French ousted the Labrador Retriever as the most popular purebred dog in the United States.

They also became the UK’s most popular variety, with a 3,000% rise in the French bulldog registration between 2008 and 2018. According to Rowena Packer of Royal Veterinary Medicine, the growing popularity of flat face varieties is a global phenomenon.

The growing popularity of dogs that are essentially bred due to genetic disorders is not entirely surprising. Certainly my colleague and I have discovered that dog breed epidemics are most of the problem “Random Drift” And it will quickly become popular More likely than other varieties Suffering from genetic disorders.

In a series of studies, Packer and her colleagues investigated the mysterious boom in brachiomatous varieties. For example, I discovered that there are many French owners. rejection About health issues that bother their pets. in One of their researchone in seven people at Extreme Brachy Breeds claimed that they “nothing” would discourage them from keeping a flat dog. In fact, many owners simply rejected the idea that Brachypephal breeds suffer from dog health issues.

in Another studyPacker’s team reported that physical appearance was the most important reason why people wanted these varieties despite the health issues associated with conformation. This raises questions related to animal welfare. Given the veterinarian problems associated with extreme upper arm balls, why are people attracted to creatures with pathologically crushed faces, wrinkled skin and twisted tails?

Study the relative beauty of flat dogs

To answer this question, Packer and her colleagues recruited nearly 5,000 UK participants to assess the appeal of French bulldogs, pugs and British bulldog images. Their goal was to test the hypothesis that when given options, people actually prefer facial features and body conformation. It’s not an extreme version of these varieties. That’s what their discovery was Recently released in Veterinary records. The main author of the paper was Elizabeth Euence, and the results were surprising.

Researchers used online surveys to test their ideas. Subjects consisted of 4,899 UK residents, with approximately 1,300 participants owning purebred flat-faced dogs. 429 people owned Blazy Cross dogs, and about 3,000 people did not own Brache dogs.

The procedure was simple. After answering questions related to their demographics and their experiences with dogs, subjects were presented with a set of ai– Images of English bulldogs, French bulldogs and pugs were generated (Figure 1). The images ranged from extreme versions of the three breeds (dog 1 in the figure) to extreme versions up to current breed standard (dog 2) to super large versions (dog 3).

Subjects were asked to rate each image on a scale of 1 (lowest) to 10 (highest). The items are as follows:

• How happy do each dog feel when he sees you?
• How attractive each dog is personally to you?
• How healthy does each dog look to you personally?
• How ethically do you think each of these dogs was raised?
• How much do you personally want to own each of these dogs?

Amazing results

Was the researcher right? Did participants prefer the extreme versions of French Bulldogs, Pugs, and English Bulldogs over the current breed standard and super extreme versions of the dogs?

yes. For example, as shown in this graph, subjects rated low-arm spherical versions of all three varieties as more attractive than current breed standard or superextome images. Additionally, the pattern of results applies to all five questions. The extreme version of the dog was determined to be more attractive, healthy and more ethically bred. Furthermore, subjects reported that when they saw the extreme images they felt happy. Most importantly, participants showed that they prefer to own a dog that looks more normal.

For me, the biggest surprise of this study was that these findings were also applied to owners of all three varieties. As the researchers wrote, “When given free choice, they showed a clear preference over the typical, ultra-extreme type of dog, and overly three-dimensional structure.”

Good news

Researchers concluded that among the UK public there is a consistent and strong preference for the extreme forms of French bulldogs, pugs and English bulldogs. Furthermore, this finding was also true for dog owners. These results appear to be true in the United States, where French bulldogs are currently the most popular purebred dog pets.

In their paper, researchers highlighted the impact of their results on animal welfare. They write:These findings provide a major welfare opportunity to reverse the current normalization of extreme body types associated with serious health issues in these varieties. ”

Researchers argue that they do not explicitly promote features such as illicit skulls, bulging eyes and wrinkled skin, as the breed standards of official kennel clubs need to be changed. Researchers acknowledged that development of extreme versions of French and pugs, for example, would require exposure to increase the genetic diversity of the Blasey breed.

I think purists at the Kennel Club are likely to protest. However, the results of this study suggest that the nation is ready for even more cute French bulldogs, but those who normally breathe don’t have chronically itchy skin and live a longer and happier life.