For those who can’t go to the link, the following is what it says:
FYI, none of this is mine. It was posted by Bilton veterinary centre, the same one as in the picture. All credit goes to them but I felt it was important to get word out about some of the breeds of dogs that are riddled with health problems. If you own a pug that’s perfectly healthy that’s cool, but it’s doesn’t change the fact that an alarming number of short nosed (almost no nosed at this point) dogs have extreme difficulty with tasks like breathing and blinking.
"So I am going to have a rant now and I apologise in advance if this upsets anyone, but here goes.
Last week, I managed to reduce a lovely family to floods of tears. They had brought their new dog in to come and see me. There was a young lady, her husband and their two children of about 8 or 9 years old and they were all already absolutely besotted with their new pet - their first dog, and they had been planning it for several years.
The dog was a 5-month-old French Bulldog that they had picked up from a breeder about 4 weeks previously. They were concerned that their new dog may have “a chill” as the dog had sore runny eyes, difficulty in eating and kept making a choking sound. They had also noticed the dog had a “funny smell” about him.
As I examined the dog it became quickly apparent what was occurring and my heart sank.
This dog was yet another increasingly popular “short-nosed” breed that was suffering horribly from a myriad of problems - all related to its poor breeding and its unfortunate anatomy.
After the examination, I found that this dog had:
- Eyeballs too big for its eye sockets. So much so, that when he blinked, the eyelids didn’t fully cover the eyeballs. (Imagine going out on a windy day and not being able to blink!) This had resulted in deep painful ulcers forming on both eyes that in the short term would require intensive treatment and could feasibly result in the rupture of one or both eyeballs.
- The bones forming the front of his face (the maxilla) were so squashed by virtue of this style of this breed (called the brachycephalics), that the soft-tissue structures of the throat are compressed and forced backwards - obstructing his larynx. Amongst other things, his soft palate was so elongated (relative to his skull) that it kept getting trapped over his wind-pipe.
-His nostrils were completely occluded, so absolutely no airflow was possible through his nose. All of his breathing had to take place through his open mouth. This meant that whilst he was eating/sleeping he was going through bouts of asphyxiation and so would have to spit the food out or wake up and open his mouth - purely so he would be able to breathe. This explained the “choking” sound that there were hearing all the time. He could just manage to breathe with his mouth open, but this then exacerbated the problems with his soft palate.
- The skin fold over the top of the nose (caused by the squashed face involuting the skin) had caused a crevice of around 2-3 cms deep, where the skin was rubbing against its self. In this area, the skin was ulcerated and was full of liquid pus. It was this that the owners were smelling. This was incredibly painful for the animal and he cried every time I tried to clean it.
-The skin around his feet, ears, armpits and groin was red raw and inflamed. He clearly was very itchy and had been licking at these areas repeatedly - which had, in turn, made them more sore and painful. This is very typical of a condition called “atopy” which is very common in many breeds, particularly the Bulldogs (French and English).
So at this point, the shocked owners asked what needed to be done to sort him out.
So I had to explain that he would need:
- Bilateral eyelid shortening surgery that would allow the dog to blink properly and prevent further ulcers from forming. As well as long-term medication to improve the quality of his tears.
- Complex soft tissue surgery of the back of the throat to, (amongst other things) shorten his soft palate to facilitate his breathing.
- He would need both of his nostrils opening up so as to allow adequate air flow to be possible to allow him to breathe/exercise/eat/sleep properly.
-He would need a “face-lift” to remove a large amount of excess skin on the front of his face, to try and open up the fold that was causing so much infection and pain.
-He may need allergy testing, food trials, anti-inflammatories etc to try and manage the atopic skin disease that he has.
*He needs all of this fairly urgently.
*He can’t have all of this done at once and so will require several anaesthetics and complex procedures to be done over a period of time.
*He is only 5 months old.
*He needs all of this doing - just so that he can live a vaguely normal life.
*HE IS SUFFERING.
Also - he is not insured. It transpired that the new owners looked into insurance but the premium was so high for this breed, that they felt they couldn’t afford it. To move forward, he would have to go to a specialist veterinary unit (sadly recently set up to deal with the increasing number of very poorly brachycephalic dogs with extreme conformational issues) and this treatment could cost upwards of £8,000 to correct.
Once I had discussed all this with the owners - they were understandably distraught. They had hoped for a “cute” and “cuddly” family pet that they had seen examples of spread throughout popular media. They had no idea that these problems even existed. Instead, they now have a much-loved dog that is miserable, has a long journey ahead of it and one that they cannot afford to have fixed.
The family left the room in floods of tears, armed with medication that would temporarily alleviate some of the symptoms and try to make the poor little dog more comfortable. From what I have later found out, this dog has gone to a rescue centre to be rehomed. It may have moved away, but its problems most certainly will not have done.
Pugs, Frenchies, English Bulldogs and Shar-Peis are amongst the breeds which are increasingly being abandoned in vast numbers as people cannot cope with their ongoing problems, illnesses and costs. It upsets us all hugely when we see how many of the problems frequently associated with these breeds are now classed as “normal”. I will commonly hear “Oh it is normal for this breed to struggle with A, B or C”. NO IT ISN’T NORMAL!
These trendy flat-faced breeds are some of the most expensive puppies to currently buy. There is serious money for people who sell a litter of these puppies and so the incentive to breed is VERY high. It must be said that there are responsible breeders who are trying to “back-breed” these types of dogs to have longer noses, smaller eyes, more open nostrils etc and try to reduce the incidence of these conditions, and these people should be applauded. However, puppy farms and irresponsible owners are rife, and these “breeders” don’t seem to care a jot about the long-term prognosis and what the future holds for “their” breed.
It is also worth noting that many of these breeds are unable to give birth naturally now too (due to the shape of the puppy’s skulls) and so the mothers often go through multiple caesareans…
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE STOP AND THINK before you buy. Come and talk to US about the breeds that you are interested in - and we shall give you the whole picture.
I am completely exhausted and totally demoralised seeing these type of problems on a daily basis. There are enough horrible illnesses, diseases and potential accidents out there without being destined to be unwell before you are even born.
Whilst people are still buying these dogs, people will still breed them and the problem will never go away.“
For those who can’t go to the link, the following is what it says:
FYI, none of this is mine. It was posted by Bilton veterinary centre, the same one as in the picture. All credit goes to them but I felt it was important to get word out about some of the breeds of dogs that are riddled with health problems. If you own a pug that’s perfectly healthy that’s cool, but it’s doesn’t change the fact that an alarming number of short nosed (almost no nosed at this point) dogs have extreme difficulty with tasks like breathing and blinking.
"So I am going to have a rant now and I apologise in advance if this upsets anyone, but here goes.
Last week, I managed to reduce a lovely family to floods of tears. They had brought their new dog in to come and see me. There was a young lady, her husband and their two children of about 8 or 9 years old and they were all already absolutely besotted with their new pet - their first dog, and they had been planning it for several years.
The dog was a 5-month-old French Bulldog that they had picked up from a breeder about 4 weeks previously. They were concerned that their new dog may have “a chill” as the dog had sore runny eyes, difficulty in eating and kept making a choking sound. They had also noticed the dog had a “funny smell” about him.
As I examined the dog it became quickly apparent what was occurring and my heart sank.
This dog was yet another increasingly popular “short-nosed” breed that was suffering horribly from a myriad of problems - all related to its poor breeding and its unfortunate anatomy.
After the examination, I found that this dog had:
- Eyeballs too big for its eye sockets. So much so, that when he blinked, the eyelids didn’t fully cover the eyeballs. (Imagine going out on a windy day and not being able to blink!) This had resulted in deep painful ulcers forming on both eyes that in the short term would require intensive treatment and could feasibly result in the rupture of one or both eyeballs.
- The bones forming the front of his face (the maxilla) were so squashed by virtue of this style of this breed (called the brachycephalics), that the soft-tissue structures of the throat are compressed and forced backwards - obstructing his larynx. Amongst other things, his soft palate was so elongated (relative to his skull) that it kept getting trapped over his wind-pipe.
-His nostrils were completely occluded, so absolutely no airflow was possible through his nose. All of his breathing had to take place through his open mouth. This meant that whilst he was eating/sleeping he was going through bouts of asphyxiation and so would have to spit the food out or wake up and open his mouth - purely so he would be able to breathe. This explained the “choking” sound that there were hearing all the time. He could just manage to breathe with his mouth open, but this then exacerbated the problems with his soft palate.
- The skin fold over the top of the nose (caused by the squashed face involuting the skin) had caused a crevice of around 2-3 cms deep, where the skin was rubbing against its self. In this area, the skin was ulcerated and was full of liquid pus. It was this that the owners were smelling. This was incredibly painful for the animal and he cried every time I tried to clean it.
-The skin around his feet, ears, armpits and groin was red raw and inflamed. He clearly was very itchy and had been licking at these areas repeatedly - which had, in turn, made them more sore and painful. This is very typical of a condition called “atopy” which is very common in many breeds, particularly the Bulldogs (French and English).
So at this point, the shocked owners asked what needed to be done to sort him out.
So I had to explain that he would need:
- Bilateral eyelid shortening surgery that would allow the dog to blink properly and prevent further ulcers from forming. As well as long-term medication to improve the quality of his tears.
- Complex soft tissue surgery of the back of the throat to, (amongst other things) shorten his soft palate to facilitate his breathing.
- He would need both of his nostrils opening up so as to allow adequate air flow to be possible to allow him to breathe/exercise/eat/sleep properly.
-He would need a “face-lift” to remove a large amount of excess skin on the front of his face, to try and open up the fold that was causing so much infection and pain.
-He may need allergy testing, food trials, anti-inflammatories etc to try and manage the atopic skin disease that he has.
*He needs all of this fairly urgently.
*He can’t have all of this done at once and so will require several anaesthetics and complex procedures to be done over a period of time.
*He is only 5 months old.
*He needs all of this doing - just so that he can live a vaguely normal life.
*HE IS SUFFERING.
Also - he is not insured. It transpired that the new owners looked into insurance but the premium was so high for this breed, that they felt they couldn’t afford it. To move forward, he would have to go to a specialist veterinary unit (sadly recently set up to deal with the increasing number of very poorly brachycephalic dogs with extreme conformational issues) and this treatment could cost upwards of £8,000 to correct.
Once I had discussed all this with the owners - they were understandably distraught. They had hoped for a “cute” and “cuddly” family pet that they had seen examples of spread throughout popular media. They had no idea that these problems even existed. Instead, they now have a much-loved dog that is miserable, has a long journey ahead of it and one that they cannot afford to have fixed.
The family left the room in floods of tears, armed with medication that would temporarily alleviate some of the symptoms and try to make the poor little dog more comfortable. From what I have later found out, this dog has gone to a rescue centre to be rehomed. It may have moved away, but its problems most certainly will not have done.
Pugs, Frenchies, English Bulldogs and Shar-Peis are amongst the breeds which are increasingly being abandoned in vast numbers as people cannot cope with their ongoing problems, illnesses and costs. It upsets us all hugely when we see how many of the problems frequently associated with these breeds are now classed as “normal”. I will commonly hear “Oh it is normal for this breed to struggle with A, B or C”. NO IT ISN’T NORMAL!
These trendy flat-faced breeds are some of the most expensive puppies to currently buy. There is serious money for people who sell a litter of these puppies and so the incentive to breed is VERY high. It must be said that there are responsible breeders who are trying to “back-breed” these types of dogs to have longer noses, smaller eyes, more open nostrils etc and try to reduce the incidence of these conditions, and these people should be applauded. However, puppy farms and irresponsible owners are rife, and these “breeders” don’t seem to care a jot about the long-term prognosis and what the future holds for “their” breed.
It is also worth noting that many of these breeds are unable to give birth naturally now too (due to the shape of the puppy’s skulls) and so the mothers often go through multiple caesareans…
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE STOP AND THINK before you buy. Come and talk to US about the breeds that you are interested in - and we shall give you the whole picture.
I am completely exhausted and totally demoralised seeing these type of problems on a daily basis. There are enough horrible illnesses, diseases and potential accidents out there without being destined to be unwell before you are even born.
Whilst people are still buying these dogs, people will still breed them and the problem will never go away.“
Update: he finally got the cat to the vet to see if she had a microchip
I was already on board with his sweet wholesome open-to-love-and-nurturing heart but I was fully unprepared for getting to that last tweet and seeing how off the hook HOT dude is
I read an anecdote from someone whose African Grey didn’t particularly get along with her Amazon parrot, Paco. One night she was preparing cornish hens for dinner, while the grey hung out with her in the kitchen. He got a closer look at one of the hens, looked his mama dead in the eyes and asked, “Paco?” Then he laughed.
that is one sadistic bird
I am slightly afraid now.
I love birds?
African Grey Parrots are one of the smartest birds, and seems they can be known to play “jokes” or “pranks” on their owners or any visitors.
I was visiting a friend of the family one time and I was just casually watching tv when I thought I heard the water running. I go into the kitchen but everything’s fine. the parrot looks at me and says “gotcha”.
Parrots are awesome.
I have an African Grey named Loki and he lives up to his name.
He likes to scream and mimic the sounds of things falling off the shelf and when we run into the room to see what’s happening he says “The cat did it! Bad Sammy!” and laughs.
Whenever he gets mad at me he flies away from me, but since he can’t fly very well, he always crash lands. And the first thing he says when I go to pick him up, without fail, is always “You need to vacuum,” in a very bitter grumble.
Loki likes to call our cat to him. He’ll sit there for minutes saying “here kitty kitty kitty.” The cat will come, walk up to the bird, get bit and then Loki will laugh as the cat screams and runs away. This goes on for hours.
If it’s late at night and he’s tired, but I’m still up with the lights on, he’ll say “Loki go night night.” It’s starts of in a normal tone and then gets louder and louder until he’s screaming “LOKI GO NIGHT NIGHT!”
If he sees my dad fall asleep, he screams like a little girl to scare my dad awake. And then laughs. He’s kind of perfected that evil laugh.
But the best one was when I brought home the man who has since become my ex for the first time, Loki looked him dead in the eyes and said “I’m going to bite you.” My parrot was the first one to see what a bad person my ex. He was smarter than us all.
African Greys are like the greatest animal on the planet
When I was a kid, we had a rescued african grey called Dodi, and once I was arguing with my mum about my bed time, and the parrot (who had some very foul mouthed previous owners) just shouted at me “for fuck sake go to bed!”
also whenever we hoovered he’d call us “yoooou dusty cunts”
best thing was he had a scottish accent
Reblogging for Scottish swearing parrot
I almost died choked with a piece of cake because of the last one.
hi the artist is ryan long, these are just a few pieces from a larger series…i’ve seen this post so many times but never once with an actual artist credit :-(
hi the artist is ryan long, these are just a few pieces from a larger series…i’ve seen this post so many times but never once with an actual artist credit :-(
