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A recent Veterinary Times carries the tale of vet nurse Lucy Gunn's experience with her Pug, Lola.
It begins:
"Lola was a healthy little thing when I got her, having had her vaccinations. But at about six months of age, she started snoring more and her breathing became louder. She would go for a little walk, then struggle for breath and collapse. I knew something wasn’t right, so took her to see the vet where I worked."
It was the start of a health nightmare. Lola had a soft-palate resection. It helped for a few weeks, but then her breathing got worse again. She had another soft-palate resection. Again, it helped her for a while - but then she deteriorated again. Finally, she had a tracheotomy. It was either that or euthanasia, Lucy was told by the referral vet.
Lola was still only 10 months old.
Ms Gunn continues:
"Lola did very well for at least 18 months post-surgery. She was almost back to “normal” and was exercising well with no dyspnoeic episodes. However, following this great spell, the BAOS symptoms slowly started to appear again and it was not long before she became dyspnoeic during and after exercise and was also turning cyanotic during these episodes. So, I decided to return to the referral vets to see what they advised.
"The vet decided because Lola was growing and a pug, the extra skin folds around her neck were causing an issue with her stoma, which is relatively small – about the size of a thumbnail. It was decided the best way to correct this was to have a skin lift – effectively, a nip and tuck.
"Lola ended up having surgery in which a 16cm length of skin was excised from the back of her neck, allowing the excess skin to be removed and hopefully solving the issue. She has a rather impressive scar to show for it – I say it is one of her many war wounds. Postoperatively, all went well and Lola recovered as well as was to be expected.
In a separate condition, she developed bilateral eye ulcers. Fortunately, it was caught early and I treated her successfully with ophthalmic drops.
"Following this, she started showing symptoms of hip and spinal pain. This meant another anaesthetic and further investigation. Radiographs indicated hemivertebrae and it was decided to try long-term NSAID medication. Initially, due to her other health issues, we decided not to do anything surgically, but to treat medically and reassess symptoms regularly.
"This treatment continued for 12 months, at which point Lola developed a gastric ulcer from the use of long-term NSAID medication. This meant another visit to a referral specialist and a two-week stay on medication to treat her symptoms.
Lola has recently had another surgery – a mast cell tumour removed on her stifle. Again, she recovered well and is now back to normal."
And at the end of that, what does Ms Gunn conclude?
"Lola has not discouraged me from owning pugs and I’ll doubtless get another when the time comes. Pugs as a breed have a great determination and true spirit. Lola has had many issues, but has taken it all in her stride and being a pug she’s got great comedy value. She’s so silly at times – especially when racing around the garden doing the “pug run”. I would not be without her – she’s a huge part of the family and we adore her."Ms Gunn... let me put this as nicely as I can.
You are not a hero. You are a stupid, unthinking, cruelty-promoting idiot.
Seriously, I know that's rude but can't you see?
Dogs shouldn't have to have "great determination" or "true spirit" in order to endure what we have forced on them. That Lola and other Pugs cope with this awfulness isn't a tribute to her or them. It's a terrible, terrible indictment on you and us.
For goodness sake. How can any serious veterinary paper publish something so unfeeling as this chirpy little tale of illness and operations performed on this unfortunate pet. The little dog has had a life of pain and I certainly would not want someone seemingly so lacking in compassion nursing any one of my animals.
ReplyDeleteI have four Japanese Chins, like the pug they are endearing brave feisty little dogs. As the years have gone by I have seen how they suffer because of their flat faces and I would never breed or buy a brachycephalic dog again.
What is so hard to understand about not breeding dogs with serious health issues and dangerous, unstable temperaments?
ReplyDeleteOne definition of insanity is to do the same thing, expecting a different result. Getting another pug is freaking INSANE. Someone so unable to learn a valuable lesson from this experience has to be crazy. "Great Comic Value"?!?! So let's all sit around and laugh at the deformed, disfigured, disabled creature that cannot move properly because of its deformed spine and that has had to have umpteen surgeries just to let it breathe!!!! WTF!!!!!!
ReplyDelete"determination and spirit"? No! It is the instinctive "will to survive" that all sentient beings have. There is nothing to be admired in this poor, sad dog's "brave" struggle to survive.
How is it not considered animal cruelty to produce that pathetic creatures. It makes me so angry with people and sad for the animals.
Well said Sir.
DeleteIt's like you are the voice for the inside of my head - pugs are so popular but every time someone gets one, it perpetuates the circle of cruelty.
ReplyDeleteI bet this poor animal has been in surgery or recovering from surgery for at least half of her short life. Just because she can't sit around contemplating her agonizing existence does not mean she is not suffering. To intentionally encourage the production of more dogs like her is appalling.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if the Lucy has notified the breeder, if she bought the pug from a "reputable" source she should. She owes it to Lola's relatives alive now and future generations. If the breeder is in this Country the KC (if they can be bothered, of course) should advise the breeder that they will not accept future registrations from the breeder and banned from dog shows. Until the breeder can prove after a period of a couple of years that the Pugs she is producing are much, much healthier, AND CAN BREATHE without surgical intervention. Lucy, in her capacity as animal medic, is fully aware and in the best possible position to let Pug owners know exactly what they could be taking on, in fact all braccy breeds. As Margaret Carter says, Lola is not brave and courageous, she is a dog that has been deliberately bred for money regardless of the cruelty bred into this breed, she is unable to be a happy free running free eating dog. Lucy, Lola came into your life for a reason and that should be enough for you to shout very loudly about the horrible suffering your pet dog has undergone to be able to live. Re-read your story and you will see that it is sickening how much pain and anguish you have experienced never mind Lola who has physically felt the intrusive of such painful procedures. That isn't right is it, just or fair. Contact the breeder and let us know how she deals with it all.
ReplyDeleteWhy does this happen to the nicest little dogs? Cavaliers, pugs, French bulldogs, such nice little dogs, really what most people can stand to have in an actual dog. But they are so messed up.
ReplyDeleteyou do not have to get a deformed dog to get a nice small dog - https://www.facebook.com/built4functionandfitness/posts/295333964006166
DeleteThey are "nice" because they don't have the oxygen to be aggressive or excited.
DeleteChris R
Fraser Hale I like Gila! She's a whippet cross as I read it on your URL. What is she crossed with? If it wasn't an intentional cross, and was adopted, it's a matter of being painstakingly choosy when getting your dog. And even when you think you have what you want, time can bring out other things you didn't expect.
DeleteEven purebreds don't have guarantees on temperament. They have individuals with quirks, but one of the things that draws people to certain breeds, with crappy physical problems or not, is a feeling that you are likely to get a certain nature.
This is all being said by someone in FAVOR of outcrossing and ending brachy nonsense, as well as the terrible extreme dwarfism of some breeds like corgis and doxies, and countless other revolting mutations. It's just reality though.
I don't think she's necessarily an idiot for wanting a dog with a particular temperament, but she's participating in the cruelty that's going along with pugs when she doesn't see that her dog's problems are really the result of it being bred for such extreme conformation. If you really love your dog, shouldn't your goal be to demand that breeders be a little more modern in their understanding of dog health issues? Because if not, this poor Lola has suffered for nothing.
ReplyDeleteIt SHOULD be. But I don't think it even dawns on people to do this. I think they go through life thinking "A pug is a pug and this is what it is." It doesn't even occur to folks that they have some sort of consumer control.
DeleteNot to mention that if it takes ten or twenty years for breeders to take heed and produce healthier pugs, that's ten or twenty years of waiting by the prospective buyer. Life is short. They are going to buy their pugs NOW while they are alive and able bodied enough to enjoy them. So some crappy animals are going to be bought in the meanwhile. Sad to say.
I partially agree, but perhabs she places too much importance in the breed in regards to personality. I.e. "the pug run"? It's not breed specific. In "my" breed, Maltese, it's also normal to do zoomies. I do understand wanting to own a dog with personality that is suitable. But maybe she should focus on that part, and try to find friendly, outgoing, sweet compagnion dog that won't have to suffer. While breed does help picking suitable, predictable personality, it's not everything. There's a chance that her next pug won't be the same as this one. Hopefully, if she goes with pug as next dog, she will be more aware of issues connected with phenotype, and will try to find more moderate pup.
DeleteSpeachless!!
ReplyDeleteI'm so grateful that I naturally gravitate to dogs with normal canine proportions and features.
ReplyDeleteAnd this is why pet insurance is so expensive for the rest of us!
ReplyDeleteWhy would an insurance company even cover a dog that is specifically breed and selected to be "broken" in so many ways? There is no actuarial up-side to insuring a pug/bulldog/frenchie... They will always be a loss, but it is good PR for the insurance companies when they can occasionally boast of paying out $20 000 or more on a single animal.
DeleteNo, I don't think they do it for PR reasons. It's because they can charge high premiums and - presumably - they are either breaking even or people with more normal dogs are subsidising the whole thing.
DeleteThis veterinary nurse has learned nothing about animal suffering from either her professional or personal experiences with dogs. Sadly, that poor little dog should have been euthanized, not tortured with surgery after pointless surgery. Further, that type of dog should no longer be bred at all. If you don't love dogs and cats with normal muzzles, then you are no dog or cat fan.
ReplyDeleteWhat I simply can't understand is WHY anyone decided a flat-faced dog was either pretty or desirable in the first place. No-one seems to be able to answer that. Surely the deliberate malformation isn't a customer-led demand? I mean, how many pug lovers would change their minds and walk away if presented with a pup with a protruding nose?
ReplyDeleteWell seems we are hard wired to love these little flat faced dogs. Its called Kinderschema, a concept of evolutionary biology.
DeleteThis was discovered by Konrad Lorenz an Austrian Nazi psychologist working in German concentration camps in WWII. "Cuteness" was one of his hobbies, he and later his successor in the field ethologist Irenaus Eibel-Eibesfeldt identified the set of traits that make cute and adorable.
The reasons we do are explained –
"A protective, non-sexual (for most people) and disarmed attraction – is rooted in the need for human infants to be cared for by human adults. Unlike the very young of some other species, which can care for themselves shortly or immediately after birth, human babies need attention in order to survive and thrive: they must be fed, physically protected and held, among other things that parents do for their children. Parents are not the only ones who can care for babies, any human could, and so we are all hardwired to respond in a similar fashion to human babies in case even the chosen childless among us end up in some sort of situational comedy and find ourselves in charge of caring with a distant relative’s baby or come across one in a ditch. We won’t pass on taking care of the helpless child in these situations in part because we find them cute. This helps further the species." Etc
So dogs that look like this set off all sorts of and I quote "adoring emotions" in all of us who have apparently normal responses at least. Short, podgy limbs, big head, big wide spaced bulging eyes, flat face, small nose ... etc
http://www.stuffyoushouldknow.com/blog/babies-cute-explained/
http://scienceofcute.blogspot.hk/2008/10/biological-homage-to-mickey-mouse.html
Why we should love something like a Borzoi or a wolf like dog like a GSD is perhaps just as much a puzzle. Im sure these breeds should set our sense of evolutionary preservation of our species racing into panic mode....... I guess we learnt to harness that scary to protect ourselves and our livestock instead, since wolves were so eager to hang around us and learnt to bark etc
I might add a nurse might be particularly susceptible....
DeleteYes, kinderschema does explain why some people are attracted to pets that remind them of the babies of their species, and especially our own via flat face, big eyes, chubby bodies, etc. HOWEVER, those of us who understand what other species normally look like will quickly realize that the face of a pug dog or a Persian cat is obviously extremely disfigured, and not cute at all. So, this kinderschema doesn't just automatically kick in for everything; you have to ignore what is normal for other species to think they look better when they vaguely resemble our infants, and that's not right, especially in a professional trained to work with animals, like these vets and vet nurses ... Yes, River P may be right about some people's impulse to care for something, but again, it's plainly obvious that pugs are not just needy, but intentionally bred to be deformed. Better to prevent further suffering than to constantly treat it. If one does not understand this, one U.S. Not really advocating for animals at all.
DeleteBTW - it's not hard to understand the converse, of why people would love dogs with mormal muzzles, like GSDs, borzois (before they were bred to have no stop, anyway), etc. Admiration for healthy looking specimens is just as rousing as wanting to care for needy ones.
When cuteness intentionally masks diseased deformity you have a probelm, no?
DeleteThese must be powerful enough "switches" in our brain, designed to override everything else. After all in his instance if they didn't work we might not be so caring for the young of our own species and that could have disastrous negative consequences for our species as a whole. We have evolved unable to fend for ourselves as babies so its somewhat critical to our survival.
Yes, primarily sexual fitness aspects are also hardwired I imagine.
You just have to sit beach side in Malibu and watch the male reaction to the mostly larger than life breast implants on parade to know logic isn't necessarily always on our side. Anyway a pug causing protective ga-ga instincts is not going to make you feel secure like a wolf like dog befriending and protecting your interests might. Fitness in a hunting companion of course might also very well be important enough to be hard wired. Stereotyping for a moment here but maybe that's why pug owners traditionally anyway seem to be more in touch with their feminine side than not?
Is the the pug sending more ga-ga (no disrespect Gugs) responses than "beware Im unhealthy ones".
Deformity is known to cause some negative responses after all. However the symmetrical, designer deformity in pugs which also contrive to elicit our hardwired protective instincts might make it that much harder to see the deformity for what it is, or the possible consequences thereof?
When ignorance is no longer an excuse.....
I even imagine that when people see this picture above of the quizzical, baby, humanoid, little "pug people" in trouble, they might actually not end up grasping the pedigree pug warning message underlining the article at all. Maybe the 93 000 pound bill should've been in slightly larger bold script too....the 5-pound highlight might be in danger of sending mixed messages?
ps - head faults or absolute head qualities in the Borzoi should not make or break the assessment of the overall dog. But there is definately a suggestion of a stop, its subtle, flowing but absolutely unmistakably there. Extremes, perhase ironicaly to some, are seen as a problem...
River P, yes I agree that some people may be more susceptible to this attraction to baby features than others. I for one have always noticed how bizarre braccy dogs and cats are, and have always realized they are deformed, not cute. The flat face, bulging eyes, labored breathing, and so many other traits are clearly a syndrome, and not just "perpetual puppiness." But it seems some people do feel they look very baby-like, to the exclusion of understanding the damage artificial selection has wrought.
DeleteFar wider to understand that dogs, cats, and people are babies for a while, and then they grow up. It's dysfunctional to think otherwise. Better to have a healthy dog or cat, which is not too different from its wild ancestors, so finely shaped by natural selection, than to presume breeders can successfully alter the canid or felid body plan.
Yes I think the paedomorphic dog is absolutely not an accident.
DeleteThis might seem contentious but could pugs themselves be equal partners in crime with humans as far as in how they have ended up looking?
In the complex co-evolutionary process which led to wolves becoming mans best friend is the pug simply exploiting human preferences for paedomorphic characteristics. Does the breed represent the ultimate expression of this exploitation. Perhaps to the point of no return and it's ultimate extinction, or at least total dependence.... along with other breeds that cannot conceive or whelp naturally, even breathe unassisted.
I think there is definitely a great deal to this, in this.
Some more food for thought anyway:
Paedomorphic Facial Expressions Give Dogs a Selective Advantage:
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0082686
"Pugs as a breed have a great determination and true spirit ... [and] great comedy value" unlike any other breed. Surely only pugs are like this.
ReplyDelete#theuniquebreedtemper
As Scottie says, she has not made the link between the state of her dog, and her own actions - people don't seem to get that by purchasing, they encourage more production. They don't see that pugs are born to meet a demand. I don't know how we get past this. Except to keep on repeating ourselves over and over again...
ReplyDeletePugs are also produced soley to win at dog shows of course, their "pet quality" or rejects it seems are never enough to meet demand.
DeleteHilarious that Pug owners think the behaviour they call the'“pug run” is a behaviour unique to Pugs. Most dogs regardless of breed will play this game, when got excited and I think a few of the Toy breeds give it a name and try and sell it has something unique to their breed, adding more kudos. Just shows that the nurse is actually stupid.
ReplyDeleteYes, a lot of "breed specific" behaviors are not breed specific at all, but really found in most if not all types of dogs, and even in their wild brethren, the gray wolves. Bottom line, all dogs have great qualities, and it's great to care for ailing pets, but to deliberately breed them that way is just wrong and must stop.
DeleteYes. Ahmen.
DeleteOoops but don't pugs look that much cuter trying to do wolf like things?
have a look at this - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munchausen_syndrome_by_proxy. Does it maybe explain why some people seem to enjoy having deformed and defective animals?
ReplyDelete