Monday 7 March 2016

RIP Darby


14 comments:

  1. Very sad, obviously. I'm sorry that this poor little fellow died, and that his owners have gone through so much anguish over his loss.

    Now, what's the best thing we can do to prevent such sorrow in the future? Contrary to the author's recommendations, the best thing to do is not merely 1) prevent "squishy" faced dogs (her word) from exercising in hot weather, 2) get pet insurance, and 3) get the soft palate operation. The best thing to do is, obviously, stop breeding "squishy" faced dogs in the first place, so that none of that other stuff (except pet insurance) is even necessary.

    This lady lives in Australia. She should take a page from the book of Australia's wild (feral) dog, the dingo (Canis lupus dingo). These dogs have been living in Australia's climate for 5,000 years, and they're doing great. Why? Because they have normal canid proportions, and are able to remain active, breathe normally, and cool themselves properly, even in hot weather.

    It's not hard to get a dog that resembles a dingo. Any dog with a normal, healthy build like pariah, village, northern, herding, sledding, and many hunting, guarding, and mixed dogs are going to have the features a dog needs to be a dog. Stop trying to turn dogs into something they're not, and stop breaking people's hearts while you're at it.

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    1. So very well said. I completely agree: the ultimate solution is to simply re-evaluate one's priorities as a dog lover. Don't support breeders of brachycephalic dogs...especially those who breed for ever-flatter faces, more wrinkles, and more stenosis of the nostrils. Just get a healthy, happy, functioning canine! One that can tolerate normal weather conditions without suffering heatstroke. I do hope this person decides on another breed or mix. So often it seems you have purebred dog owners falling into this trap of repeated purchase of a particular breed, despite their obvious problems.

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    2. Yep exactly.

      It has been unbelievably even extraordinarily hot in Australia just recently, though.
      It often is at this time of year. Almost any animal, dog, any breed or human would be susceptible to heat stroke if they over exert themselves.

      Sure a dingo would just lie low and any sensible owner wouldn't let their pet dog overdo things. Of course certain breeds are not going to manage nearly as well because of the way they're bred and succumb a lot easier and quicker.

      Year or two ago even here in Bonkers two retrievers dropped dead on a hike from heat stroke. They belonged to the Japanese Ambassador. This was only a medium longish hike to "big beach" four or five hours round trip depending on your pace, plenty of cool mountain streams along the way, beach to cool down in.... Even then, 35%C 80% humidity, just too much. It's been more than that in parts of Australia this last weekend and last couple of days.

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    3. Poor Darby. People are cruel. Darby had problem with breathing and overheating as all pugs so WHY owner dressed this poor little dog with stupid suit? Why owner get him for a walk on a beach in hot day? Owners must know what kind of breed they have and how to take care of it. If they decided to buy unhealthy dogs they have to be familiar with all problems. And when I am living in Africa, I can not buy Siberian Husky.

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    4. Good point Ewa.

      I remember a poor St Bernard kept in Dubai, it was long haired too. New disposable income in many countries has also meant a living hell for many breeds of dog. Huskies in Bangkok, Gordon setters in Nigeria, Bulldogs in Indonesia, seen em all.

      Some of these breeds can barely survive in ideal conditions never mind in these extremes.

      Poor Darby was probably fried in minutes of full sun, he is just unable to cool down fast enough because of how his face has been bred to look. The owner took all sensible precautions too. It's just risky treating these dogs as normal dogs. Inside of course they all are which is so sad.

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    5. Hello Ewa, Darby was a French Bulldog, not a pug. They have the same breathing problems as pugs, pekingese, boston terriers etc. but they seem to be more delicate dogs, due to bad breeding.Many die young. Dogs are not toys and should not be dressed up like dolls, but that is only my opinion. Have a good day.

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  2. I have a very natural breed, but I'd never walk any of mine for 40 minutes at 4.30 pm in the sun on a humid/warm day.

    Dogs cannot handle heat, they are a dawn and dusk hunter and their ancestors environment is woodland, not hot concrete/tarmac streets or hot sandy beaches.

    A neighbour of mien had a brother and sister pair of collie cross types (smooth coated tricolours, so mostly black). he insisted on walking them in the heat of the day and being collies they raced around after a ball.

    I had warned him on countless occasions, and sadly one day when I met him eh told me the bitch (less than two years old) had collapsed and died on their walk and eh told me he wished he'd listened to me as the vet told him the same thing.

    To be so foolish with a flat faced breed, beggras belief.

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  3. You'd be amazed Ewa how many people bought Siberian Huskies in my remote town in Australia: and Samoyeds, and Newfies - Breeders tell people that the coat insulates them against the heat. Brachycephalics were common in town too Pugs, Pekes .... not too many English bulldogs because they all died by 3 years of age.

    Australian Bulldogs, at least from the breeder in my practice, survived the heat. Australian Bulldogs would never be my choice of pet but they are a huge improvement on the ANKC dogs while still being clearly recognisable as "bulldogs".

    It could be done with Frenchies etc. I suggest concerned breeders start a "vintage brachycephalic" (I'm sure someone will think of a catchier name) club for breeders world wide who want to rebuild their breeds on healthier lines using complementary crossbreeding, 20's photographs for "type" and modern genetic tools to minimise single gene problems and maximise outcrossing.

    The public is increasingly aware of the problems with brachycephalics, even though they are currently besotted with them. An association dedicated to breeding them intelligently would be hugely successful.

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  4. These dogs are just so fragile--shouldn't be bred. I've seen Frenchies collapse in the show ring in 72F temps (22C) and have to be revived in a kiddie pool of icewater. (Outside all brachy show rings at my club's conformation shows). And when I taught pet obedience years ago, somebody brought a 4 mos. English bulldog puppy to classes. We all used Gentle Leaders in class, and we got a similar brand (made for short-muzzled dogs) to use with this puppy. I started to pull it slowly along for maybe 5 steps. Most puppies quickly catch on, start walking on their own and discover they get a piece of chicken for each step they walk. With this pup, after the 5 steps with its mouth closed, it collapsed virtually unconscious. We had to rush it to the vet, and it fully recovered within minutes. That was really my big wakeup call that brachy dogs are NOT like other dogs. I had put maybe 300 dogs in Gentle Leaders at that point, and most do put up a fuss and have to be (gently, slowly) pulled along for a few steps before they get with the program and start earning chicken. This was the first/only/last time a dog has a second of trouble of that. Today, I would never put anything but a body harness on a brachy dog.

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  5. The saddest thing is that despite all warnings and advice given, Frenchies, British bulldogs, and pugs are all rapidly gaining in popularity in the US, UK, Australia, and probably elsewhere. Prices are absurdly high. Breeders aren't meeting demand and there are wait lists for pups from recognized breeders. I hear that imports from puppy mills in Eastern Europe are a problem in Western Europe.

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    1. I don't get it at al, the increase in Frenchie numbers in the UK is phenomenal? Why oh why are dogs with those exagerated features so apealing to so many people. The majority now bred are bred purely commercially, so there isn't even an attempt at better health among the non breed enthusiasts.

      People within breeds are getting more clued up on health and now have more tools to make better choices, though I'd still like to see a better open database like the Finnish Koiranet as using MYKC is so unwieldy, with only two generations of a pedigree shown at a time, having to look up every single health record individually and so many things not published.

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    2. French Bulldogs are the most popular breed in NYC (or one of)...a lot of the brachy breeds are touted as "great apartment dogs" because they supposedly don't require a lot of exercise. I have seen several very fit Pugs and Frenchies do agility and do it well. A friend of mine's Frenchie was the top agility dog in the breed clubs history. Bulldogs especially are trapped in their own bodies...you can see they have the heart and drive to work but cant. Bulldogs are super popular again here in the States. They are all adorable dogs (I have a soft spot for pugs) but I won't ever own one.

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  6. All good comments regarding overheating of all animals, including canids and humans. Just to be clear, I never meant that dingos can tolerate full activity in full heat; all animals must avoid overheating. My point was simply that a brachy dog would collapse and die in conditions that normal dogs would not even be stressed by.

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    1. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=aCv10_WvGxo

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