Friday 14 September 2018

New freaks on the block: how to avoid buying the worst Bulldogs in the world


There is a sick trend in dogs that has now well and truly arrived in the UK. Welcome to a depraved new world where the game is to breed deformed, overdone bulldogs/bully types, usually in non-standard colours, then flog them for thousands of pounds under the guise that they're in some way special.

They're not. 

These are dogs often burdened with deformed skeletons and/or massive wrinkling, conceived by artificial insemination (AI) and born via C-section.The more extreme, the more "baddass" they are.

The breeders' Facebook pages are notable for back-slapping comments written by the barely literate  and they are usually strewn with 'on-fire' emojis πŸ”₯πŸ”₯πŸ”₯πŸ”₯πŸ”₯. Never mind that these dogs are so compromised by their physiques that if there was really anything on fire in the vicinity they'd be toast.

Until recently, these dogs were the domain of a handful of idiots and wannabe gangstas with Lilliputian genitals in the USA. Now they've arrived in the UK. And, worse, the Kennel Club is registering some of them.

This breeder has blocked me but these links should work for you. This one shows a very exaggerated puppy with a purple tongue.

And here is the dog's KC pedigree - totally legit (well in terms of it being a genuine KC pedigree).

The most successful breeders boast a slick front-of-house - websites blaring gangsta tunes and kennels that would be the envy of many. (One even has flat-screen TVs on their kennel walls.)  They talk about the dogs being "compact" and having "massive" bone, heads or muscle  like these are good things.

They are not.

You might look at these dogs and go WTF.  But there is a market that buys into it - mostly young, uneducated money that finds the marketing cool. These are people who have no deep-down knowledge of what a dog should be.

The dogs fall broadly into two camps. The first are extreme English-type Bulldogs - I've highlighted this one before, also KC-registered.





The second are exaggerated "pocket" American Bullies which actually often have half-decent heads and tails but whose shoulders are in the next county, cantilevered on to compressed, dwarfy frames. They usually have cropped ears (illegal in this country ) and are often very inbred to the point of looking not-quite-with-us.



The dogs are often sold to other wannabe-breeders who are tempted by the get-rich-quick promises. You too don't have to get a real job if you buy and pimp an extreme stud, wank him to exhaustion while he's still alive, dunk the filthy liqueur into a freezer in volume and flog it all over the world for a grand a time (and often a lot more) to people who have shit for brains.

Too strong? 

I'm just so angry that anyone in the UK could be stupid enough to breed and buy these dogs.

The breeders claim the dogs are healthy while doing few or no health tests. They claim they love them while condemning the animals they breed to a life beset with breathing problems, infected skin and painful joints. Most die young - but live on through frozen semen. Once they start to fail they are passed on for huge sums to unsuspecting buyers in other countries - often China.

Some of the new UK breeders are also behind a slew of new UK fertility clinics pitched at breeders of brachycephalic dogs offering cut-price procedures that are entirely focused on circumventing their dogs' desperate attempts to avoid passing on their genes.

A recent video on the Facebook page of one in the West Midlands showed intra-uterine insemination being done for what they called a "problematic" bitch (ie one that could not conceive by ordinary, non-surgical, AI) went viral on the veterinary groups. I understand that 100s of vets have signed a letter to the RCVS asking for action.

On October 1st, new legislation comes into force in the UK that will make it much harder for breeders to sell duff dogs. If you buy a dog that has not been health-tested and turns out to be suffering or dies from a breed-related problem, you can seek recourse in the courts and and help put these breeders out of business. Oh, and please let me know, too - I'd be happy to help.

Of course it would be better to not buy one in the first place.

Here's what to avoid

• Puppies that were conceived by artificial insemination or born by a C-section. You are perpetuating the breeding of dogs that nature is saying should not be bred.  
• Breeders whose premises have ornate metal gates with the name of their kennel welded into them. 
• Any breeder that offers you finance 
• A breeder whose website or Facebook page where the "rare" colour of the dog is mentioned in the first two sentences. Some colours come with health consequence and others do not, but it reveals the breeder's main focus (which is to fleece you of as much money as possible). 
• Breeders who insist their dogs are "quality" or "healthy" without providing solid proof in the form of health test results.  Ask what health tests have been done before you visit because the moment a little ball of wrinkle has been popped into your hands, man, you are lost.  Some will DNA-test for colour and some will also DNA-test for HUU because it's cheap and easy and makes them look like a good breeder.  One has posted this on his website which makes it look like they are health-focused - but there is zero mention of any tests other than those for colour.

Breeders who really care about the health of their Bulldogs/Frenchies/Pugs will be doing BOAS testing (which assesses how well the parents can breathe), heart-testing and spine-grading - and they will be boasting about them.

Ironically, puppies from health-tested stock are invariably cheaper than ones from the breeders I am highlighting here. 

• Do not be fobbed off with "vet-checked" - all a vet can check is that they're not actually dying at the point of being checked. It is meaningless in terms of future health. 
•  Don't be impressed by an expensive-sounding puppy pack. It's a marketing tool. 
• Any UK breeder that displays pictures of dogs with cropped ears. Ear-cropping has been illegal in England since 1899.
• Breeders whose social media sites feature a lot of these πŸ”₯πŸ”₯πŸ”₯,  πŸ‘‘πŸ‘‘πŸ‘‘, πŸ’£πŸ’£πŸ’£πŸ€‘πŸ€‘πŸ€‘, πŸ’°πŸ’°πŸ’° or where anyone calls the dogs "sick" meaning great.
• Kennel names that include misspelled words: eg deziner, bullz or bullyz. 
Feel free to add your own below!

Further reading:

Warning:don't buy into the designer Bulldog bullshit.html

16 comments:

  1. Dog "breeders" are to blame for all this!!About time they took responsibility.

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  2. What’s classed as a breed-related problem? As all breeds are inbred to the point of suffering from inbreeding depression, then any health problem could, theoretically, be linked back to this.

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  3. What has happened is rather interesting. For who knows how long there have been complaints about the Smourmug breed of English bulldog and their health. In response to these complaints, alternative bulldogs popped up, and I do have to admit that I am impressed with the Leavitt bulldog. But there are all sorts of alternative bulldogs about, many of which are far more extreme the KC Sourmug type.

    The bully culture is a bit different. In the US, pit bulls are about as common in the US as Labradors are. Most are never registered, so you realy don't get a good idea of how many of them exactly exist. Very few of these dogs are true game-bred dogs, but gamebreds, UKC American Pit Bull Terriers, and Amstaffs were about the only true breeds of pit bull you could get. Gamebreds never should be owned by anyone without serious dog skills, and the other two breeds can vary quite a bit in temperament and really aren't that common as actual strains. But the pit bull type is ubiquitous over here, What the American bully movement did was create a form of pit bull-type that was mostly selected for a docile and easy to manage temperament. The original creators of these dogs were mostly Latino and African Americans, and there was a very strong blue collar tradition among their breeders. Then the market went ape, and now the dogs are going for lots of money. I know a few people in the community. Very few breeders health test, and the exotic bully types are a real problem.

    I still think the American bully was a good idea, and so long as the breeders are selecting for good temperaments and soundness, they could be a solution to some of the pit bull problems we have over here. They are good "pet bull terrier" in a country where true Staffords are still a rarity.

    I think the America bully community needs to do a better job policing itself and educating the breeders.

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    Replies
    1. The problem within the breed is that no one cares. Honestly, no one cares about what anyone else is doing. Due to the high percentage of minority and urban breeders, anyone calling someone else for malpractice is labeled a "snitch" or a "hater", and they go by the motto of 'staying in their own lane'. Is someone inbreeding the hell out of their dogs and producing sway backs and dysfunctional limbs that barely support the dog? Oh well, that's there program and not anyone else's problem. Decent breeders are few and far between, and I'm not even talking about health testing. Just simply seeing the dog as a creature that feels emotional and physical distress due to the handicaps it was bred with. The amount of good breeders who actually care about health and temperament is even less.

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    2. "Game-bred" is such a silly euphemism. Let's be perfectly frank here: "Game-bred" dogs are dogs that are specifically bred to compete in illegal dog fights to the death. There is nothing remotely resembling a game about that, and we should not give legitimacy to this despicable practice by uncritically adopting these breeders' euphemisms.

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    3. "Breeds of pit bull" doesn't make any sense. American Pit Bull Terrier (Pit Bull) is a BREED. American Staffordshire Terrier (Am Staff) is a BREED. Staffordshire Bull Terrier (Staffy Bull) is a BREED. Bull Terrier is a BREED. They are not "breeds of pit bull". All that term does is allow the media and lawmakers to call anything that "looks like" an American Pit Bull Terrier (Pit Bull) a "pit bull". Are the breeds related, yes. They are bull and terrier types.

      And I disagree with the notion that the "American Bully" was created for a more docile temperament. While they may have GOTTEN that, the whole idea from the beginning was to create a bigger, badder-looking American Pit Bull Terrier. It was a terrible notion on which to create a "breed", which UKC did. UKC just caved in to the "breeders" that rampaged through it's registry with these monstrous, often cross-bred dogs and gave them their own "breed". Ugh.
      The "American Bully" culture has only led to more and more extreme styles of dogs. Breeders care nothing for the dogs, but only for what their own "off-the-hook" creation can do for them money-wise. Talk to them long enough and criticize their poor dogs and you eventually end up with them saying, "You're just jealous because you aren't making this much money with your dogs." Nothing will change that culture. It is a world-wide phenomenon now.

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    4. "Gamebred" is a necessary term to describe the breed in light of its history. Terriers in general are considered to be "game" -- never giving up, often fighting their prey to the death. Yes, unfortunately, the APBT was bred to be game in combat against it's own kind. "Gamebred" APBTs are still out there, but mostly underground and not available to the general public.

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  4. I know of someone who has a status type of Bull breed with cropped ears and shows him at fun dog shows in UK. I thought this was illegal but apparently not!

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  5. Thank you for writing about all of this! This is such a taboo subject and all the garbage that breeders are responsible for. This is why I only adopt from rescues and shelters all over the world. I will never and have never supported any breeder anywhere! And my dogs have over 150 titles from all types of sports and activities. It isn't necessary to purchase from a breeder to have fun and compete with your dog!

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  6. Are you familiar with the "toadline pitbulls"? Their breeder even advertised how inbred their dogs are (I remember one Facebook post where the breeder described one dog as "inbred bad bitch") like it was a good thing that the animals parents are brother and sister or father and daughter. (Apparently they don't have a Facebook page anymore.)

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  7. Thank you so much for highlighting the bullies. It breaks my heart because I have a perfectly happy functional mutt bully who's short legged (in comparison to some dogs) slightly short nosed but not to the point of issue, has naturally upright ears, and is built like a brick but not like a FREAKING TOAD. lots of people think he's great looking and it's a tragedy that human nature has to take a look that's perfectly functional for the animal and make sure to distort it until the dog lives a short life of suffering.

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  8. The kennel clubs and registries share in the blame because they are allowing these monstrous breedings to be papered. If the dog doesn't fit the original standard it SHOULD NOT BE PAPERED. Those over-roached gsds would never have happened if the over roached dogs were refused registry.

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  10. Greedy bastard breeders - so sad to see :(

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  11. I'm from the US. Our shelters are loaded with pit bulls. I can't understand why people pay for them at a breeder. The shelters are so desperate to get rid of them they are often free or even come with a gift card for dog food. Most of them wind up in a shelter because somewhere around the age of 1 1/2 to 3 they "switch on" an become aggressive. Most shelters wont euthanize dogs because of temperament anymore so they get warehoused for years.

    I am all for not euthanizing healthy adoptable pets. Temperament has to be part of that. Shelters will have many listings stating "no other pets, no kids". What happens when this dog is walked or taken to the vet?

    If a dog can't see an animal without trying to kill it it should be put to sleep. If a dog can't be trusted to not attack children it should be put to sleep. How are you "saving lives" when you release a dog that kills other people's pets?

    It used to be extremely rare that a dog that came from a shelter would kill a person. It happens frequently now. I have heard from several people who wanted to get a shelter dog but all the shelter would show them were pit bulls. If you say "I don't want a pit bull" the shelter will claim they don't know what breed their dogs are. Many shelters have quit labeling breeds all together in an effort to force more pits out the door.

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  12. the kennel is still up, still with cropped ears, learning fucking nothing

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