I think flat faced dogs should be banned

But, Doodledog, don't you think the breed societies have a responsibility to insist that animals should be 'sound' in every way; and show judges should enforce this in their judgements? They are the ones who set the standards, aren't they?

I completely agree. We have a neighbour who has three pugs and they sound as though they are dying when they're taken for a walk.

Exaggerated characteristics which cause an animal physical distress should be banned for any animal. We have a little Welsh loan pony with a terrible mouthful of teeth. The vet says it;'s because they've been massively overbred to achieve small heads and slightly concave profiles, ('pretty' ponies) which means that the teeth have far less space than they should have.

Dogs that are bred to be bigger than the original 'types' often have bad hip problems.

I think it's appalling.

MissAdventure

It should be illegal to own them, full stop.
Never mind insurance, what about quality of life for the dog?

And what would you do with the existing dogs if it were illegal to own them?

Insurance is not the solution, but at least the dogs would be protected until the breathing problems could be bred out. A surprising number of owners don't have insurance and the dogs have to be destroyed or live with the conditions.

It's not just brachycephalic dogs that have problems. Since dogs have had to be chipped, and people can be fined for letting them roam, there are far fewer 'mongrels' - pretty much all pet dogs are pedigree now, so problems are bred into them. I agree that Frenchies are at the top of the scale for problems, but spaniels, labradors and many other breeds have issues too. I'm not sure what the answer is, as it's unlikely that we will go back to the days of seeing dogs wandering the streets to 'meet' other ones and produce the crossbreeds that used to represent most family pets. They just don't exist in any numbers now. Rescue centres make it so difficult to get dogs, too, and not everyone is able to take on a dog with problems caused by previous owners. It's a mess, really.

I totally agree and they should not be a,lowed to mess with breeds because all the messed about ones have health problems
But yes flat faced dogs should be banned it’s cruel and unnecessary

It should be illegal to own them, full stop.
Never mind insurance, what about quality of life for the dog?

My daughter has a French Bulldog. They are a ridiculous breed, and the dog has had numerous problems since he was a puppy. My daughter adores him (as do I) and he couldn't be more loved or better cared for, but we both agree that there should be better enforced regulations when it comes to breeding, to breed out the problems with breathing and digestion, and it should be illegal to own one without comprehensive medical insurance.

Oscar is genuinely the best-natured dog I have known (and we've had some lovely dogs over the years), and I'm not a fan of banning things, but it's not fair to put them through the operations and treatments that most of them will need, or to let them go without treatment because their owners can't afford the expensive vet bills.

I like dog shaped dogs.

Couldn’t agree more. Next door but one have two miniature French bulldogs. If you see them out you can hear them snuffling and snorting before you see them. Pekingese/ Pugs/ bulldogs and suchlike have been exploited by greedy breeders.
Mind you I’m not a fan of these crossover breeds either - you just get double the known breed faults. They may look lovely but apart from costing a fortune for what at one time would have been classed as a mongrel, they cost the owners more with inherited illnesses.

Yes. I know a little French bulldog and he visibly (and audibly) struggles to breathe.
I don’t even think that the owners realise that it’s not normal

Me too.
It stores up a whole heap of serious health problems for them.
I think breeding any dogs into unnatural aberrations should be banned.
It's all for people's egos.

I suppose that ought to have gone under pets really, but it is on the news about pugs.