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The English bulldog it may look adorable. Stocky body, expressive skin folds and a very short snout. But this animal is a victim of human caprice. The desire to get especially striking dogs has forced the physical characteristics of the breed so much that it has made it sick. These dogs are significantly less healthy than others, and are at higher risk for respiratory, eye, and skin conditions. For this reason, a team of British researchers has called for bulldogs to be bred with more moderate physical characteristics.
Originating in the United Kingdom, the English Bulldog was originally bred as a muscular and athletic dog to take on bulls, but over the years it became a show and companion breed with a short (brachycephalic) skull, protruding jaw , folds in the skin and a characteristic robust constitution.
This physique has been linked to various health conditions, and countries such as the Netherlands and Norway have restricted their breeding in recent years.
Scientists at the Royal Veterinary College (Hertfordshire, England) compared the risks of common disorders in English bulldogs with other dogs by analyzing veterinary practice records across the UK from 2016 using the VetCompass database.
Dan O’Neill and colleagues evaluated the records of a random sample of 2,662 English bulldogs and 22,039 dogs of other breeds and found that English bulldogs were twice as likely to be diagnosed with at least one disorder than other dogs. Breed showed a predisposition for 24 of 43 (55.8%) specific disorders.
cherry eye
English bulldogs had a 38.12 times higher risk of developing skin fold dermatitis than other dogs. They were also 26.79 times more likely to develop an eye condition called prolapsed nictitating membrane gland (also called ‘cherry eye’), where the dog’s third eyelid protrudes as a red, swollen mass at the bottom of the eye . Similarly, they also suffered more from mandibular prognathism (where the lower jaw is too long in relation to the upper jaw) and brachycephalic obstructive respiratory syndrome (which can lead to serious breathing problems) compared to other dogs.
On the contrary, these dogs had a reduced risk of some conditions, such as dental disease, heart murmurs and, interestingly, flea infestation.
The authors also report that only 9.7% of the English bulldogs in this study were over eight years old compared to 25.4% of other dog breeds. This supports the view that they live less because they are in poorer health.
“These findings suggest that the general health of the English bulldog is much worse than that of other dogs. More concerning, however, is that many of the health conditions they suffer from, such as skin fold dermatitis and respiratory problems, are directly related to the extreme structure of their bodies for which they have been selectively bred.” Dan O’Neill points out.
“Given the continued popularity of the breed, the body shape of typical English bulldog pets needs to be redefined towards more subdued physical characteristics. Doing so will not only improve the dogs’ health, but could also allow the UK to avoid following other countries in banning the English bulldog for welfare reasons,” the authors note.
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