Pug Breeding / Diversity in the UK

[6 Beautiful Pugs]

http://www.bing.com/videos/watch/vid...VR5&FORM=LKVR4

Really an eye-opener.

Take care,
Lisa

[Wally 'n' Leto]

Disturbing. We're not at cheetahs yet, but if pugs in the UK are worse off than pandas in terms of diversity, then we're well down that road. It won't be much different in other countries, I'm sure. (and wee George in the video is very much like the little pug in Wally's obedience class that I referred to).

So as a concerned entity, how would a group of fanciers lobby for mandatory health tests or proofs before breeding? And what should those conditions be that are tested for? And how many offspring affected by a disorder would mean barring a dog from the registry? Or how many 'clean' generations behind a breeding dog? The implications and logistics are staggering.....

Disorders I can think of:

Brachycephalic syndrome
PDE
Subluxating patella
Scoliosis / hemivertebrae (I would hazard that cervical and thoracic should be barred, but that caudal hemivertebrae should not be the end of the world)

What did I miss??

If a breeder could assure me that a pup's parents and previous offspring were free of this kind of condition to some standard, I would sure be willing to pay a lot more for the pup. (Kind of like the HYPP testing by the AQHA!)

(she tries to shove the soapbox behind other junk in the closet so it won't come out again)

[Jessi]

I have to agree with Wally on this one.

[Nixy n Gertie]

I'm not a breeder or someone who is even aware of the full extent of the conditions that can affect pugs. I'm a person who wanted a pug, went out and bought a pug puppy and am now in the process of becoming educated about the breed. And I expect most people are like me. I naively thought that if we bought from a 'reputable' breeder, if my puppy was Kennel Club registered and had champions in her bloodline then I would be buying the 'best' puppy with the least health issues.

My eyes are being opened very rapidly.

Poor George. How can it be that a dog laden with the health problems he has can be allowed to breed? Yet how could you possibly stop it? As said previously it would be a legislative and administrative nightmare - and would it even be enforceable? The UK is currently groaning under an unprecedented amount of new legislation, we have in the last few years become progessively more and more of a nanny state. To introduce legislation to deal with this problem when we don't even have dog licences seems doomed to fail. And right now with the economy the way it is I don't see the current government giving a penny towards supporting something like that.

So once again, as with so many things, you're looking at grass roots education as being the only current viable way to make people aware of the issues.

How that deals with the degeneration of the stock of UK pugs I don't know. If those figures are true then pugs bred here can only get worse, have more issues, can't they? I seem to remember Rosiepug talking about the need to introduce foreign bloodlines into the country - what do the UK breeders on here think?

Like Heather I would have happily paid more for a dog I KNEW was free from genetic issues. But how that is ever going to be achieved on a wide enough scale for the betterment of the breed I don't know.

I have seen the entire program and it's not just pugs. There are so many breeds out there that would benefit from genetic testing. Compulsory spay/neutering. But how can you legislate something like animal procreation? And when money is involved something like that becomes far harder to enforce or regulate. I am not saying there aren't many really good breeders here who do have the animals welfare at stake but when a puppy can fetch over £1000 then there are always going to be people out there who are in it for other reasons than animal welfare.

Just my uneducated two pennorth. It's an interesting debate and one that should be had and heard.

[Snifter]

This kind of programme is singularly unhelpful if one considers one small part of it without a full and frank discussion of the issues involved.

When this programme came out on TV some while ago it provoked a furore. In my view in some ways rightly, and in some ways extremely wrongly.

If you watch the whole thing you may care to cogitate on whether their objection to "eugenics" in dog breeding is well founded or an emotive term based on human Nazi propaganda designed to throw people off discussing the proper rights and wrongs of line breeding.

I am not a breeder so I have no axe to grind.

[Wally 'n' Leto]

..... and I think we can all agree that the problem is not limited to pugs, but in other breeds, and species..... not meaning to beat up on the pug breeders.....

And I have no doubt that the program caused an uproar - I have seen parts of it but not the whole thing, it is the kind of one sided journalism that is typical of these sorts of documentaries.

[Jazz]

there are so many people breeding just for the money, and 'designer breeds' costing so much, there will always be a fool that will buy them.

[Peppapug]

I was really interested in this post as had just posted a related question asking for advice on if there was such guidelines for breeding and healthchecks. My dog has Perthes disease and has had a terrible time undergoing surgery at great distress to her and extreme cost to myself, which I do appreciate alot of people may not have paid.
My vet is Noel Fitzpatrick, an orthopaedic specialist who said that I must tell my breeder that neither parents should be bred from again, nor any siblings. This was the only known case of Perthes disease in this family (sorry I dont know the technical term), but he was adament that 1 case was 1 case too many and the risk must not be taken again.I felt a bit akward telling this to the breeder, but having seen Peppa and my family suffer so much I felt it was essential to prevent this pain to the other puppies and upset to the owners. I have not heard from the owner since and it worries me sick that other dogs could be suffering like mine has.
I feel very strongly that there should be 'clean' guidelines as suggested by Wally and would add Perthes disease to her list. Despite all the saga, I am actually thinking about getting another pug now, but having problems locating a breeder with the clean checklist.