Yep. There are strong movememts to undo what is really a very recent and very American practice of breeding in Brachycephaly. The American Kennel Club shamefully has contributed to these standards and glorified them in pure bred animals.
Look at historical drawings and paintings of pugs as an excellent example. They were typically much thinner and had much longer snouts than what is idealized today.
An increasing number of European breeders led quite strongly by the Germans are breeding Retro Mops or old fashioned healthier pugs. This has unfortunately not caught on in US (fuck the AKC - seriously), but retro pugs which are cross bred typically with terriers are starting to be a thing with a few select breeders.
I have a retro mop. He outruns every single dog in his weight class in the dog park both in speed and endurance. He doesn’t need a harness, he has a strong neck and uses a collar. No breathing issues whatsoever.
For archival purposes please check out https://pugdogpassion.com/
Therese Rodin has been a huge influence in this modern movement and I wish everyone would review her teachings or speak to her before considering purchasing a Brachycephalic dog.
Oh yeah! I’d actually heard of people trying to breed away the smashed in snout on pugs.
Honestly I’m rather against breeding dogs for appearances in general. Berner Sennen dogs are super sweet, but they pretty much all die prematurely because of their incredibly high rate of inbreeding. I really don’t get the appeal of the hunched back people are looking for in German Shepherds.
I mean it’s literally eugenics, but for the sake of fashion. Absolutely ridiculous.
Almost? Are there ones that don’t?
Yep. There are strong movememts to undo what is really a very recent and very American practice of breeding in Brachycephaly. The American Kennel Club shamefully has contributed to these standards and glorified them in pure bred animals. Look at historical drawings and paintings of pugs as an excellent example. They were typically much thinner and had much longer snouts than what is idealized today. An increasing number of European breeders led quite strongly by the Germans are breeding Retro Mops or old fashioned healthier pugs. This has unfortunately not caught on in US (fuck the AKC - seriously), but retro pugs which are cross bred typically with terriers are starting to be a thing with a few select breeders. I have a retro mop. He outruns every single dog in his weight class in the dog park both in speed and endurance. He doesn’t need a harness, he has a strong neck and uses a collar. No breathing issues whatsoever. For archival purposes please check out https://pugdogpassion.com/ Therese Rodin has been a huge influence in this modern movement and I wish everyone would review her teachings or speak to her before considering purchasing a Brachycephalic dog.
Oh yeah! I’d actually heard of people trying to breed away the smashed in snout on pugs.
Honestly I’m rather against breeding dogs for appearances in general. Berner Sennen dogs are super sweet, but they pretty much all die prematurely because of their incredibly high rate of inbreeding. I really don’t get the appeal of the hunched back people are looking for in German Shepherds.
I mean it’s literally eugenics, but for the sake of fashion. Absolutely ridiculous.
I try not to be an absolutist.