Pugs can’t be considered ‘typical dogs’ and people shouldn’t buy them, expert says

An expert has warned people against buying pugs, saying they are no longer considered to be ‘typical dogs’ because of their unhealthy features and health conditions.

While pugs remain as one of the most popular dog breeds in the UK, pet owners are being urged to not buy the breed until there is an improvement in their health and body shape.

According to Dr. Dan O’Neill, senior lecturer in companion animal epidemiology at the Royal Veterinary College, the demand for dogs with extreme and baby-like features such as bulging eyes and flat faces has led to an array of life-shortening health problems, meaning pugs are subjected to a ‘lifetime of suffering’.

Dr. O’Neill told The Telegraph that that because of this type of breeding, pugs now lack the ‘basic functions’ expected of a canine.

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He explained: “We have dogs that are typical, like Labradors, where they have a long nose and a tail and are not that dissimilar to a wild dog.

“We’ve drafted a list of core body functions that any dog should expect to be able to do when it’s born and when it’s alive and these are very basic.

“For example, they should be able to blink. It doesn’t feel like a big ask that a dog can blink, but many pugs can’t fully.

“A dog should be able to sleep without having to constantly wake up to breathe. It doesn’t seem like a big ask that a dog should be able to sleep.

“A dog should be able to sit there without snoring and snorting and struggling to breathe. A dog should be able to have skin that isn’t folded and not have crevices with infections and smell.

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“These are really basic things. Pugs just don’t have those basic functions.”

In a study of more than 16,000 pugs in Britain, the breed was found to be more than fifty times more at risk of both brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome and narrow nostrils, both of which lead to breathing issues, than non-pugs were.

Pugs are also more likely to be obese, with the study finding one in six pugs to be obese, compared with one in fifteen other dogs.

“Although hugely popular as pets, we now know that several severe health issues are linked to the extreme body shape of pugs that many humans find so cute.”

Dr. O’Neill concluded that it is time to ‘focus on the health of the dog rather than the whims of the owner when we are choosing what type of dog to own.’