interest in the actual issues seen in the brachycephalics, is involved in cutting-edge research on the prob- lems and will provide us with more practical knowledge about our dogs based on science rather than blanket condemnation. The vets in the UK and Australia will not publish photos of brachycephalics in their journals. Folks in the UK will not allow their pictures in greeting cards. It is not realistic to think that we will all start breeding to Beagles or some other breed to change the structure of our dogs. We have Pugs for a reason. We try to breed quality, healthy, happy and hearty dogs that conform to our standard. They make ideal compan- ions, can compete in conformation, obedience, rally, agility and tracking, can provide comfort and pleasure as therapy dogs and make the world a better place. We are not going away.
a Pug put forth that 95% of the dogs she sees need the surgery. I would argue that to date, only one dog that I have produced has had palate surgery. We also had a highly respected sur- geon address our membership sev- eral years ago and he indicated that he didn't feel palate problems were the top issue in Pugs and that it was more likely the non-surgical condition, la- ryngeal collapse. I know of an owner of a Pug who had a boarded surgeon recommend and do palate surgery on her dog and she is far worse post- op than she was before surgery. My Pugs are happy and healthy as are the majority of dogs I see at shows and in my practice. I would certainly not deny that there are dogs that have respiratory issues, but to imply it is almost the entire breed population is not true. We are closely following the research team at Michigan headed by Dr. Bryden Stanley who has an
to our health fund. So in answer to the question—how are Pugs doing health-wise—the people who are dedicated to, and closest to the breed, would probably say “not too bad, and continually improving.” Unfortunately, our breed, along with other brachycephalic breeds like Bulldogs and Frenchies, is com- ing under fire around the globe. As a person who has been devoted to the Pug breed since 1980, has been a veterinarian since 1985 and has owned, bred and loved dozens of Pugs and treated many more in practice, I must take issue with some of the criticisms that are being espoused. A colleague went to a national lecture on surgery and the audience was told to hope for plenty of brachycephalics in their practice because you could re- pair nostrils, eyes and palates on all of them. A video of a veterinary surgeon discussing the elongated soft palate of
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