He has a sweet and docile demeanor. It is reliable and predictable. Affectionate with children and needs only moderate exercise. For all these reasons, it is a wonderful family pet. This is how Hills experts describe the English bulldog. However, as snub-nosed dog that is, it is also predisposed to developing certain pathologies that have led some countries to restrict the breeding of this breed in recent years.
A study published in the journal Canine Medicine and Genetics and carried out by researchers from the Royal Veterinary College RVC in London, determines that the English bulldog is at greater risk of suffering from respiratory, eye, and skin conditions due to its physical characteristics, which include a shorter snout, folded skin, and a stocky body. In this way, the authors warn that, if the standards of this breed do not turn towards more moderate traits, it is possible that the United Kingdom prohibits its breeding.
Norway and the Netherlands have already established reproduction restrictions of the english bulldog. The authors of the study have compared the risk of common disorders (such as dermatitis, heart murmurs, respiratory and eye diseases…) between English bulldogs and dogs of other breeds. Using a database that houses millions of clinical records from veterinary care facilities, they analyzed those of 2,662 English bulldogs and 22,039 dogs of other breeds from across the UK as of 2016.
The results indicate that English bulldogs have twice as likely than other dogs from being diagnosed with at least one disorder. Showing the predisposition breed for 24 of the 43 diseases analyzed. That is, for more than 50%.
However, they were also able to verify that, in addition to presenting a greater risk of developing dermatitis in the folds of the skin; cherry eye Y brachycephalic syndromehave a lower risk of dental disease, heart murmurs and flea infestation.
Being so, the life expectancy of english bulldogs is between eight and ten years, generally lower than that of dogs of other breeds. The study notes that only 9.7% of the English bulldogs investigated were over eight years old, compared to 25.4% of dogs of other breeds.
These data, as stated in the study, suggest that the general health of the english bulldog is much worse than that of other dogs. In addition, many of the health conditions suffered by specimens of this breed are directly related to the extreme physical characteristics for which they have been selected.
However, all is not lost. The researchers say that the typical body shape of English bulldogs must redefine oneself towards more moderate body features. And it is that doing so will not only improve the health of dogs, but it could also allow other countries to avoid following in the footsteps of other countries in the prohibition of this breed.
As its name suggests, the English bulldog was selected for fighting with bulls but, when these fights were prohibited in 1835, the breed began a progressive substitution until it became the modern English bulldog: a show and companion breed.
Thus, this dog has been selected to be less aggressive and, at the same time, to enhance its facial appearance (flatter snout and more pronounced facial wrinkles) and body (thicker and more squat body). However, if this study makes a dent, his physical characteristics such as the short skullthe protruding jawthe folds in the skin and one robust constitution, could change again.
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