Trendy dogs are not always the most healthy
Current on-trend dog breeds include the French bulldog, pug and English bulldog. But sadly, these increasingly popular dogs are not always the most healthy writes David Tomlinson
The English bulldog is a bracycephalic breed
I am a diligent reader of dog stories, but one I missed earlier this year was a regional map of dog-breed popularity, based on Kennel Club registrations in 2016.
As with so many statistics, the results are fascinating but mustn’t be taken too seriously. I wouldn’t mind betting that cockerpoos would score highly in top 10 statistics across the country if they could be Kennel Club-registered.
However, I spent an amusing time with an online map of the UK, divided into 10 regions — north-east, north-west south-east, Midlands, east, south-west, London, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland — checking out the regional popularity of the breeds. In every region except two the Labrador comes out on top; the exceptions are London and Wales, both of which prefer French bulldogs. Northern Ireland stands out as the leading region for gundogs, with Labrador first, cocker second and English springer spaniel third, plus golden retriever in fifth position.
All about the cocker spaniel
Look around the shooting field today and you’d be correct in thinking that the cocker spaniel and the springer spaniel…
Cockers are placed consistently second or third nearly everywhere, while the only list from which the springer is absent is London, which is fair enough, as springers definitely aren’t suited to city life. The springer creeps in at eight in the south-east, and is seventh in the east, but everywhere else it is a top-five dog.
Frustratingly, there is no way to discover what proportion of English springers are of show or working breeding, but as the former aren’t common you can safely assume that the majority are working-bred.
Popularity of the pug, French bulldog and English bulldog
What is apparent from every list is the surging popularity of the brachycephalic (flat-faced) breeds such as the pug, French bulldog and English bulldog. It is a reminder that relatively few people do much research about a breed before they buy one, suggesting that an awful lot of dogs are acquired simply because the buyer likes the look of them.
If you do an internet search of brachycephalic dogs you will find numerous warnings about the perils of buying a dog whose body shape prevents it from breathing properly.
There are lots of catchy headlines about these breeds, too, ranging from “Pugs are anatomical disasters — vets must speak out”, to “Flat-faced dogs like pugs are a crime against nature”. However, despite the warnings, it looks as if the French bulldog will soon be Britain’s most popular breed.
