>>>> It also brings up another question. The dog who died was a pug. I am >>>> going to try not to insult anyone too much - but - what are people >>>> thinking about when they deliberately breed dogs that are so malformed >>>> as to be almost non-functional? Pugs, because of the way they are >>>> built (by humans), have skin problems, eye problems, ear problems, >>>> teeth problems...
You aren't insulting me, because I agree. Frank is our second pug, but he and Johnny were both rescues/throwaways. Sweet, loving dogs, nice pets...but why the need for the extremes? When you look at pics of pugs back in history (and they've been around for a long time), they don't look anything like the extremes today. I'd love to have one of those pre-designer versions. In fact, I am never going to be a dog breeder, but if I ever got a chance to get a genuine "accident" puppy that was half-Pug or half-Boston, I'd jump at the chance to check one out. I don't like the idea of "designer" cross-breeds at all, or the purebreds that have been bred to extremes, but Bostons and Pugs are really nice pets that have been bred into virtual freaks. I wonder if it's too late to breed them back to what they used to be...? Probably? Isn't that just sad...? Gosh, don't we hope that people aren't looking back at the history of Icelandic's with such regret in 50-100 years...? FWIW, though, Johnny (our first pug) had breathing problems when we got him. He was three. He died last year at age 16, overweight all of his life. His vision was still good, but he was deaf the lat 2-3 years. He never showed any skin problems either. I hope Frank will live an equally long and trouble-free life, but the odds probably aren't in his favor. My Boston Terrier died last fall at age 11, totally blind, with many missing teeth, and with problems with her spine. She'd had problems for several years... Karen Thomas, NC
