I'll never understand why people even want pugs. They are not cute, they are ugly abominations. Maybe they were cute before people turned them into this.
this post was submitted on 30 Apr 2025
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They used to be very cute and were functional dogs. Altdeutscher mops and retro pugs are good examples. Here's an 1800s painting of one.
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People are drawn to vulnerable creatures; they inspire nurturing and protective instincts.
Pug breeders attempt to distill vulnerability to include overly large eyes and an inability to breathe well.
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For love of dog just stop breeding. There are so many unwanted dogs already that need homes.
Mutts are better anyway. I'm biased because the best dogs I've known were not pure-bred, but still. They also are more resistant to genetic disorders...
I like to call them Bitsa dogs, like a bit of this dog a bit of that dog and you get a wicked bitsa dog.
Imagine what people would do if they were allowed to selectively breed humans
The Spanish Habsburgs.
lol
That's just called eugenics
Don’t sperm banks offer selective sperm choices based on intelligence and physical fitness?
There's ZERO regulations in that industry, they can say whatever
One of the "most prolific" sperm donors in Britain is a neo-Nazi. His sperm has been used to bring about over 140 births, but he also spends his free time planning "lone wolf" attacks.
People on 4chan were talking about that sort of thing at least 15 years ago. I think it was on /tg/, if I remember. They were also much more concerned with the trolling/ethical thought of breeding for the brain. What if you bred someone who only had the thought of serving a master?
I think that's enough evidence for me that selective breeding is horribly fucked in its outcome no matter the original aims, and the closest we should come is eliminating the 'will kill you' diseases.
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What will those clever tall bastards think of next?
I predict hairy sphynx cats
Still sort of grotesque in that there are probably a lot of inbetween generations that suffer. Most ethically sound idea is probably to just euthanize these breeds and end them entirely.
No need to do them next: "Altdeutscher Mops" is a thing already. I guess you'd call them "Old German Pugs" in English?
Fuck off with this.
German wolf hounds (large dogs, full snouts, etc.) live maybe 8 years total.
My pug dog lived 15 years, died of cancer, and never had trouble breathing during those 15 years.
If you google “name of dog breed you think doesn’t have problems” + health issues, you’ll get a list of the problems that breed is prone to.
This is just more Reddit trash that people love to bitch about and I shouldn’t be surprised to see it here, just disappointed.
I’m not against breed changes to improve health at all but the hurr durr I-just-learned-the-word-brachycephalic-and-now-I’m-gonna-act-like-I-invented-it shit needs to die in a fire.
Let’s make all dogs live longer and healthier lives without shitting on any of them.
Uh what? You do realize that correcting this genetic defect will 100% make these dogs healthier and live longer, right? So you're upset because...?
Strangely hostile comment.
German wolf hounds (large dogs, full snouts, etc.) live maybe 8 years total.
You're singling out a single obscure breed of dog for some reason (where I assume you mean "German wirehaired pointing wolfhound"?) and then also making a claim about their life expectancy without presenting any evidence. Not only can I not find something saying eight years, I can't find any credible information saying anything at all about this specific breed's lifespan.
My pug dog lived 15 years, died of cancer, and never had trouble breathing during those 15 years.
I'm sorry for your loss, but I'm glad they lived a long time.
- French bulldogs are being discussed here, not pugs. They both suffer from brachycephalic airway syndrome, but French bulldogs are substantially worse (see below).
- Even if your dog were a French bulldog, a single anecdote is not statistically significant data.
- French bulldogs demonstrably have a much shorter life expectancy than most other dog breeds. You can see in the data that pugs aren't too far behind.
If you google “name of dog breed you think doesn’t have problems” + health issues, you’ll get a list of the problems that breed is prone to.
...Okay? The point is that we know this is a health problem for French bulldogs and pugs; there's every reason to believe changing their facial anatomy would make things better and seemingly no reason to believe it'd make them worse. This feels like whataboutism.
I’m not against breed changes to improve health at all but the hurr durr I-just-learned-the-word-brachycephalic-and-now-I’m-gonna-act-like-I-invented-it shit needs to die in a fire.
I agree that the modern Internet is too capable of rallying people behind causes they don't invest the time to understand, but I don't see anyone underinformed here. We inbred this feature into dogs in the 1900s because it was considered aesthetically desirable. We now recognize this often causes severe medical problems. Changing the facial anatomy should help millions of sentient beings live their lives without said severe medical problems. Becoming aware of a problem and then advocating for a reasonable solution isn't "acting like [they] invented it".
Let’s make all dogs live longer and healthier lives without shitting on any of them.
They're not. The reason French bulldogs were singled out here is because of their exceptionally low lifespans, and I think you're thinking people who care about this are getting some smug, fart-smelling satisfaction out of this when really they're just happy to see a glimmer of light in a world that's falling into darkness.
Sorry to hear about your pug. Fuck cancer. I lost my 16-yo pit bull terrier to cancer a few years back.
That said, no need to get up in arms about this post. This is still a good thing. If you don’t like it, downvote and move on.
Dudes bitching about reddit on a 2 month old account saying how lemmy should be. Fuck off with this.
Nobody's shitting on them though, who are you addressing?
The breeder is trying to give future dogs of the breed a better, longer, healthier life.
You can search any "dog breed + health issues", most breeds just dont list difficulty breathing as their health issue.
Retro pugs are already a thing?
Dalmatians are prone to kidney stones. It means they can’t eat foods that are high in purine. They have the same diet as a human diagnosed with gout.
In the 60s some guy started working to breed that gene out of them and created to versions of Dalmatians. HUA have the gene that causes stones. LUA do not. He did this by mixing in Pointers.
Modern LUA Dalmatians are 99.999% Dalmatian but breeders and the Dalmatian Club of America are still salty about it and refuse to accept it.
TLDR; Dalmatians LUA breed less prone to life threatening conditions, but Kennel Clubs are mad about it.
wtf.
Reminder that kennel clubs don't give a shit about animal welfare.
See how they reward German shepherds with the lowest hips possible, like car guys lower their cars until they drag on the ground with sparks flying. It's horrible for their hips and backs.
Cartoon dog after running straight into a mountain painted to look like a road vs. the same dog after using a bellows to reinflate themself.
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