A NYT article on the bulldog

[xiphias]

I suppose that it won't come as a surprise to anyone that I disapprove of "extreme" breeding of any pet animal, by which I mean breeding for traits that are ultimately unhealthy for the animal in question. I disapprove of flat-faced Persian cats, and I prefer Traditional/Applehead Siamese to Modern Siamese, although that doesn't go as far as disapproval, since the Modern Siamese doesn't have significant health problems based on its extreme nature. Still, I consider appleheads to be much more attractive cats than moderns. I think the extreme wedge Siamese look like aliens, rather than like cats. They look creepy.

I'm not a fan of the Scottish Fold, since its folded ears are more prone to earmites and ear infections; I disapprove of breeding tailless Manxes to tailless Manxes, since that increases the chance of serious spinal deformities. Not a real fan of Munchkins, either.

Mind you, if I could only change ONE of those, I'd change the breed standard of the Persian cat to disallow the flat-faced Persians, or even the peke-style, and allow no form more extreme than doll-faced.

Anyway, that's my standard rant about "let cats look like cats, and don't make 'em sickly."

But dogs have it worse.

The New York Times Magazine recently had an article about the breed of dog which has it absolutely worst: the English Bulldog. English Bulldogs are the flat-faced Persians of the dog world, only worse. They have crippling health problems of SEVERAL types -- flat-faced Persians can't breathe and have eye problems, but bulldogs can't breathe, have eye problems, can't eat, can't run, and are completely screwed up internally, too.

The article is here, and it's rather upsetting. Because, well, bulldogs are ALSO loving, loyal, and sweet-tempered dogs, so of COURSE people love them.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/27/magazine/can-the-bulldog-be-saved.html

Here's a slideshow of pictures that the New York Times Magazine had as part of the article. The two which I find most interesting are the first two: a picture of a typical modern English bulldog, and a rendering of what an early 1800s bulldog probably would have looked like.

http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2011/11/22/magazine/mag-27bulldog-slideshow.html

It probably wouldn't take THAT many generations to breed back to that earlier form. And, to MY eye, everything that's appealing in that modern dog is present in the old-fashioned one, and all of the grotesqueness is gone.

Indeed, one thing that I found in the comments, that ISN'T in the article, is that the American bulldog looks a heck of a lot more like Picture #2 than Picture #1. The American bulldog is often a hunting and working dog, and can hunt feral pigs and herd cattle.

Extreme wedge Siamese, flat-faced Persians, and modern English bulldogs -- why the HECK do we humans take attractive, distinctive animals, and then exaggerate characteristics of that distinctiveness past the point of caricature and well into the range of creepily grotesque? The original forms of Siamese, Persians, and bulldogs are ALL attractive and healthy animals, able to live happy, active lives. The modern extreme forms of the Persian and bulldog have their lives severely compromised, and for what? The wedge Siamese lucked out in that it's not unusually unhealthy, but still.

Compare the doll-face to the flat-face Persian, the applehead to the wedge Siamese, and the English to the American bulldog, and, to me, the more appealing choice is obvious.

Comments

[baratron.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure if it's related that all my favourite dogs are the ones who look like wolves: huskies, malamutes, Alsatians and even the little shiba inu.

Dogs that are too far from wolves freak me out. They don't look right.

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

Well, we chose Nick and Nora partially because mackerel tabby shorthair shelter mutts are among the felis cattus that resemble felis silvestris pretty darned closely. And, yeah, I'd say that, just as you like wolf-like dogs, my favorite cats are wildcat-like cats.

Now, there is enough variation in felis silvestris around the world that, the way I think of it, Norwegian Forest cats, Abyssinians, and British shorthairs all count as "pretty similar to some form of wildcat." But, yeah, the cats I like best are the ones that have diverged least from one of the wildcat subspecies.

[felis-sidus.livejournal.com]

I agree with you 100%!

The explanation I've heard for breeding to extremes places the responsibility on purebred cat/dog shows. The theory is that the breed standard states desirable characteristics, but doesn't place limits on the degree of the characteristics. So, the breed standard for a Persian cat said something along the lines of the cat having a flat face (This is NOT the specific wording!!!), but didn't say how flat was flat. When judging a show, the judges are bound by the rules to grant the most points to the animal that displays each characteristic most strongly. So if two Persian cats are identical but for their faces, the cat with the flattest face will win. Breeders are highly motivated to win, not only for bragging rights, but also because breeders with a high number of champions in their line will command higher prices for kittens and breeding fees. So the cats' faces get flatter, and flatter, and flatter, until you get to today's sad state of affairs.

For the record, I used the Persian just as an example. As you say, there are many similar situations with other breeds and other species. The thing I find encouraging is that the classic forms of these breeds seem to be gaining in popularity again.

[mangosteen]

Off topic, but I had to say... it now becomes a bit more obvious why one would name a cartoon cat "Sylvester".

[dancing-kiralee.livejournal.com]

I'll add to this that when the breeder breeding the most extreme features is more economically successful, it gives them a leg up in the breeding process, hence encouraging the genetic traits they breed.

There's a trait in human economic behavior that favors rarity over common sense; it has, I think, to do with human status dynamics, but I've never quite been able to figure it out.

Kiralee

[erin-c-1978.livejournal.com]

I agree 100 percent. I've wondered if the ever more extreme downward slope of German shepherds' backs contributes to their rate of hip dysplasia, though I know other breeds have that issue too so it may not be related. And "past the point of caricature" really strikes me as accurate -- even if you were doing a really extremely stylized drawing of some of these breeds, it wouldn't come out looking like some of these poor critters.

[bugsybanana.livejournal.com]

I was going to bring up the German shepherd issue. Purebred show-dog German shepherds look wrong to me, they look like it hurts to move, and that bothers me.

[theclamsman.livejournal.com]

Indeed, one thing that I found in the comments, that ISN'T in the article, is that the American bulldog looks a heck of a lot more like Picture #2 than Picture #1. The American bulldog is often a hunting and working dog, and can hunt feral pigs and herd cattle.

http://www.bulldoginformation.com/victorian-bulldog.html
http://bulldogbreeds.bulldoginformation.com/different-bulldog-breeds-types.html

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

So, basically, what you're pointing out is that there are LOTS of kinds of bulldogs out there which are healthy, happy, active dogs -- and then there is ONE kind of bulldog which is so overbred to an unhealthy and unfortunate standard that it is morally questionable to continue breeding. But if anyone wants to breed to another, healthier standard, there are lots of decent choices.

It also seems that, since several breeds were developed as small game hunters, it's probably a bad idea to have those breeds in a household with cats.