Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2018/01/23/data-shows-bulldogs-are-by-far.html
…
3 Likes
Spot the cat
12 Likes
Over breeding is killing off a host of canines, it’s not just English Bulldogs. My gone but not forgotten dog pal Hammish and I suffered through all his ailments together. Those ailments / illness / maladies were do to being over breed. He lived to 7, last two years of his life had reduced quality, I had to put him down, I couldn’t watch him suffer any longer. The moral of the story is try and do as much research as you possibly can into any particular canine being over breed, you’re emotional state and wallet will thank you in the future.
15 Likes
The website linked to (https://informationisbeautiful.net/visualizations/best-in-show-whats-the-top-data-dog/) is allegedly not secure and Firefox does not want me to go there. Given BB’s inferred stance on security issues … but hey, nobody can check everything.
2 Likes
I prefer mixed breed dogs. Mutts are just smarter and friendlier in my experience. I’m not sure if there’s a reason beyond anecdotal reasons.
14 Likes
Mutts pull from a wider gene pool, so recessive ailments are much more rare.
I am personally against the idea of dog breeds since it smacks of Victorian notions of eugenic thought and racial “science”.
14 Likes
I have always disliked bulldogs and the way they look. Bleh.
2 Likes
Yeah I had a pure bred Persian cat that died on me because she couldn’t breathe well through her squashed snout. I don’t get why folks think this is acceptable. 
6 Likes
bulldogs are sweet.
We may have breed them into congenital breathing problems, but bulldog don’t care.
6 Likes
We really should avoid brachycephalic dog breeds, like bulldogs, pugs, pekineses and so forth.
6 Likes
does it now? Biology owes quite a lot to animal husbandry. The science of breeding for traits is well established, though in the case of dog and cat breeding, it’s not clear that these traits are particularly desirable from a heath standpoint.
(Human eugenics remains problematic because of issues of consent…)
7 Likes
Having had a bulldog in our family, there has been no man or beast who’s company I have enjoyed more. They have a lot of personality if that’s what you want to call it. As far as dumb I’m not so sure, stubborn seems more appropriate.
Damn, I miss that dog, great now I’m crying.
10 Likes
One thing that I noticed missing in from the diseases was any list of cancers. Some breed tend to have a much higher likelihood of cancer than others, like Golden Retrievers. This makes them more expensive and/or shorter lived.
2 Likes
They can’t stand being left out.
19 Likes
wouldn’t you rather have a honey badger?
2 Likes
Dog breeds are bullshit, bad science, and a purely cultural phenomenon.
10 Likes
Apparently they forgot to account for the sheer lovability of the breed.
2 Likes
2 Likes
Interesting how a large part of the dogs in the “inexplicably overrated” category are also “working dogs”. Would it be correct to assume some middle or upper class bias in how the data was presented?
4 Likes
I think the original reasons for breeding of working dogs are valid. Big, vigilant ones for protection, smart nimble ones for herding, good swimmers with good noses for hunting, etc. It’s the vanity “collector” dogs with bizarre features like a pug that are “bullshit”.
11 Likes
