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There has to be more genetically going on than physical dimensions alone. Boston terriers have almost identical dimensions, so much so they’re frequently mistak
by eyelidlessness 4y ago
There has to be more genetically going on than physical dimensions alone. Boston terriers have almost identical dimensions, so much so they’re frequently mistaken for each other by people not familiar enough with either or both breeds, but don’t typically have such severe respiratory problems.
I mean I don’t generally recommend either breed unless someone is really prepared for the dog they’re signing up for—frenchies mostly for health factors, bosties mostly for the enormous energy commitment. But they’re very different breeds in a very similar exterior physical package, enough to confuse people very enamored with one or both.
- bayesian_horse 4y agoIt's called brachycephaly which means short head. Brachycephalic dogs have a shorter nose and face in general, which leads to most of the mentioned problems: Teeth, ears (Bulla) and problems getting air. Distinct from that is the "wedge vertebrae" problem (spine and curly tail). Yet distinct is the chondrodystrophy: Shorter, deformed legs. The latter is more pronounced in Dachshund or some other bulldog breeds. Not sure if Boston terriers are that much better though. Don't have evidence in front of me.
- theshrike79 4y agoThe head needs to have certain things in it for the animal to ... live. When you breed the head smaller, the same things still need to be in there, they'll just have less space. Thus, breathing problems, brain literally not fitting in the skull, eyes bulging out... Breeding dogs for looks and not for features is just plain stupid. It's like the dog world is stuck in the ye olde web times when we gave designers Flash and they went completely nuts with "user" "interfaces" which were neither usable nor could they be called interfaces.