Too short muzzle and too short legs cause dogs health problems

To many Dog breeds have a variety of exaggerated features that can cause a variety of health problems. Exaggerated features may include, for example, too small or too large a size, too long back, too low limbs, or too short a muzzle, says the head of the Finnish Kennel Club NGO department Kaisa Gold.

“Long -backed breeds may have different back problems, such as premature calcification of septum, which involves the risk of paralysis. Very low limbs, on the other hand, are a consequence of some kind of mutation, and they include, for example, growth disorders: legs may become curved as some of the bones continue to grow longer. ”

A very large size, on the other hand, is sensitive to bone problems and a very small size of bone fractures.

Breeding agronomist and researcher Catherine Mäki It points out that three pounds are often a crucial weight limit for dogs, under which problems increase. For example, a dog may become a painful water head, where the cerebrospinal fluid accumulates in the dog's skull. Dental problems are common in very small dogs.

“Many times you can see pictures where the celebrities keep their little dogs in her arms and in dogs the tongue hangs between teeth. This is because they have teeth shock or have had so many tooth problems that the teeth have had to be removed. ”

If the dog's muzzle is very short, its skull is usually shortened. In short -hearted dogs, the brain may not fit properly in its place, but can penetrate the spinal cord painfully.

According to Mäki, a very short muzzle also makes breathing and heat regulation difficult, and the dog's teeth do not normally fit into the mouth. Short-tanning dogs often also have bone and eye problems.

“When the skull is short, the eye pits are also lowered, allowing the eyes to bottle outwards. If there is a lot of protein on the edges of the dog's eyes, it is usually a sign that the eye pits are too low. « 

Gold And Mäki does not want to name any certain « problem breeds » that no one should buy. Even those breeders of such breeds may find people who, through their activities, seek to reduce exaggerated features and create healthier litters.

However, Gold and Mäki hope that those who buy the dog will pay more attention to the problematic features and try to choose the most healthy dog ​​as possible.

According to Mäki, for example, there have been breeders in Finland who have sought to extend the muzzles of short -sheet breed dogs by making puppies with only slightly longer -term individuals.

« However, in the kennel world, such changes may not be considered good, and the exhibition judge may have considered the longer -term dog lower -quality and point out in the dog's criticism, » Mäki is annoyed.

According to Mäki, exaggerated features have become more common in certain breeds of dogs, precisely because the characteristics of the breed definition have been ambitiously sought. For example, the breed definition can read « as short a muzzle as possible ».

“No one has hardly sought a situation where the features become so extreme that the dogs become ill. There should be a radical change in the entire worldwide dog show culture, as these wording of breed definitions has already been revised in Europe. Breed definitions should also be interpreted by the dog's health above. There is still something to do here. ”

Breed dog The buyer should always find out about the dog's inheritance and breeder, says Kaisa Gold.

“However, when it comes to puppy fever, the puppy must often get now and later. Then you forget about all the instructions and warnings and take the puppy from there, where you can get it quickly, which is usually not the safest option. Very few enlightened and accurate breeders sell their dogs on Tori.fi or on similar platforms, for example. ”

According to Gold, dog processing has changed significantly in Finland in ten years with increased research data. Today, there are more tests to determine the hereditary dogs of dogs. The Finnish Kennel Club has an open database that anyone can visit the official examinations for breed dogs and their results.

“For example, pedigree can be viewed from the database. They show which dogs of which family have been studied. This is a huge advantage and I hope that the database will be used more when buying puppies. ”

Gold says that certain popular breeds also have a lot of dogs that are not officially registered. Then their backgrounds are also in the dark.

“The same applies to purely mixed breed dogs. It is often said that they are healthier, but the truth is that they may be healthy or may have inherited all the illnesses of two very sick parents. ”

Gold points out that there are nearly 400 dog breeds registered by the Finnish Kennel Club.

« There, everyone will surely find a breed that suits them and as healthy as possible. »