Worms in Dogs: Prevent, Diagnose, and Treat Different Types of Worms
Florida Dog Shelters Are Overrun With Bulldogs After Trend For The Animals Spiked Demand And Led To Overbreeding
Since November, more than 150 French bulldogs, commonly called Frenchies, have invaded a Florida rescue shelter tasked with rehoming them.
Ashley Pedersen, founder of Space Coast Frenchie Rescue in Brevard County, told local cable station WKMG 6 she's 'averaging one surrender a day' and that the dogs are coming from all over Florida.
Sky high demand and out-of-control overbreeding has led to shelters across Florida becoming full, Pedersen said. Many of them are reaching out to her and her cofounder Courtney Schilling to take some of the dogs off their hands.
Schilling took the call to action seriously, sheltering 15 dogs at her house at one point.
Frenchies' magnetic appeal is a result of their scrunched faces and flattened noses, according to scientists. They say the dogs' appearance is similar enough to human infants to make the average person swoon over their cuteness.
Pictured: Ashley Pedersen (left) and Courtney Schilling (right) are the founders of Space Coast Frenchie Rescue in Brevard County, Florida
Pictured: A black French bulldog
Winston, a French bulldog, competes in a competition during the 147th Westminster Kennel Club Dog show in 2023
Frenchies are so desirable in fact that there's been a noticeable trend of them getting stolen.
A 21-year-old woman stole another woman's French bulldog in broad daylight in Los Angeles. The victim, Ali Zacharias, chased after the thief and was caught on camera hanging from the hood of the perpetrator's car as she tried to escape with the dog.
Breeders are well aware of the rabid demand and are now flooding the market with Frenchies in hopes to make a quick buck, according to associate veterinarian Jocelyn Brickett.
A staggering number of Frenchies being deprived of a loving, safe home isn't the only problem with the supposed get-rich-quick scheme of overbreeding them.
Brickett, who works at the Eau Gallie Veterinary Hospital in Melbourne, Florida, said haphazard breeding leads to dire genetic defects in the dogs.
She pointed out one Frenchie named Keller at Pedersen and Schilling's shelter as a prime example of selective breeding gone wrong.
Pictured: Dogs in cages at Space Coast Frenchie Rescue in Brevard County
Zacharias said she thought she was going to die as the car went faster and faster
Lily is the first dog that was bred by Hawbucks Franse Bulldog Kennel, a kennel whose owner is trying to breed a healthier Frenchie. Lily still looks like a French bulldog, but she has a longer tail, back, and legs than are often seen in the breed.
'Keller is a result of trying to breed the mural color, so they breed two mural dogs together, which leads to this kind of white syndrome, so he's blind and deaf due to them breeding those two colors together,' Brickett said to WKMG 6. 'People need to stop doing that and leave it to the professionals.'
But even the average French bulldog often suffers from respiratory problems, spine malformations and skin problems as a result of constant inbreeding over the last century or so. As a result the breed has an average lifespan of 4.5 years.
Still, people don't seem to care.
French bulldogs have been the most popular dog in the US for two years in a row, according to the American Kennel Club. The UK, too, fancies flat-faced dogs, including bulldogs and pugs.
Hawbucks Franse Bulldog Kennel is one breeder trying to restore the healthiness French bulldogs once had by weeding out its major defects, DailyMail.Com reported in March.
Though, for people who love the purebred dogs, it might be a dealbreaker because the kennel said it might need to breed the Frenchies with other types of canines.
Owner Reveals Unexpected Way French Bulldog Spends Day While She's At Work
While pet owners spend their days working tirelessly, hour after hour, it's easy to wonder what their animal is getting up to at home. Are they playing with their favorite toy, or maybe even chewing something they shouldn't be?
That wasn't the case for Jodi Leigh Edwards, who checked her pet camera several times while she was working and discovered that her French bulldog didn't even move out of the bed the whole time he was alone.
After uncovering Frankie's nonstop schedule, Edwards told Newsweek that she had expected to see him "either sleeping or playing" most of the day, but she was incredibly surprised to find out just how many naps he can fit into one day.
Edwards, from the United Kingdom, couldn't resist sharing the hilarious images of Frankie's all-day sleep-fest in a post on TikTok (@frankiiethefrenchie), with the caption reading that he "literally sleeps all day." The post delighted many social-media users, and has already gained more than 858,000 views and over 136,000 likes on TikTok in a matter of days.
From left: Frankie the French bulldog awake; and caught spending all day in bed by the pet cam. The dog's owner expected to find him causing mayhem in the house, but he evidently had other... From left: Frankie the French bulldog awake; and caught spending all day in bed by the pet cam. The dog's owner expected to find him causing mayhem in the house, but he evidently had other plans. More @frankiiethefrenchie / TikTok"Frankie is just over a year old, and when I checked the pet cam, I thought I'd see him sleeping or even playing with his toys, but he was fast asleep the whole time. He stayed in bed the entire day," Edwards said.
To us mere humans, the idea of a full eight hours of sleep may seem like a dream come true, but dogs are able to fit in so many more naps than that every single day. The American Kennel Club says that dogs can spend up to 12 hours a day sleeping, while older canines may require even more sleep than that.
When dogs are awake, the AKC says that they spent 20 percent of the day being active, and another 30 percent relaxing—they must be tired from all that sleep.
Since the clip of Frankie went viral online, Edwards has been inundated with responses, telling Newsweek that "people loved it."
But, of course, Frankie's sleep did get interrupted throughout the day, so the pet cam indicated that a human had been detected. But it was simply that Frankie had to reposition himself in his owner's bed. He had to get onto the pillows for added comfort and had to climb under the blanket at another point. It's all in a day's work.
Many TikTok users praised Frankie's devotion to sleep, and the viral post has already gained more than 620 comments at the time of writing. One comment reads: "Saving all his energy for once you get home."
Another person responded: "ask him how it feels to be living our dream."
A third person posted: "Human detected, and it's just clips of him fixing his bed for his 16th nap of the day."
Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.Com with some details about your best friend, and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Dachshund, French Bulldog Breeds Suffer From 'Torture Breeding'
While dachshunds and French bulldogs may be adorable and some of the most charming pets around, animal welfare campaigners say that we should stop breeding them.
The two breeds have been reared to have trademark flattened faces for Frenchies and tiny legs for dachshunds, but the traits are now so extreme that many of the dogs struggle to breathe or walk properly, leading to health issues and high vet bills for owners.
So animal welfare advocates in the U.S. And Europe are suggesting that breeding dogs to have a characteristic that makes life harder for the animal should be banned, or at least restricted from pushing for the harmful traits.
"I don't know if anyone is breeding to hurt the animal," Mark Wells, an assistant professor of philosophy at Northeastern University who researches political protection for animals, told Northeastern Global News. "But owners get used to it when every breath their French bulldog takes is labored."
Stock images of a dachshund (left) and a French bulldog (right). Some animal activists have suggested banning these breeds due to their health conditions. Stock images of a dachshund (left) and a French bulldog (right). Some animal activists have suggested banning these breeds due to their health conditions. ISTOCK / GETTY IMAGES PLUSBreeds like French bulldogs and pugs have been selectively bred to have their characteristically flat faces. This short, flat skull shape can lead to respiratory issues, however, as their narrowed nostrils, elongated soft palate, and narrow trachea can result in breathing difficulties, especially in hot or humid weather.
"It's not pleasant to be a pug in many ways," Wells said.
Dachshunds, or wiener dogs, have been bred to have long bodies and short legs, often leading to intervertebral disk disease, which is where the discs between their vertebrae degenerate or herniate, leading to pain, paralysis and, in severe cases, the need for surgery.
The German word qualzucht, often used in association with dog breeds like these, means "torture breeding."
"From a philosophical angle, we're worried about animal welfare, and breeding seems like a major cause of a lot of animal suffering," Wells said. "The ethical problem with dog breeding is we're not seriously entertaining the suffering we are creating in the world. We could have bred these dogs differently."
The hope is that banning breeding for traits like these will reduce the popular demand for them among pet owners, which is the major driver for how common extreme characteristics have become.
"Dog breeds from 100 years ago look so different from dogs now. Boxers look different. They had noses. They don't anymore. Dachshunds had longer legs. Bassetts had longer legs," Terri Bright, a clinical behaviorist at Angell Animal Medical Center and assistant psychology professor at Northeastern, told Northeastern Global News.
"German shepherds are now walking on their hocks. Why isn't anyone talking about that?" Bright asked.
Stock image of a pug running. Pugs have been bred to the point where they have breathing issues. Stock image of a pug running. Pugs have been bred to the point where they have breathing issues. ISTOCK / GETTY IMAGES PLUSThere have been several recent attempts to restrict the breeding of these dogs legally, but these moves have been met with backlash.
New Hampshire's recent attempt to pass a bill that banned the breeding of dogs with a trait that "causes suffering" was tabled on March 28, with the American Kennel Club calling the suggested legislation "extremist."
Germany also attempted to pass an animal welfare act that bans the "cruel" breeding of dogs that live in pain due to their extreme traits, but this was also met with pushback. The German Kennel Club launched a petition "save our favorite dogs," claiming that the act would result in dachshunds being banned.
"They are not trying to ban dachshunds, unless you think a dachshund has to be a thing that suffers," Wells said. "Basically, they are trying to guide these breeding practices away from the promulgation of these traits that cause suffering."
Not all researchers agree with the idea of a ban, however.
"Who is going to measure the nose?" Bright asked, adding that she questions what happens to dogs that the bans consider deformed. "Do you drown them? Do you give them away?"
Animal advocates hope to reshape what people think a breed should ideally look like, away from the extreme traits seen in dog competitions.
"We breed dogs to fit our imagination rather than merely categorizing the dogs we happen to have into breeds," Wells said. "And that's why changing our imagination is so important for this issue. Can we imagine French bulldogs without labored breathing?"
Do you have a tip on a science story that Newsweek should be covering? Do you have a question about dog breeding? Let us know via science@newsweek.Com.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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