Brachycephalic Syndrome Research Paper

The pug is a brachycephalic breed of dog that has been selectively bred for aesthetic purposes, the highly desirable double curl tail is a genetic defect and in more serious forms leads to paralysis. Which means that the personal health issues for the breed is the first biological implication.They do however have a fairly long lifespan, averaging between 12 and 15 years, yet due to the fact that they have been bred for extremes, many health issues are known to be associated with the breed – as so some genetic disorders. Eye problem such as entropion, corneas and prolapse can affect these selectively bred dogs. They are also highly prone to being affected by hip dysplasia. Demodectic mange, necrotizing meningoencephalitis, hemivertebrae and breathing issues are other problems that have been known to affect the breed. Genetic disorders can include degenerative

Studies show that sometime in the next 10-50 years, if selective breeding continues, the bulldogs will have their noses touching their foreheads. 100 years ago, the english bulldog was able to reproduce and give birth to their puppies without question, but now they need to be artificially inseminated and have to have a cesarean section birth because of how their bodies are now shaped. This is a disadvantage to the bulldog because now breeders can inseminate dogs and can continue to breed them. These dogs also lost the ability to travel on planes because of overheating and breathing problems when they reach a certain altitude on the plane. Many more abilities and activities have also been taken away, such as being able to play and enjoy themselves because they get tired and need to actually take a break to breathe.

Inbreeding in the dog’s lineage is one key point of the Pedigree that no one really talks about to the non-showing potential owners; it is indicated by one dog being used to sire multiple lines of the family tree. The AKC does not discourage this and often it is difficult to recognize for a non-showing owner. Many show breeders will not allow their puppies to be purchased by non-show homes in an attempt to preserve their lines. According to “A genetic assessment of the English bulldog”, written by N. Pedersen, A. Pooch, and H. Liu, “there is very little knowledge about the actual genetic status of the breed and whether enough genetic and phenotypic diversity still exists to significantly improve health without further reducing existing genetic diversity or relying on outcrossing”(4) (breed two dogs from different lineage to add fresh blood to the family tree). However, many show breeders believe that they must utilize a sire across more than one line within their pedigree to preserve the specific traits of the breed that make their bloodlines of champion quality. One could argue that in doing so, they are reintroducing certain predispositions back into their own bloodlines two-fold; reinforcing what may be a defect of sorts in their own lines.

Most of the therapy dogs come from a selective breeding program known as the American Kennel Club (AKC). These dogs go through several months of obedience training and must be able to strictly follow commands. These dogs must also feel comfortable in the presence of wheelchairs, walkers, crutches, oxygen tanks, food carts, and any other equipment patients and therapists use. A number of studies have demonstrated that the presence of therapy dogs serve to increase the quantity and quality of positive attention directed toward the physically handicapped by both familiar individuals and

English bulldogs are no longer a fit healthy dog, and people are now saying that there is no such thing as a healthy bulldog and their poor health and survival is a result from selective breeding. English bulldogs suffer from almost every possible disease. A 2004 survey by the Kennel Club found that these dogs die on average at an unfortunate age of 6.25 years. Over the years the English bulldog’s physical traits have been breed to the extreme. Their faces have become flatter, the legs have shortened, head is larger and the well-known under bite has grown as seen in Fig.1. Although these traits seem to look ‘cute’ or ‘desirable’ to humans it is having a massive effect on the dog. The shortness and shape of the English bulldog today means that

As anyone who has seen a televised dog show can attest, some dogs are deformed in disturbing ways. One might look at the “excessively wrinkled skin of the Chinese Shar-Pei,” the “the flat face of a bulldog,” or the “low-slung eyelids of a Bloodhound” (PBS), and think, “That can not be healthy.” The fact of the matter is that these deformities are far from healthy. As the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) points out, the Shar-Pei’s skin (due to it’s “excessively wrinkled” nature) is prone to skin infections, the Bloodhound’s droopy eyes are practically magnets for eye infection, and the Bulldog’s face is so squished that it can never breathe correctly. While these deformities may be more obvious, overly large or small pedigree dogs have their own slew of health problems (Rooney and Sargan). As Rooney and Sargan disclose, very small dogs (known as toy breeds) often have dislocated kneecaps, heart problems, and trouble staying warm. Big dogs, such as Great Danes, can suffer from heat prostration and orthopedic issues (Rooney and Sargan). According to Rooney and Sargan, almost every purebred breed of dog is more likely to have at least one genetic disease compared to mixed breeds. However, physical problems are not the only thing purebred dogs have to face: behavioral problems are also more prevalent in certain breeds (Rooney and Sargan). Rooney and Sargan reveal that

Some dogs only have an acute case; this is when no abnormal clinical signs are observed. The next level of the disease would be just a mild one were a cough is present. Dogs with a cough, exercise intolerance, and abnormal lung sounds would have a moderate form. The last and most severe form is when the dog is experiencing the previously mentioned clinical signs and/or, dyspnea, hepatomegaly (liver enlargement), syncope, ascites (fluid in abdomen), abnormal heart sounds and possibly death.

The same media statement displays a chaotic tone when it dispels the instability to the public as it states, “no single piece of evidence provides conclusive proof that Zika virus infection is a cause of microcephaly and other fetal brain defects. This statement is critically flawed in contradiction, and serves only to confuse the public even further, about the possibilities of Zika virus causing microcephaly. It is clear the media at times serves to confuse, and terrorize the public, and nobody is off limits in the fearmongering game, perpetuated by mainstream media.

and the spread of disease to other dogs. According to The Human Society of the United States

“A Healthy Dose of Puppy Love” by Kathryn Satterfield describes a new study that shows that dogs can improve an individual’s health by lowering anxiety levels and by improving cardiac function. Specially trained therapy dogs visited a hospital in November in Dallas, Texas to help conduct a study that animals can improve an individual’s health, to do this people split the seventy six patients into a total of three groups: visitors with dogs, visitors, and an “at rest group.” For accurate results researches preformed anxiety tests on the patients before, during, and after the visit, and the results concluded that patients who received visits from people had encountered a ten percent drop in anxiety, while patients who received visits from dogs

My brother has severe pet allergies. If he is with a cat or dog for too long, he could have an asthma attack and die. A concern for him is service and ESA dogs in public areas. Dogs in public areas are becoming a problem, but how do we fix it? Before we can fix the situation we must first look at the differences between service dogs and ESA, the problems with them, and finally how to fix the problem.

This standard look of these work dogs continued to be the ideal image of these breeds, over 130,000 becoming victims of these surgeries per year (Broughton 1), setting the expectations of the breeds according to the American Kennel Club (AKC), a top show-breed company. Despite the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) recommending to the AKC to change their standards on breeds, the AKC allows certain uncropped and undocked breeds to have “disadvantage in the show ring [so] that showing is not a realistic option”. Coile provides a chart which illustrates that the American Kennel Club currently has approximately fifty breeds of dogs that are susceptible to the expectation that their ears must be cropped (Coile 2, 13-16). These standards that are set on the canines cause the breed to be viewed only that way. An uncropped working dog, terrier, or hunting dog that is typically cropped also tends to be harder to place into homes. In Karyn Miller-Medzon’s report “Fashion Victoms”, an interviewee, Sue Sternberg discusses the difficulty of adopting out a natural eared, ‘crop’ dog. Sternberg states that “People just aren’t used to the look…. It’s

Crouzon syndrome is an autosomal dominant genetic disorder and is the most common craniosynostosis syndrome with an incidence of 16.5/1,000,000, representing 4.8% of craniosynostosis cases, and a prevalence of 1/60,000 in the U.S. Crouzon syndrome is caused by an activating mutation of the FGFR2 gene, an important factor in the conversion of the fibrous joint areas between sutures to bone. Specifically, the missense mutation occurs within exons IIIa and exon IIIc of the extracellular immunoglobulin domain, IgIII, in 95% of Crouzon patients. Generally, cysteine residues are replaced, preventing critical disulfide bond formation and ultimately cause spatiotemporal malformations. There are at least 32 documented unique mutations, 30-60% of which are sporadic, spontaneous mutations.

Brachycephalic syndrome is a canine disease that primarily affects the dogs respiratory and gastrointestinal systems. (Roedler et al., 2013). Brachycephalic breeds of dog have compacted skeletons and relatively short muzzles. This contributes to problems within their nasal cavities, spine and tails. As well as this, brachycephalic dogs have large amounts of soft tissue inside the body which causes a number of obstructions, especially to the dogs airway (Fitzpatrick Referrals, n.d.). Dogs may not show signs of brachycephalic syndrome until they are between two to three years of age. However, puppies as young as six months old have been diagnosed with severe clinical signs of brachycephalic syndrome, such as laryngeal collapse (Meola, 2013).

Such as the Rhodesian Ridgeback. Some health issues they may have or get is elbow dyspepsia, canine hip dyspepsia, and Hypothyroidism. Deafness and Dermot sinus are also occasionally seen in the breed to happen/come. To prevent these problems from happening some solutions are. Hiking/jogging, anything physical/mental exercises daily. Make sure their food is good for them. Visit the vet every 3 years or so, unless something is server. Brush dog hair to get rid of dead hair. Take dog a bath every week or two. Only to get all the bad bacteria off the dog so the dog doesn't get sick as a puppy or and old adult dog. Those are very few of the ways to prevent those