# 5 Breeds He Wants to See Less Often...



## Olivers mama (Oct 13, 2010)

...Interesting. Would you agree or disagree with the author?


5 Breeds This Veterinarian Wouldn't Mind Seeing Less Of


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## Wolfgeist (Dec 4, 2010)

Someone's opinion. That is its only value, IMO.


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## Rangers-mom (Jan 28, 2013)

His concerns are based on health issues and I don't see how I could argue with that. There are so many puppy mills and byb pumping out so many of these popular breeds. They don't give a hoot about longterm health. They don't even care what happens to their litters (or breeding stock for that matter) in the short term. His beef seems to be with breeders who are not interested in the health of the breed and I can't disagree with that sentiment.


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## irickchad (Feb 6, 2013)

I agree with his opinion. His is solely based on health issues and overpopulation of certain breeds, but I think we can all take a step back and realize that some... MOST... pet owners aren't as responsible as the people who take time to join forums such as these and really learn things about their breed, pedigrees, etc. I can't tell you how many people have said " Ohh you're getting a GSD!? My [aunt,friend,boyfriend,cousin,etc] has one you should breed it!" Therefore, in essence, I can certainly agree with a vet wanting to see less of most of these breeds.


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

I get his general point, which seems to be that popularity tends to result in indiscriminate breeding, with all the health and temperament issues that you'd expect from that scenario. I didn't get that he doesn't like GSDs in general, and in fact he said a good German Shepherd is an awe-inspiring dog. 

Same with the other breeds - too many poorly bred dogs to satisfy pet market demand has resulted in a huge surge in the incidence of cancer in Goldens, a variety of health issues in Bulldogs, and more Chihuahuas and Pitbulls than there are available homes for them, leading to an overpopulation in shelters. 



> I do look forward, though, to the day when these five breeds aren’t as popular. The reasons vary, but in many cases the problems are health-related, and overbreeding by puppy mills and other less-than-ideal operations has a lot to do with that.


Who could argue with that?


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

Debbie said everything I was thinking.


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## Syaoransbear (Sep 25, 2008)

But then he'll get less business lol.


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## Olivers mama (Oct 13, 2010)

I found it interesting that he even put his thoughts into print! Nowadays, that takes some guts.

I found myself agreeing with him. Then it just made me ticked off (again) at the indiscriminate breeding that's done - & not just by puppy mills & BYB. I do believe we are actually breeding ailments & diseases (or the propensity of such) INto the dogs. Sad, but true. I grew up around mostly large-breed dogs. Fabulous animals, both physically & temperament. But so many of these breeds now have physical problems from breeding relative stock - few want to take the time to try to breed a healthy dog. Beautiful GSDs, collies, Irish Setters, etc - few health problems then - lots of health problems now.

I wouldn't trade our Lunkhead for anything - but she's also a product of BYB, so who knows what ailments will be involved in her future?


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## LoveEcho (Mar 4, 2011)

They should put that as a sticky in the "I want to become a breeder" section, for all the people posting how pretty their dog is so they want it to experience the joys of motherhood...


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## Daisy&Lucky's Mom (Apr 24, 2011)

Need to agree w/ his points. I think the best thing for our beloved GSD as well as the Goldens and Labadors would be if they fell out of the top 20 dog breeds for awhile. I realize not a chance of that happening and if it did unfortunately some other breeds would be bred indiscriminately and in massive numbers


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## Anubis_Star (Jul 25, 2012)

As a member of the veterinary field, I agree 100%!! Just yesterday, I Was receiving yet ANOTHER lecture from one of my doctors for buying a GSD pup from a breeder instead of adopting from a rescue. I looked at her and said "name ONE, just ONE german shepherd we see in this clinic, BESIDES Zeke, that DOESN'T have a million and one allergy and joint health issues?"

She thought for several minutes and couldn't think of ONE. Every single german shepherd we see is covered in dandruff and lick granulomas and hot spots and severe arthritis and horrible hip dysplasia.

I'll be the devil's advocate and name the breeds we don't like to to see because of aggression (and remember, many stereotypes exist for a reason)
Chihuahuas
Schnauzers
Shiba Inus
ANY northern breed, for that matter
Pretty much anything under 20 lbs
Yes my friends, I hate to say, most people in my field HATE german shepherds (again, poor breeding affects temperament just as much as health)

And the number one breed.... the Dachshunds (Which a study from the University of Pennsylvania showed to be the NUMBER ONE biter in the dog world!)


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## wolfstraum (May 2, 2003)

GSDs have been 2nd on the most registered list at AKC the last 2 years, and in the top 5 for probably 8-10 years....that means there are 10s of 1000s of poorly bred dogs out there....same with Goldens and Chis...and Pits (who are not strictly speaking an AKC breed)...and he lumps all the bully breeds together in 2 sets....there is nothing in the article to argue with at all....

Lee


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## KZoppa (Aug 14, 2010)

I have to agree with his point of view as well. His points are health related and how many of us constantly say if you're going to add a new pup, do everything in your power to get a pup from genetically healthy stock? He's not listing all the reasons tempermentally he'd like to see them less but health reasons. I also agree he's brave for putting that out there with his name attached to it.

My vet here where my inlaws take Zena to as well. Zena is a genetic mess. She's got allergies, horrible hips, etc. As much as the office staff loves her to bits because she's a total sweetheart and adores attention, she's not 100% healthy. 

They were appreciative of Shasta because even though she's technically a BYB dog, she's 100% healthy. The worst she's had is a UTI.


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## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

Great, I have 2 out of 5 of those breeds I can only hope and pray that my dogs don't ever have to suffer for any reason.:fingerscrossed:


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## gsdlover32 (Jul 10, 2013)

My GSD already has some of these conditions for a fairly young girl, 6 years, but our new vet loves her because she is easy to work with. She is completely comfortable having people exam her and draw blood, never resists which is why even going in all the time she is the ideal patient. I can see from a health issue why they made the choices but if the dog is trained well going through all these treatments are a breeze.


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## Magwart (Jul 8, 2012)

I fear that his label of "Cancer Retriever" for Goldens will eventually transfer to GSDs - "German Cancer Dogs." Too many of us have lost dogs to hemangio.


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## Kayos and Havoc (Oct 17, 2002)

Cassidy's Mom said:


> I didn't get that he doesn't like GSDs in general, and in fact he said a good German Shepherd is an awe-inspiring dog.


I did not see where he said he disliked GSD's in general. Maybe I missed it? 

I agree with him, sadly. My vet's office likes my dogs and they repeatedly tell me we have the best GSD's they see. What does that say for the rest of them? Too many health issues and I can agree with the poster that said Cancer Shepherd Dog too. 

Health issues is the reason why I have gotten my last GSD. Plan on switchihg breeds next time around.


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## Discoetheque (Nov 2, 2011)

At the shelters around here, remove Chihuahua and replace it with Yorkshire Terrier. It's nigh impossible to get a Chihuahua at the shelter I worked at...we even saw more Boston Terriers there than we did Chihuahua, but every third dog coming in was a Yorkie (and the other two were pit bulls). Between people not taking care of the grooming needs of a Yorkie, to improper/lack of training making a majority of them that came in unsuitable for adoption to their rampant health issues nowadays (hypoglycemia, luxating patellas, tracheal collapse, temperament problems, terrible dentition and liver issues), I interpret Yorkies to be the one of the biggest heartbreaks in the smallest package that I've seen lately. Especially when you consider what they were bred to do and what they're capable of.


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