Dogs! In the News!

English Bulldogs Endangered!

Researchers at UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine’s Center for Companion Animal Health warn that the future of the English Bulldog may be in danger. 

The researchers found that many large regions of the genome have been altered over centuries of breeding — focused mostly on changing the dog’s appearance. Many changes have occurred within the last couple of decades, Pedersen said, as the dogs have been bred for increasingly stocky builds and shorter snouts. He explained that the study showed very little wiggle room in the breed for making additional genetic changes that might do away with serious health issues.

Common English bulldog health problems include breathing troubles associated with the dog’s facial structure, and complications because of their layered skin.

The researchers published their findings in the journal Canine Genetics and Epidemiology. Here’s a link.

You can read more here from CBS News.

Prison Inmates Care for Deaf Dogs

Inmates at a California prison are caring for nearly 50 deaf dogs who were forced out of a shelter that was threatened by wildfire.  ABC News says the dogs, who came from Deaf Dogs Rescue of America, were relocated to:

[A] state prison. [that] has a group of inmates involved with a program called Paws 4 Life, which matches inmates with dogs from county shelters that are at high risk for [euthanasia.]

The inmates take in the dogs and work with professional trainers to socialize them, teach them basic obedience and ultimately help them pass the American Kennel Club’s Canine Good Citizen test… Dogs that pass the test get a certificate showing that they know basic commands and how to interact peacefully with others — thus increasing their chances of adoption.

ABC News reports:

Jon Grobman, [an] inmate, said that “Paws 4 Life restored my faith in humanity — that I’m a person, that I matter.” He added, “It gave me the opportunity to care for something, love something.”

You can read more here from ABC News.

Dog Walking Record… Fail!

Los Angeles dog walker Bob Morris tried to break the record for walking dogs.

Normally he walk four at at time… to break the record he tried to walk FORTY-FIVE DOGS!

(The current record is thirty-five dogs according to the Guinness World Records.)

Here’s the video:

Suffice to say the thirty-five dog record stands. (Click here to learn more about that!)

Morris says the whole affair was an “adorable mess.”