A reader asked..

A lot of people won’t agree with me, so I was seeing if anyone does. I don’t like Bulldogs. I think of them as helpless. They have breathing problems, they cannot tolerate hot or very cold weather well, they suffer from a huge list of health problems, they are notoriously difficult to breed and them to whelp, they just seem so helpless and sometimes pathetic and I just do not like them. I have met several of them, and it seems almost like they have a hard time getting around, one person I saw while at the dog park said it was the first time she had ever seen her dog actually run. My aunt had one also, a very “well-bred” dog, from a great pedigree. They used him as a stud dog, even though he had to use a ramp to get up on the female and he would have frequent attacks when he couldn’t breath and his tongue would turn blue.

There are other dogs similar to this, but not to the same degree. Pekingese for one.

What are your thoughts on “helpless” dogs? Do you think they are helpless, overly-sick dogs, or great animals with nothing wrong with them?
I do wonder about some “reputable” breeders intentions. They do breed for specific traits that are detrimental to the breed, in the name of improving the breed, how does that make sense. They are used almost completely as companion dogs now, so what would happen if they changed the way the dog started to look and make them healthier, it’s not like it’s changing a functional dog, the bulldog is long past functional.
Miracle Paws, there’s more to a dog than just adorableness, how about the ability to live and breath?

As for Salukis, yes I love them, they are great dogs, Azawakh too and they are even skinnier.
At least Saluki and Azawakh can almost always live very long lives without any health problems.
I guess useless is a much better description