The National Dog Show Salutes a Genetic Wreck

Tomorrow, on Thanksgiving Day, NBC will be featuring "The National Dog Show Presented by Purina" which will introduce the newest American Kennel Club-sanctioned breed, the Dogue de Bordeaux.

What will not be said: the dog is a complete genetic wreck and has been heavily inbred from a small gene pool in the U.S. following the rapid popularity of the dog after the Tom Hanks movie "Turner and Hooch" came out in 1989.

Some numbers from the UK Kennel Club (N = 76 dogs) gives a glimpse of the extent of the health problems associated with this newest dog to be ushered into the American Kennel Club's parade of defect, deformity and disease:

• The average Dogue de Bordeaux is dead from disease or veterinary intervention at the age of 5.48 years.
  
  
• The median age at diagnosis for all Dogue de Bordeaux disease occurrences was just 9 months.
  
  
• Most Causes of death in the Dogue de Bordeaux:
  
  . . . . ** Cancer (28 percent)
  
  
  . . . . ** Cardiac (22 percent)
  
  
  . . . .** Kidney Disease (11 percent)
  
  
  . . . .** Epilepsy (4.4 percent)
  
  
  . . . .** Hepatic Disease (i.e. chronic liver failure)
  
  
  . . . . ** Skeletal Disease (i.e. OCD and dysplasia)

Is this this dog the American Kennel Club intends to showcase at Westminster?

Is this the dog the U.K. Kennel Club intends to showcase at Crufts?

If so, excellent, for it is a perfect case statement for everything that is wrong with the American Kennel Club and the British Kennel Club.

Once again the Kennel Clubs embrace and elevate a breed without any health considerations what-so-ever.

Once again they continue the tradition of ushering forward canine misery for the sake of human vanity and amusement.

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