sad to see the health problems in some of todays breeds

I have just read something on another forum that made me quite sad
as most of you will probably allready know, I dont rate dogs which are bred for show and not work very highly at all, and I am not a fan of some of the modern day breeds seen in the showring, especially any breed that has an exaggerated appearance or short squashed in face.
I was browsing through this site when I came across an advert for ear cleaner which I had also seen on another site, nothing unusual about that but then I clicked on the advertisers link to their website (sharpei breeder) and was a bit saddened to read about all the breeds health problems I knew they had a few skin issues but I didnt realise how bad it was.
I dotn understand why people would want to breed these dogs if they have so many problems with their skin and eyelids, and breathing etc?
why breed unhealthy dogs just for their unusual appearance?
I dont have anything against shar peis, but I do feel sorry for them when I hear of all the problems they can have, it seems they have no useful function other than an oddity to be kept as a pet, (and a very expensive one by the looks of it )
I cant understand anyone who would want to buy a breed of dog knowing that it may suffer serious problems throughout its life, its hard enough to get a healthy dog without knowingly breeding dogs that have problems. Im not singling out any one breed, I feel there are a few which worry me, ie the british bulldog as well, I seriously question the way they are bred, and I feel they could do with an injection of outside blood of some sort to improve them!!
Here are a few quotes from the site, (if anyone wants a link PM me) which made me wonder why on earth anyone would choose this breed, they seem to be high maintenance, and not particularly long lived or healthy

"The first bitch (Pigmented Cream) Mishka came in Feb. 1995. This girl had to be spayed at the tender age of 2 1/2 years, due to her showing Sharpei Fevers. "

"Then came my second Pei, I had waited nearly 3 years for a Chocolate bitch, when old enough, she produced a litter. Unfortunately I had to have this darling babe "Wispa" put to sleep on the 26 January 2001, "

"I also had another pitfall along the way with my Chocolate male. At the tender age of 4 months Joshua was diagnosed has having NO HIP SOCKETS IN EITHER HIP, "

These are just a few quotes, there is actually pages with full descriptions of individual dog's problems it makes for quite sad reading.

I cant understand why people keep going back and buying more of these breeds when they obviously have serious health issues? why not go for a breed that is healthy and functional instead?

I got the feeling that a lot of the focus on this particular website was geared towards marketing products for cleaning ears and helping skin etc in this breed, and I also found that sad that a whole range of products should be developed just to care for this breed on a day to day basis very sad, I dont know what the dog breeding world is coming to some days, it seems like its all the wrong way around. people who breed non KC breeds or working breeds get looked down upon by some breeders, yet they are often the very ones who are producing unheathy dogs with problems and charging huge prices for them. Anyone else think that is ****ed up?

Its messed up CBT. I agree, I think it boils down to fashion over function As long as it looks good and can win a few pieces of cardboard who really cares?

The list of breeds that have changed drastically (to the extreme) is huge and I suspect will carry on growing. I wanted a Boston Terrier as I always liked their physique and general make up but after looking into the breed I realised that they were not quite what I thought for the most part heads are getting bigger & wider, noses smaller, eyes bulging and they are not the dogs I really started to become interested in. Look at the English Bulldog too another very sad case. And its US humans who are to blame for the fate of these dogs...very very sad.

Im sure I read recently about some of these bracheocephalic (sp) breeds having problems with their eyes coming out of the sockets such as pekingese, boston terriers, etc, Im not sure if it was truth or scaremongering but I think it is so sad when people put form before function

I have to be honest, if there are 300 odd breeds recognised in the Uk by the kennel club, there are only about 10 that I would even consider owning, and parting with my money to buy, and they are all breeds which are working or multi purpose, I have no time for the unusual breeds or the ones with the squished faces
I just cant really see the point of them? they dont seem to have any useful function?

I dont know how people condone the breeding of any animals that carry health problems as severe as say the Bulldog. It is beyond me how they actually justify what they do, for me there is no excuse. I think some people are blind though and just cant or dont want to see what they do. Some breeders claim that they try to breed out the hereditary health problems but the fact of the matter is that with some standards they cannot breed to the standard and do this as it is impossible. The reason the dogs ended up like this is usually a direct result of the standard...imo at least.

I think it is no less than animal abuse to breed an animal you know will suffer for most of its life with ill health
What is the point of some breeders doing health checks to try to breed the most healthy dog ,then others breed a dog that can not be bred without any problems ?
I just feel so sad for these poor dogs that suffer so much and live a short unhealthy life

not getting involved in this one ....incase someones says my dog has a squashed up face ...I might cry LOL

aw your doggies are stunning inca. max is in love anyway

surely all breeds are messed up! we dock tails and cut ears. then there are dogs with the ears that hang, but every wild dog has erect ears. people screw everything up.

yeah but they brush the floor as they go .........

I think we need to remember why these dogs were originally bred and go back to those blueprints!