A rescue centre has warned of the danger of having such a small bulldog breeding line in the UK after taking in a young bulldog puppy with a cleft palate.
The six-month-old puppy, who has been called Poppy, was handed into Almost Home Dog Rescue in Mold by her breeder, who struggled to sell her on due to the deformity.
A spokesperson for Almost Home Dog Rescue said: “We cannot know for certain why she has a cleft palate however it’s common when there’s a small gene pool within the breeding lines and it is highly common in bulldogs.
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“It is another reason why you should research before thinking about getting a puppy.
“Don’t just research the breed, if you are adamant about going to a breeder make sure you research them too.”
Thankfully it is looking like Poppy’s foster home might turn into a full time adoption; she is living with other dogs having previously only met her siblings, mother, aunt and grandmother, and gaining her confidence around new people and environments.
Everyone who meets her falls in love with her but this is not always the case for dogs born with cleft palates.
It is a reasonably common condition in dogs and occurs due to a “failure of the roof of the mouth to close during development in the womb, resulting in a hole between the mouth and the nasal cavity,” according to Animal Trust .
Cleft palates are generally an inherited condition, even more common in purebreds, especially brachycephalic breeds including bulldogs.
The bulldog breeding line is so small because they are bred based on aesthetics more than most other dogs, and nowadays breeders are overbreeding the most “attractive” dogs to have as many puppies as possible.
This means a lot of the time, bulldogs share a family member not too many generations apart, and if mated together can produce puppies with genetic deformities, as it would in a human.
Time will tell the extent of Poppy’s cleft lip and how it will affect her life.
She is due for a spay in the next couple of weeks, during which the vets will take advantage of the anaesthetic and investigate further.
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