# Pugs are dogs? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 2, 2012, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pugs-are-dogs/623852 "2012-06-02T06:43:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2016, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pugs-are-dogs/623852/81 "2016-10-31T21:39:13Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > I think you’re thinking of French Bulldogs, actually. From Wikipedia: Actually, I was thinking of English Bulldogs. Derp. ---
**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2016, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pugs-are-dogs/623852/82 "2016-10-31T21:57:28Z")
There’s a word for any animal that can hurt it’s ears when it hits a wall face first and that word is ugly. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2016, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pugs-are-dogs/623852/83 "2016-11-01T01:51:25Z")
Well, to counter all the pug hate, I’ll quote the great German[philosopher Loriot](https://image.jimcdn.com/app/cms/image/transf/none/path/s2c8919d6dfa0cf10/image/i10d979cb034ccf4f/version/1343580627/image.jpg): “A life without pug is possible, but meaningless.” At least one guy liked them… ETA: fun fact: Möpse (plural of mops=pug) is German for boobies. Make of that what you will… ---
**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2016, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pugs-are-dogs/623852/84 "2016-11-01T14:16:11Z")
I don’t hate them; they’re just ugly. ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2016, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pugs-are-dogs/623852/85 "2016-11-01T21:14:19Z")
> [@swampspruce](#): > > I don’t hate them; they’re just ugly. Yup. [Hideous little womprats](https://irp-cdn.multiscreensite.com/94f3e251/dms3rep/multi/tablet/pug-pup-potty-training-1-400x256.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![Uzi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/91b2a8/32.png) [@Uzi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uzi)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2016, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pugs-are-dogs/623852/86 "2016-11-02T00:34:34Z")
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**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2016, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pugs-are-dogs/623852/87 "2016-11-02T01:28:48Z")
> [@swampspruce](#): > > I don’t hate them; they’re just ugly. I don’t hate them either. They’re just ugly and look even dumber than beagles actually are. There’s no spark of intelligence in their bulgy little eyes. ---
**Author:** ![purplehearingaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@purplehearingaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehearingaid)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2016, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pugs-are-dogs/623852/88 "2016-11-02T01:54:36Z")
> [@Rachellelogram](#): > > I think the adults are creepy looking because their eyes point in opposite directions. But the puppies can be [adograble](http://i.imgur.com/TqMdE.jpg). That is b/c they’re having a hard breathing, they get cross eyes ! ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2016, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pugs-are-dogs/623852/89 "2016-11-02T02:02:54Z")
It’s because they’re ZOMBIES! BTW, that pic of the coyote in the OP looked so much like Wile E. Coyote, I laughed. ---
**Author:** ![Katriona](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/katriona/32/113_2.png) [@Katriona](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Katriona)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2016, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pugs-are-dogs/623852/90 "2016-11-02T19:20:15Z")
> [@teela\_brown](#): > > Yup. [Hideous little womprats](https://irp-cdn.multiscreensite.com/94f3e251/dms3rep/multi/tablet/pug-pup-potty-training-1-400x256.jpg). Squeeeeeeee! ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2016, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pugs-are-dogs/623852/91 "2016-11-02T20:05:31Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > Jeebus, that IS disgusting. But I agree - your disgust should be directed at the owner, not the poor pug. ☹ No, the American Kennel Club is where you should vent your disgust. The largest and most efficient animal abuse organization on the Earth. Dedicated to breeding dogs to ridiculous standards of outward appearance: while totally ignoring intelligence, health and temperament. :mad: The AKC should be banned and it’s members and directors put into a pit with several packs of chihuahuas. [http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/10/sports/many-animal-lovers-now-see-american-kennel-club-as-an-outlier.html](http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/10/sports/many-animal-lovers-now-see-american-kennel-club-as-an-outlier.html) \*But the A.K.C. is increasingly finding itself ostracized in the dog world, in the cross hairs of animal protection services, law enforcement agencies and lawmakers who say that the club is lax in performing inspections and that it often lobbies against basic animal rights bills because they could cut into dog registration fees. As recently as 2010, roughly 40 percent of the A.K.C.’s $61 million in annual revenue came from fees related to registration. Critics say a significant part of that includes revenue from questionable breeders like the Hamiltons, or so-called puppy mills, which breed dogs en masse with little regard for basic living standards.\* > **[Although Purebred Dogs Can Be Best in Show, Are They Worst in Health?](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/although-purebred-dogs-can-be-best-in-show-are-they-worst-in-health/)** > > Why diseases plague purebred dogs and how breeders, owners and genetics can help _But the vast number of modern breeds—and the roots of their genetically caused problems—came about over the past two centuries, as dog shows became popular and people began selectively inbreeding the animals to have specific physical features. Over time the American Kennel Club (AKC) and other such organizations have set standards defining what each variety should look like. …How did we get to this situation? “Historically, a breeder’s primary concern was to produce dogs that look like the breed standard,” explains James Serpell, professor of ethics and animal welfare and director of the Center for the Interaction of Animals and Society at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine. “Even if they did recognize health problems, breeders were too driven to produce what was perceived to be the most perfect breed.” In the 1850s, for example, the bulldog looked more like today’s pit bull terrier—sturdy, energetic and athletic with a more elongated muzzle. But by the early 20th century, when dog shows became popular, the bulldog had acquired squat, bandy legs and a large head with a flattened muzzle. This altered figure makes it nearly impossible for them to reproduce without assistance, and the facial changes cause severe breathing problems in a third of all bulldogs. Breeders frequently turn to artificial insemination because the female bulldog’s bone structure cannot support the male’s weight during mating. Most cannot give birth naturally either, because the puppies’ heads are too big for the birth canal. Large head size and short legs are part of the written standard, so Serpell believes these standards would have forced the bulldog into extinction if breeders did not rely on artificial insemination. “By essentially requiring judges to select animals that are the written standard, the club, in a way, signed the bulldog’s death warrant,” Serpell says._ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pugs-are-dogs/623852.md?page=4)