Pets bred for wealth not health

COMMENT

CAROLINE ALLEN

THESE fertility clinics have come about off the back of irresponsible breeding – breeding dogs for appearance, not health.

Where the real health risk comes from is getting dogs who shouldn’t be bred to breed. The breeds we are talking about are the brachycephalic dogs, with the wide faces and the bulgy eyes.

Some of the breeding we are seeing at the moment is horrendous. There are types of bulldogs who can’t breathe, sleep or exercise properly.

INFECTION

These people want to bypass vets because they don’t care about animal welfare. They are treating dogs as commodities – just things which will produce money. It’s quite common that these dogs can’t give birth naturally, they require a C section. It’s a major procedure.

We don’t know in some instances who is doing this. If it’s done multiple times, you have the risk of peritonitis which is an infection of the lining of the abdomen.

If you are inserting something into the body of an animal, you need to have the right equipment and know what you’re doing. You could cause soft tissue trauma, bleeding and irritation.

Inserting a foreign object into a dog does bring the risk of contaminants, which could include bacteria. This is especially an issue if there is already a trauma or a tear and bacteria was able to get in there. You could end up with an uncomfortable infection.