Purebred = Inbred

Many people consider purebred dogs to be somehow superior to mongrels.

This is utter bullshit. Because purebreds, as a general rule, are heavily inbred and suffer from more inherited problems than mongrels. So what you end up with is actually a group of animals which are inferior in every way to their ancestors, apart from the fact that their appearance satisfies a set of arbitrary rules invented over the last century by clueless breeders.

Here is a painting from 1790 of a real bulldog:

Painting of a Bulldog from 1790 by Philip Reinagle.

Here is it's modern descendant:

Modern Bulldog

Breeders may tell you that it's low, thick stature, protruding lower jaw and wrinkles (to "channel blood away from the eyes") were all selected to make it better at holding down bulls. None of this is true.

This dog is completely useless for anything other than companionship, and it's characteristics were selectively bred purely for aesthetic reasons. It suffers from hip dysplasia, interdigital cysts, incessant farting, must usually be born via caesarian section, has low intelligence, and trouble breathing because of their short snouts. The original bulldog is extinct as far as I'm concerned.

The bulldog is not an isolated case. Many breeds, especially those bred for shows, suffer terribly from genetic problems.

I thought this was common knowledge. But the more people I speak to, and the more German Shepherds I see with fucked up, downward sloping hips hobbling around, the more I realise that few actually do know. To top it all off, they're willing to pay a lot of money for these wretched creatures.

There was a show aired in the UK called Pedigree Dogs Exposed, and I suggest you watch that if you want to find out more.