Boston Newsies With Dog 1909

Its 5 am on a Sunday, in October 1909, and a gaggle of impoverished child laborers are going to sell ground up trees with 5-day old news to people on the street. The boss man look on, and the dog is there for moral support.

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Breeding Dogs for Sickness and Early Death

"The rarest 50 AKC Breeds total just 3 out of every 2,000 U.S. dogs."

If you compare the UK Kennel Clubs 2004 breed health survey with their 2014 survey, you find that the deleterious effects of inbreeding and selection for defect continue unabated.

As Jemima Harrison notes over on her blog

Across all the breeds, median longevity has dropped by 11 per cent in a decade. Kennel Club registered dogs now live on average to just 10 years old - down from 11yrs 3 months in 2004.

Terrier breeds with special tumbles on health include Bull Terriers, which now die at age 7 instead of 10, and Border Terriers which now die at age 12 instead of 14.

The Labrador, Americas favorite dog, is now dead at age 11 years in the UK, as compared to 12 years and 3 months in 2004.

To be honest, within individual breeds, sample size is small, and reporting variances can move a number.

That said, when looked at across ALL breeds, it is very clear that the Kennel Club has woven the basket that makes "basket case" dogs.

Breed-blind show idiots will protest as they always do.  Let me see if we can get out in front of that and summarize their position:

I love my doggies, and you are being MEAN by asking questions based on "data" which I am sure is totally biased, or maybe a complete lie put together by "AR" people who hate doggies and are trying to force us to eat wood chips. Doggies forever and ever!!

Dysplasia is not a problem, but a FEATURE, as so many people are old now, and crippled dogs cannot move fast or pull down their crippled owners as easily since it is CRUEL to train doggies. Same with Bulldogs for people with that awful cellulite and diabetes virus. Doggies have to change with the times, and you are wrong, mean, and probably a liberal for even asking about canine health. Doggies forever!!!

Doggie training is cruel, because if you train a dog to obey, you are going to be mean and then you are NOT a doggie lover, but a fascist worse than Hitler.

Why do you admire Hitler?

Why do you hate doggies?

Why do you want to force everyone to eat wood chips?

Does that about cover it?

Ah well, carry on! 

The American Kennel Club continues to tumble down the rat hole, with a 75% decline in total canine registrations over the last 35 years.

In fact, AKC dogs now represent less than 12 percent of all the dogs in the U.S., and that number is continuing to decline as Americans are acquiring more dogs than ever.

More than half of all AKC dogs are in the top 10 breeds, with the bottom 50 breeds summing to 1.2 percent of all AKC-registered dogs (which is only 12 percent of all dogs) .

|To put it another way, the rarest 50 AKC Breeds total just 3 out of every 2,000 U.S. dogs.

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