One of Our Favourite Dog Breeds May Disappear in the Next Decade — and Experts Say That’s Actually a Good Thing 🐶💔➡️💛

Published November 19, 2025

These poor pups have had a ruff time… and it turns out their future may be even rougher.

A popular dog breed loved across the U.S., the U.K., and yes, Canada too, could vanish within the next 10 years — and shockingly, animal welfare groups are cheering it on.

🐾 The Problem With “Designer Dogs”

Pugs, French bulldogs, and English bulldogs have been bred for over a century to have adorable features like:

super-flat faces
big round eyes
wrinkly skin

…which are cute, yes, but can also cause lifelong health problems.

We’re talking:

chronic skin infections
mobility issues
painful deformities
and severe breathing problems (many need surgery just to get enough air)

Basically, these dogs weren’t built — they were over-edited, like the Facetune version of a breed.

🧬 Scientists Are Stepping In

This week, researchers launched a new system called the Innate Health Assessment (IHA) — a kind of grading scale that evaluates 10 inherited traits linked to poor animal health, including:

flat faces
wrinkly skin
bulging eyes
tail deformities
underbites/overbites
twisted or shortened legs
saggy eyelids
stiff, inflexible spines
and even merle colouring

If a dog scores low?
It can’t be used for breeding.

📉 The Timeline Is Brutal — But Necessary

Here’s the breeding cutoff plan:

Now: Only dogs scoring 8/10 or higher can be bred
In 5 years: Only dogs scoring 9/10 or higher
In 10 years: Dogs must score 10/10 — perfect health

Which means many of today’s “designer dog” breeds simply won’t qualify anymore.

And although that sounds sad, experts say it’s actually the kindest thing we can do, because generations of dogs have been born into pain, discomfort, and near-constant medical issues.