Is there something about cute tiny fragile looking dogs that makes them love used napkins, paper towels, & tissues?

I am home sick with the flu and my friends Chihuahua destroyed/ ate all of the used paper products mentioned above. They were all over my room.

Meanwhile my pug could care less, he prefers the finer things in life -like dried bubblegum on the sidewalk.

That dog is lucky to have Amy for an owner. Crazy lucky. Insanely lucky.

Ppen, what part of the country do you live in? I've heard that Pugs have congenital breathing problems and that certain kinds of climate are no good for them. I love pug personalities, but it's sad to think they carry that kind of baggage from their breeding.

Same area as you and Amy, Southern California.

There is the breathing problems and the eye popping out problems.

I haven't experienced either (have had pugs & pekingese before) (pekingese are the opposites of pugs-personality wise-mean little things).

I did experience pug dog encephalitis, it's genetic and deadly and reeeeaalllly painful to watch them die from because they suffer a lot. They bang their heads against the wall to numb the pain. They have seizures. They pee all over you. When I wanted to put that dog down the ER vet did not allow it and in mid seizure I had to drive to another ER clinic at 2 am.

People are now making 1/4 beagle 3/4 pug dogs, they are bigger, smarter and healthier. Personality wise not the same though.

I don't get the breeders, or the people who buy from them. Inbreeding dogs for special looks and ignoring the resulting genetic deficiencies. Dogs that can't breathe or eat properly, dogs with neurological problems.

To take a really extreme example that has happened quite recently: Look at the back of this 2013 prize-winning German Shepherd. Compare that to this picture of a working German Shepherd. The show dog is, quite literally, crippled. This is nothing less than animal cruelty.

As cute as Amy's dog is, she is also an example of this kind of in-breeding. Why is she nearly hairless? Because of a defective gene. One copy of this gene is survivable - Amy's dog has this. Two copies are fatal. As a result, one-quarter of all puppies of this breed are stillborn.

http://www27.brinkster.com/taisetsu/Chinese_Crested/Chinese_Crested_Dogs_Myths.html

Myth: If you breed two Hairless Cresteds together, the puppies will be deformed or dead! You must always breed a Powderpuff to a Hairless to get healthy Hairless puppies.

Truth: This misconception is based from the fact that Chinese Cresteds have very unusual genetics. To put it simply, all Hairless Cresteds are heterozygous with the 'hairless' gene being an incomplete dominant.

If you remember high school biology class, this genetic combo would be written out as: Hp (H = dominant hairless gene, and p = recessive powderpuff gene). What is TRUE is that the gene combination for HH (which has a 1 in 4 chance to occur when an egg is fertilized) results in no puppy being created at all.

The scientific term for this is a 'prenatal lethal' gene combination. The word 'lethal' confuses some people into thinking this means it kills the puppy, but this is wrong, it is simply a 'dud' combination that prevents a zygote from ever becoming a puppy. In dogs, that means the fetus will be reabsorbed by the mother without ever being born. The term for a genetic defect that causes stillborn or deformed live puppies is 'congenital lethal'.

I really don't have a problem with this.

Also, the reason I went all the way to New Jersey, flying on Gregg's miles, to get Aida, is that these are simply the best breeders I have ever encountered. They not only tell you their dogs are tested for genetic diseases so they don't breed carriers together; they pay to have them tested and then registered with CERF, OFA, etc. They are amazing people who care deeply about their puppies and interviewed me (and Gregg) like we were adopting a child.

Even now, months after we got her, I can call or write them at any time with questions. They spent the day with me, there in New Jersey, training me with Aida -- no charge -- and then drove me to the airport. The week before, they acclimated her to being in my travel case on the plane by taking her to karate in the car with their kids in a small case. Again, amazing people -- people who love their dogs and work very hard to socialize them (they send them to friends' houses for the weekend to acclimate them). Not people who are doing something cruel to dogs.

This little doggie is extremely healthy (when the vet spayed her, he commented on her healthy intestines!) and is pretty much joy incarnate.

Obviously it was that human male named Gregg who committed this heinous crime.

How on earth do you get the little guy to wear that sweater?

My experience is the same as Jay Leno's: Fido would shake like a hurricane until he gets it off, the second I let go of him.

Clearly, the cat did it.

If you dont have a cat, it was of course, one of those vicious alley cats, who snuck in, did the deed, and then left again, undetected.

Listen, I sincerely believe that Amy is a wonderful, loving and attentive pet owner... As concerned with the well-being of her charges, physical and spiritual, as a genuine alpha could ever be. These animals will live well... They'll be the envy of husbanded livestock throughout human history.

But we shouldn't miss what's being said here: These animals were bred to require darling little sweaters and cute little ribbons in order to be healthy.

Darwin (so to speak) would never have demanded these things of their genetic load. Ppen wasn't kidding about eyes popping out... Adoring pugs as I do, that's unforgivably tragic.

"I don't get the breeders, or the people who buy from them."

It's a predictability thing.

I know that if I get say, a Newfoundland, I know it would grow to a certain size, have certain exercise requirements, what the likely life span is, and what health issues I should be aware of. Even a dog's personality is largely predictable based on the breed (whether or not it is good with kids, will it try to herd things, will it like water, is it a watch dog, is it a people pleaser or independent, etc). Furthermore, a *good* breeder, who does it for the love of the breed and not for the money, will know what health problems their breed is susceptible to and will take precautions to not breed dogs that are likely to pass that down. (I will grant there are still there are cases like english bulldogs where the breed has been so weirdly shaped that they can't reproduce without human intervention any longer - that's just not right)

On the other had, my SIL got a cute dog from the shelter. She was promised it was half-lab so it would be good with the kids. Unfortunately the other half turned out to be Australian shepherd. Now she has a dog that's indifferent to the kids, has much higher exercise needs than she anticipated, and needs constant mental stimulation. There was also a surprise knee surgery. She still absolutely loves her awesome dog and wouldn't swap it for the world. She just doesn't value predictability the way I do.

I loved your points Elle.

As for those saying that Chinese Cresteds are an unhealthy breed simply because of hairlessness (since it's a human bred trait used for looks) I would like to clear that up.

They are closely related to Xolos -the Mexican hairless dog. Those dogs come in three sizes, tiny, small and medium. They used to live out in the jungle with the Aztecs, who used them as companions, watchdogs, food, and as thermal "heating pads" for the sick. I have seen Xolos and they are pretty wild dogs despite being hairless. They are not "family pets" so to speak.

Crid,

Are you thinking of this article?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2519314/How-century-breeding-improvement-turned-healthy-dogs-deformed-animals.html

It's very, very difficult to believe that dog wasn't bred for attributes of appearance in one of the first three goals... Or that if it wasn't, that it naturally requires sweaters for warmth or ribbons for eyesight. Very difficult. Evolution doesn't bother with such (photogenic) ironies in Canidae.

True, but by that standard the only thing evolution gave modern man in the choice of Canidae was wolves and coyotes

I have a cousin who's a vet at Cornell. He kept a lookout at the hospital for a rescue dog that would suit me. He doesn't believe in using breeders when there are so many dogs already alive needing homes, but didn't apply pressure. If I had obtained a dog someplace else I know he still would have assisted me and been happy for me.

My requirements were small, not a barker, and not too high energy. I had in mind a pug or maybe a Boston. I got a probable Jack Russell/Dachshund mix. Two out of three ain't bad.

I think I'm still a cat person at heart and always will be, but I've enjoyed this adventure with my first dog. He is very high energy, but it's nice that he's so glad to go on long walks with me.

My cousin thinks I didn't get the dog I wanted but got the dog I needed. Eh, maybe. What's for certain is that this dog needed me.

I was reminded of one of the harsh realities of life this past Monday, when a pack of dogs wandered by on the road in front of my house. They will be short-lived. Any collarless dog out here in the woods earns a rifle bullet right away.

If you have a domestic dog or cat, please control your animal. No ecology lab on the planet will tell you to let your domestic dog wander alone. They will kill the native wildlife, and even some domestic animals. Yes, your little Fluffy is a different creature out by itself, or in a pack.

"But otherwise, a rescue dog could turn out to have heartbreaking things wrong with that. I just don't have the fortitude for that."

Heartbreaking things occur even when we are careful/try to minimize risks. It's important to be self-aware enough to know what you will live with and what you won't before taking on the responsibility of a pet, but there are still no guarantees and no quantity can ever be entirely known. You can select cautiously and do everything "right" when it's a puppy and still the dog could develop difficult issues down the road. Fortunately people sometimes have more fortitude than they know.

I have some conflicting feelings about encouraging the breeding of more dogs when so many are homeless, but I'm not sitting in judgment of you. I also realize that some dogs are simply not liveable with humans, for a variety of complex reasons for which there are no easy solutions or perhaps no solutions at all. Aida appears to be an appealing sweetheart who is obviously bringing you joy as you bring her security and comfort. That's no insignificant thing in this often cold and brutal world.

Breeding for novelty is just such a risk.

Novelty?

Novelty... Y'know, ribbons, sweaters, big ol' googly eyes...

Civilization!

So you agree with Lizzie after all...