Joe Wicks unwisely promotes unhealthy French bulldog

Joe Wicks, the fitness guru who achieved celebrity during these extensive coronavirus lockdowns while providing online exercise regimes on his YouTube channel, has made a bit of a blooper by promoting the French bulldog which is an inherently unhealthy animal. Joe Wicks’ father bought one and Joe is asking his 425,000 Twitter followers for help with names.

The comments following the picture of the French bulldog are both for and against him. Those who are against him tell him that it’s a mistake to buy this sort of dog because they are inherently unhealthy. Those who are for him say that he is being unfairly criticised because the dog needs a home and therefore it’s a good thing that Joe’s father is rehoming the animal. Far point but please read on…..

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• Demand for ‘lockdown pets’ results in more distressing thefts of dogs
• Think twice before you adopt a dog during coronavirus lockdown

Regrettably, I think they’re missing a key point. If people buy these sorts of dogs it fuels the illegal and illicit trade in them. If nobody bought them they wouldn’t be created by irresponsible dog breeders. Many of these breeders live abroad on the continent of Europe where they are bred under unhealthy conditions at puppy mills. They are not infrequently illegally imported into Britain where they are sold at grossly inflated prices due to the surge in demand.

They’re not only unhealthy in terms of inherent health issues such as breathing problems, which are due to anatomical defects, they’re also unhealthy because they’ve been bred so unhealthily. They may also be poorly socialised because it takes quite a lot of effort to fully socialise a young companion animal. They have to be raised underfoot, as it is said. They’ve got to get used to people and other animals such as cats.

If breeders are irresponsible they tend to bypass this all-important process or they do a very poor job of it. Also, Joe’s dad appears to have succumbed to what is a current craze, purchasing French Bulldog for company during a coronavirus lockdown. There’s been a huge surge in the number of small companion dogs, toy dogs, especially the French bulldog, purchased by people who are often unsuited to the task of looking after a dog properly. I am not suggesting that Joe Wicks’ father is unsuitable. I am making a general point about promoting the breeding of French bulldogs.

An a dog purchasers may be unsuited because they have no prior experience and are not fully aware of the demands or they end up not having the time to do it or the funds to pay for food and veterinary bills. They may end up abandoning their cute, newly acquired dog bought with such optimism four months earlier. They abandon their dogs by selling them online where they may be snapped up by somebody equally irresponsible (it is dangerous to buy online sight unseen). I don’t want to paint too black a picture because no doubt Joe Wicks and his dad are decent people. I just think they made a mistake. I also think that people who are grumbling about the critics of Joe Wicks should read this article because it provides the full picture. The picture behind the scenes, the picture that they don’t realise exists.