Dr. LoSasso: The Tough Truth About Certain Dog Breeds

In Your Experience As A Veterinarian, What Dog Breeds Do You Recommend Avoiding?

Thinking about bringing home a Frenchie, Bulldog, Cavalier, or a high-drive working breed? We unpack the medical realities behind the cutest faces and flashiest trends, sharing straight talk from the ER floor about breathing issues, heart disease, training demands, and the true costs of care. Our goal is not to scare you off a breed you love—it’s to arm you with the knowledge to keep that dog comfortable, safe, and thriving.

We start with brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome, the cluster of problems that make short-nosed dogs struggle for air: stenotic nares, elongated soft palates, everted laryngeal saccules, and narrow tracheas. You’ll hear why each breath can become a fight, how that stress burdens the heart and lungs, and which surgical fixes meaningfully improve quality of life. We also touch on vertebral anomalies and why many bulldogs can’t reproduce naturally—details that explain the long-term planning and budgeting responsible owners should consider.

Then we shift to Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, sweet to the core yet prone to early degenerative valve disease. We discuss realistic expectations, medical management, and why some seasoned owners accept shorter lifespans for an exceptional temperament. From there, we look at breed selection pitfalls—choosing by looks, underestimating the time and training needs of Belgian Malinois or Cane Corsi, and overpaying at pet stores that don’t ensure healthy sourcing. Finally, we highlight the practical upsides of mixed-breed dogs and hybrid vigor, along with a reminder that regular exams and prevention beat crisis care every time.

If you’re set on a specific breed, we’ll help you do it right: talk to your veterinarian first, plan for early screening or surgery when appropriate, and match energy levels to your daily life. If you want fewer surprises, consider rescues or adult dogs whose health and temperament are clear from day one. Subscribe for more candid, compassionate guidance on pet health, share this episode with a friend who’s dog shopping, and leave a review to tell us which breed questions you want answered next.

To learn more about Frisco Emergency Pet Care visit:
https://www.FriscoEmergencyPetCare.com
Frisco Emergency Pet Care 
11201 Preston Road 
Frisco, Texas 75033 
469-287-6767 

Transcript

Welcome And Episode Focus

SPEAKER_01 0:03

Welcome to the Frisco Emergency Pet Care Podcast, your trusted source for expert insight into emergency veterinary medicine. Hosted by Dr. Mike Lasasso, Chief of Staff at Frisco Emergency Pet Care, this podcast brings you essential information to help protect the health and safety of your dogs and cats. Serving North Dallas with 24-7 emergency and critical care, the team at Frisco Emergency Pet Care is here when every second counts. Now, let's begin.

The Bulldog Health Problem Overview

SPEAKER_00 0:40

Some breeds come with more than their fair share of medical and behavioral challenges. And today we're breaking down what every pet owner should know before bringing one home. Welcome everyone. I'm Julie Schwenzer, co-host and producer in the studio with Dr. Mike Lasasso, Chief of Staff at Frisco Emergency Pet Care. Doctor, it's great to be back with you.

SPEAKER_02 1:01

It's great to be back with you, Julie. Thanks.

SPEAKER_00 1:03

I'm excited to hear your opinion about your experience with certain dog breeds that you recommend avoiding when it comes to health challenges that often come with them.

SPEAKER_02 1:14

Sure, we'll see if we can't spark a little controversy this morning.

SPEAKER_00 1:18

So I know in our discussions prior to us getting on air here, you mentioned, I think, one that a lot of people have heard about, and that's bulldogs, um, and French bulldogs in particular. Can you please explain why there's a lot of health challenges with those types of dogs?

SPEAKER_02 1:34

Sure. I mean, the challenge with well, with asking veterinarians these questions is that we can come up with a list of health problems that are specific or more common in almost any given breed, right? Because there are there are definitely genetic predispositions to different heart diseases, liver diseases, skin problems, um, all those things. So every breed has its detractions as much as we love them. And it's kind of our job to focus on the pathology so we don't always see the uh the upside. The French Bulldog absolutely has become the most popular breed in the country, um, despite recommendations from your veterinarian. It says, you know, you really need to know what you're getting

Brachycephalic Airway Syndrome Explained

SPEAKER_02 2:23

into. Um, as these dogs have been bred for shorter and shorter snouts, uh, they are more and more prone to what we call brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome or Boaz. Um now all of this, the brachycephalic or smashed-faced dogs, um, Bostons and Pekinees and Shitsu's, um Persian cats to a certain extent, um, English bulls and and French bulldogs all have these shortened snouts. And what has happened there is realize that just because we have bred them to have shortened noses doesn't mean they don't have the same number of teeth somehow wedged in there, sometimes sideways. Their soft palates and a lot of the structures in the mouth are actually the same length that they were when their noses were long. So their soft palate, uh, which is at the end of the roof of your mouth, actually extends past the point of where the airway opening is. And so when they breathe in, they're trying to pull part of that soft palate down into their trachea. Um, so that creates a lot of breathing difficulty. Uh, Frenchies and to a certain extent, English bulls also have vertebral anomalies, they have some really interesting skeletal architecture when it comes to their backs, and they are much more prone to intervertebral disc disease than I think a lot of people really appreciate. They have difficulty reproducing on their own, they have a hard time um getting pregnant naturally, they have a hard time giving birth naturally. In other words, uh, if left to natural selection, these dogs wouldn't exist, right? These are a human-created um breed. The the English bulldogs are as well. You know, the English bull, and they're called bulldogs because the English bulls would grab a bull by the snout. Obviously, our current English bulldogs are not able to do that, they can't grab anything because their jaws are misaligned. Uh, but it is interesting. That they're usually sweet little dogs. I think they're I personally think they're adorable. I would just never own one.

SPEAKER_00 4:36

That's interesting advice. And may I ask you too? You know, you mentioned every breed almost, they might be more prone to certain conditions. Um with the bulldogs, because of their structure compared to other breeds, like you see, maybe with German shepherds or you know, other dogs that maybe have back issues as they get older. Is it with the bulldogs, a smashed face kind of structure that they can have airway issues earlier in their life, then maybe another breed might encounter issues later in life?

SPEAKER_02 5:08

They have airway issues really unique uh among themselves.

Early Surgery And Breathing Fixes

SPEAKER_02 5:14

And I think you're really, really smart as a as a Frenchie or or an English owner to consider having surgery actually done earlier rather than later, because there are a couple of problems that they have. So Boaz um really is made up of one, two, three, four different problems. One of them is that they're what we call stenotic nares. In other words, their nostrils are too small, right? So they they have a hard time getting enough air in through their noses. The the nasal passages are fine. It's actually the opening that is too small. Uh, then we have that elongated soft palate, like I talked about before, where the soft palate tries to go back into the windpipe. Uh, then inside the windpipe, right inside the larynx, there are these um these sacules, these these kind of offshoots of the airway that are normally kind of like pockets in in pants. And and so they they are just kind of alcoves off off the side of the airway right behind the vocal folds. But in these dogs, because of the amount of suction that they create to try to breathe, they actually turn those pockets inside out, and so now we've got something hanging in the airway that is creating further obstruction. And then the other challenge, the last one, is that they tend to have tracheas that are just a little bit too small. So when you take all of those factors together, these dogs for their entire lives are trying too hard to breathe. And that increased pulmonary effort leads to more heart problems, leads to chronic lung problems, and a lot of that could be avoided, and they'd be a heck of a lot more comfortable if those nostrils were opened up, which is not difficult to do, especially if you've got a CO2 laser, and if that soft palate is trimmed, so it's not trying to go down the airway, and even having those, if they do have what we call Everted Sacules, that's an interesting term, um, if those can be removed, then your dog breathes better, and breathing is really important.

Picking Breeds By Looks And Cost Traps

SPEAKER_00 7:37

And what have you found too for first-time dog owners that have been surprised in your experience about a lot of the health concerns they're seeing with the breed that they did get? Maybe it was a Belgian Malinmois or a King Corso, for example, um, in your experience. What has surprised some of your pet parents the most?

SPEAKER_02 7:58

That's an interesting question. It's tough to say because people have a tendency, at least that I've seen, to decide on a breed based on how it looks. They think, oh, that's a that's a really handsome dog. And I've I've been guilty of the same thing myself, right? I I loved my little Norwich. Um, but you know, we we settled on a Noridge after watching the Westminster dog show. I was like, that is the cutest little wiry, gruffy little terrier. Um, but people will get a Kane, for example, or a or a Malinois, and not know enough about the breed to realize how much time they take, how much obedience they take. There's just so much into it that they've if they would just kind of talk to their veterinarian before they go by. The other thing that just amazes me is that people will people don't seem to understand that there are other avenues to get dogs other than like pet stores. We've got a pet store in this area in particular that people say, Yes, I just, you know, I have this little mini golden doodle, and yes, it's very cute, but they just spent $8,000 on a dog, and I'm just amazed that they do that. And then they look at me and they're like, I can't hospitalize this dog for its illness because I spent too much on the dog itself. And I bought it from a place that's known for having sick dogs for eight grand. So some of those things it surprises owners, it no longer surprises me because I've seen it for 30 years. The exact same thing play out. So yeah, it's interesting.

SPEAKER_00 9:39

Oh, and I I can't wait to ask you about doodles on our next episode. I have some questions for you, Doctor. Sure. I do want to ask uh what else, you know, for breeds in particular that you found more medically fragile or just needed more veterinarian care early on that you've seen in your practice. And I know I understand what you're saying about there's some breeds that are more popular, so you're just gonna see those breeds more often.

SPEAKER_02 10:03

Well, we still see more Labradors than anything else, although the Frenchies are trying to catch up.

Cavaliers And Early Heart Disease

SPEAKER_02 10:08

You know, I think the one breed that really comes to mind with the question that you asked is the love-hate relationship we have with the cavalier King Charles Spaniel. Um, these are the sweetest doe-eyed little dogs ever. I have yet to meet an aggressive one. Um, but they are so prone to valvular disease that these guys are frequently in congestive heart failure by the time they're seven. And a lot of people don't realize that when they get them. Uh, but at the same time, a lot of my caviar owners are very seasoned. They're like, yeah, this is my 10th cavalier. It is awfully hard to have to say goodbye relatively early because even medically managed a valvular problem, it is a physical problem. And if they were human, we would replace their valves. We don't have that available readily. It has been done, but it doesn't mean it's easy or or cheap enough to be part of the mainstream therapy. We treat a physical problem medically, which is never going to be the ideal outcome, right? We do what we can, but that's super frustrating and it can be heartbreaking for folks. Um, now occasionally we get cavaliers that you know make it to 13 or 14, and those dogs are are super.

SPEAKER_00 11:39

And is it true that mixed breed dogs, which usually may that we found usually make up a majority of the population in rescues and shelters, um, that they are overall healthier?

SPEAKER_02 11:51

Well, that's something that we call hybrid vigor. So you you tend to decrease the number of genetic

Mixed Breeds And Hybrid Vigor

SPEAKER_02 12:01

problems. Now, at one point you increase the number of genetic problems, right? If you took a a Doberman mixed with a cavalier, not that anybody would do that, but then you you are exposed to the 47 different liver diseases that are specific to the Doberman. Oh, and the Cavalier's heart disease. So you have a better chance at all of that, but it's reduced from what it would be is if you had a straight Doberman or from a straight um from a straight cavalier. All right. So the degree and the and the amount of times you see that are decreased, but you do have more exposure. But the the mixed breed, especially what we call the Heinz 57, right? You'd like that is so thoroughly mixed, I have no idea what's in there. Uh, and people get DNA tests and they are shocked, and I'm shocked. I'm like, I would not have seen that. You know, now that you say that, I can see the the speckling on the feet that says Australian Catalog, because that's the only part of this whole dog that I can even equate with a Queensland healer. Um but yeah, there are advantages to having the the mixes, and we see and we do tend to see them living longer. Yeah.

Closing And Clinic Details

SPEAKER_00 13:16

Okay, well, Dr. Lasasso, this has been really interesting. I love talking to you about all the animals, and you can feel how much love you have for all the the dogs and the other animals that you take care of. We appreciate you.

SPEAKER_02 13:30

Yes, ma'am. Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 13:35

Thank you for listening to the Frisco Emergency Pet Care Podcast. To learn more, visit FriscoPetER.com. Call 469-287-6767. Or stop by 11201 Preston Road, Frisco, Texas, 75033. Open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Frisco Emergency Pet Care is always here when your pet needs us most. Until next time, take care of your pets, and they'll take care of you.