Vet warns of five dog breeds he’d ‘never own’

Many people embrace the saying “man’s best friend is his dog”, as evidenced by thousands tuning in to watch the world-renowned Crufts 2026. The four-day canine exhibition continues until Sunday and showcases everything imaginable about the animal, from agility and obedience to simply being magnificent specimens of particular breeds.

With such events, some may consider acquiring a pet of their own. However, it’s crucial that the correct choice is made, and to assist with this, one vet has identified five breeds he would never own himself. Ben Simpson-Vernon, 31, sharing on TikTok, provided a list of explanations for his decisions, which frequently related to health issues in the animals, and acknowledged this excluded some otherwise perfect animals for him personally.

Emphasising people should “remember, it is ultimately my opinion”, he began his list, informing his followers “you might disagree”. These are the five he would steer clear of and his reasoning, reports the Mirror.

Chow chow

In fifth position came the chow chow. He said: “Now I’m sure there are some nice ones, but I just find they often don’t have a very nice temperament. they can be really aloof, and they’re often very aggressive at the vets. But it’s quite hard to fit a muzzle onto their face, they suffer quite commonly, with a ton of eye problems, and their purple tongues are a bit unnerving.”

Cavalier King Charles Spaniel

He went on: “Unfortunately, number four is the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. They are the loveliest dogs, and if I was going to pick a dog breed for myself, if it weren’t for all of their health issues, it would probably be the cavvy, but, they do have loads of issues.

“Pretty much all them get the same kind of heart disease called mitral valve disease, which means that many of them spend their last days coughing and spluttering, struggling to breathe and ultimately dying of heart failure. Okay, they’ve got to die of something. But in my opinion, breeding a dog with such high probability of disease is not fair.”

Daschund

Claiming the third position is the dachshund – another variety he described as “lovely”. He explained: “Some of my favourite patients are sausage dogs, but one in four of them develop back problems in their lifetime that can range from just pain to complete paralysis.

“This frequently means they have to have spinal surgery, which is obviously a massive undertaking and has a really long recovery period. Again, fantastic personalities, but just too much potential for heartbreak.”

Shar Pei

He began by highlighting that this particular breed even has a disease named after it, known as Shar Pei fever. He noted that whilst some breeders were now producing less exaggerated Shar Peis, “most of them are too wrinkly”.

He said: “They’re so wrinkly that they have to have their eyelids tacked in place so the hairs don’t rub on their eyes. They’re always getting skin issues. They’ve got tiny, narrow ear canals at the vets, they’re often trying to bite the face off of all the staff, most of the Shar Peis that I see have loads of health issues.”

Flat-faced breeds

Ben grouped several breeds together for his top spot, stating: “Basically any flat-faced or brachycephalic dog breed, like a French Bulldog, a bulldog or a pug. Society has normalised the fact that these dogs snorting means that they can’t breathe very well.”

He continued: “There are specimens of these dogs that are healthier than others, but they are so prone to so many problems, spinal issues, skin problems, eye problems, the fact that over half of them have to have a Caesarean to give birth is enough of an ethical issue for me to never want to have one. If you’re okay with that, that’s fine, but for me personally, it’s not very fair.”