Vet reveals 5 dog breeds she would never own and why
Interestingly, none of the varieties flagged are considered dangerous and banned in the UK.
A vet has revealed the five dog breeds she would never own – including a German Shepherd and a Border Collie.
Catherine Henstridge, a British vet who goes by @cat_the_vet on TikTok, posted a video on the subject which has amassed an impressive 454,000 views.
Read more: What are the top cat and dog names across the UK? New study reveals most popular monikers
“I'm a vet and here are five dog breeds I would not personally own,” Henstridge starts the video before adding the disclaimer: “And as always with videos like this, there's gonna be loads of you out there who own these breeds and love these dogs and that's absolutely fine. Just hear me out, OK.”
The five dog breeds that a vet wouldn’t own
1. German Shepherd
The first dog breed that Henstridge lists is a German Shepherd. “Absolutely beautiful dogs and bred to be a guarding breed. But they're not bred to guard, they're bred to be suspicious and anxious, which makes them really reactive dogs.
“If they have a bad experience, they never forget it. They're beautiful, but they're big. They're powerful and they can be really, really challenging. So just not for me.”
2. Flat faced dogs
“Next up is any of our flat face breeds,” Henstridge adds. “Again, absolutely fabulous little dogs but they do not deserve to suffer as much as they do. And I absolutely just could never contribute to that suffering by deliberately owning one.”
Flat faced dog breeds include Pugs, English Bulldogs, French Bulldogs and Boston Terriers.
3. Border Collie
“Number three is the working Border Collie,” Henstridge explains. “I see quite a lot of these in practice bought from farms and kept as pets. And huge numbers of them have mental health problems because these are dogs who need a job.
“I just do not have time in my life to put enough into them to make sure that they're living their best lives with me.”
4. Shar Pei
“The Shar Pei just generally a breed that doesn't appeal to me personally,” Henstridge says. “But also again, lots of health problems and lots of behavioural issues as well, which often relate to the fact that because of their health, they're in pain and discomfort and that makes them grumpy.”
5. St Bernard
“A St Bernard or really any large breed dog with loads of jowls because quite honestly, I just cannot cope with the slobber,” Henstridge adds.
“I had a client once tell me that she had slobbered on her ceilings. I am five foot two. I would need a stepladder to reach it. And quite frankly there is more than enough in my house to clean without me having to worry about the ceilings as well.”
What dog breeds are banned in the UK?
While the dogs Henstridge would never own are commonly owned in the UK, there are several dog breeds that are dangerous and banned for UK owners. These include:
Pit Bull Terrier
Japanese Tosa
Dogo Argentino
Fila Brasileiro
Since November 2021, 15 people have died from a dog attack in the UK and there have been 22,000 cases of injuries from out of control dogs in the last year.
Read more: What are the laws on dangerous dogs in the UK and how could they change?
A spokesperson for the prime minister has said that there is working group in place to look at ways to reduce dog attacks and promote responsible ownership.
Under the current Dangerous Dogs Act regulations, which came into effect in 1991, the maximum punishment for someone who sells, abandons, or breeds illegal dogs can face up to six months in prison, but there have been calls to toughen these rules and enforce longer sentences.
