A British vet named Ben has opened up on TikTok to let his followers know which five dog breeds he would never own. There was recently similar story from an American vet and it seems she has started a trend. Meanwhile, it certainly makes sense to find out which pets could suffer the most health problems and give the most heartbreak.

Five dog breeds @ben.the.vet would never own

A vet has gone viral on TikTok by posting video explaining why he would never own five particular dog breeds. In fact, since it was posted three days ago, the TikTok clip has attracted 5.8 million views. Moreover, thousands of people have liked the video.

Ben captioned the video, “5 dog breeds I would/could never own as a veterinary surgeon.” Meanwhile, he noted that he has seen many similar videos on TikTok. However, he just wants to give his opinion, adding, “But remember it is ultimately my opinion. You may disagree.”

Chow Chows, Cavalier King Charles Spaniels and Dachshunds get a no

The first dog he mentions is the Chow Chow and he does explain that he is sure there are some nice ones. However, he finds they often don’t have a “very nice temperament,” adding that they are really aloof. Ben went on to explain how the dogs behave at the vets, saying:

They’re often very aggressive at the vets, they suffer quite commonly with eye problems and their purple tongues are a bit unnerving.

Next in line is the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, which the vet describes as “unfortunate.” In explanation, he said they are the “loveliest dogs.” However, if he were to pick a dog breed for himself it would probably be the “Cavvy” – except for all the health issues with the breed.

According to Ben, the breed has a lot of issues – most of them suffer the same kind of heart disease, called mitral valve disease. He added that this means the dogs mainly spend their final days spluttering and struggling to breathe, ultimately dying of heart failure. While he added that yes, dogs have got to die of something, in his opinion, breeding a dog with such a high probability of disease is not fair.

Third in line is the dachshund, often known as “sausage dog.” Ben admits that they are really lovely dogs and some of his favorite patients are sausage dogs. However, he added that one in four dachsie dogs develop back problems in their lifetime.

According to Ben, this can range from pain through to “complete paralysis.” Due to this, they often need spinal surgery, which is a huge undertaking with a very long recovery period. The vet said this was “too much potential for heartbreak.”

TikTok Vet: No to Shar Peis and flat-faced breeds

Next in line is the wonderfully cute and wrinkly Shar Pei. However, according to Ben they even have a disease named after them, Shar Pei fever. The vet added that people are breeding less exaggerated Shar Peis, but most of them are “too wrinkly.”

Moreover, Ben says, “They’re so wrinkly they have to have their eyelids tacked in place. Meanwhile, he added that the breed is always getting skin issues and the dogs have tiny, narrow ear canals. Even worse, Ben said that at the vets, the breed is often trying to bite the faces off of all the staff.

The TikTok vet’s last breed he would never own is any of the “flat-faced” breeds, like bulldogs or pugs. According to Ben:

Society has normalized the fact these dogs snorting means they can’t breathe very well. There are specimens of these dogs that are healthier than others, but they are so prone to so many issues.

The vet went on to say they suffer “spinal issues, skin problems, eye problems.” His TikTok video added that the fact that more than half of them need to have a cesarean to give birth is enough of an ethical issue for him to never own one. Ben added that, if you are fine with that, that’s fine but for him, it just isn’t very fair.

Mixed breeds and rescue dogs

While Ben the vet was talking on TikTok about particular breeds of dog, many people will agree that having a mixed-breed dog is a good thing. For one thing, they tend to live longer than the highly pedigreed pups. Meanwhile, we believe it is always wise to “adopt, don’t buy” your next pet.