This particular line of dogs (they are all related) has developed (or devolved) into a very extreme bulldog type. The very brachycephalic ("smushed") face means that they do have breathing problems, which leads to lung and heart problems as well. If you look on the website, you can see that after the first few Ugas who had fairly normal lifespan, they began to die at younger and younger ages, a couple at only 2-3 years.
Uga X is 7, and he couldn't go to this game because he could not tolerate the drive or the plane ride - which means he is probably on his last legs. That's too bad.
I would never breathe a word to the sickos at PETA, but I would love to see the folks who breed the UGA dogs outcross to a less extreme American Bulldog.
We have the same problem with Labrador Retrievers. The show people go for more and more extreme type, until now the Specialty Labs are beer barrels on casters, with massive bodies and heads and little teeny legs. They could not retrieve a duck if their life depended on it.
What are the actual stats on life expectancy? Also, what are the oxygen readings at rest and at play? Those are the two important measurements. I don’t know about the extreme breeding, but surely there must be stats for average bu,.dog lifespan?