The Trouble with America’s Designer Dog Craze

For 30 straight years, the Labrador retriever has been America’s most popular dog breed. But moving into the number two spot for the first time is the French bulldog. You’ve seen their wrinkled little faces and perky ears peeking out of expensive handbags all over Instagram. They’re the designer dog du jour, and they’re the perfect starting point for understanding how infatuation with designer dog breeds can go wrong. Madeline Bernstein wrote a book about the problem called “Designer Dogs: An Expose—Inside the Criminal Underworld of Crossbreeding.” She’s also president of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Los Angeles.