Why Your Bulldog Has a Fear of Flying

​It's bad enough dogs have to worry about this guy, but those of the purebred, short-snouted variety have something else to fear:

Airplanes.

U.S. Department of Transportation data shows that since 2005, English bulldogs have suffered the most midair doggie deaths among purebreds. Pugs came in second.

Photo by Vickie Chang

Good thing this pooch is a sailor.

​It was 2005 when the DOT started requiring airlines to make information about these deaths public, and since then 122 have perished, with 22 of the 108 purebreds being English bulldogs.

Dan Bandy, chairman of the Bulldog Club of America's health committee, blamed the short snouts for those particular breeds' higher die rate.

"The way all dogs cool themselves is basically through respiration, either just panting or the action of breathing in or out, is a method of heat exchange for them," Bandy tells the Associated Press. "A dog that has a long snout or a long muzzle has more surface area within its nasal cavity for that heat exchange to take place."

Some airlines reportedly forbid short-snouted breeds from flying as cargo during the hot months.