Many of Britain's most popular dog breeds could be extinct within 50 years because they are so inbred, vets have warned. Some pedigrees are suffering from a range of worsening health problems because they are being bred from a shrinking gene pool in an effort to create the most sought-after physical characteristics. Many breeds will die out as a result of hereditary diseases, the vets warn. Emma Milne, the television vet who will address the British Veterinary Association on the subject next week, said: "If things carry on as they are, within 50 years many breeds will not survive. There are breeds with massive welfare problems that are in dire need of action. "The constant refinements made by this kind of breeding mean they have become cartoon caricatures of what dogs used to be." Ms Milne, who starred in the long-running series Vets in Practice, said animals were now having to be put down because of hereditary diseases, which had become widespread. "This isn't natural. They are not really viable breeds but are being artificially maintained. A lot would die if they were not treated. If it carries on like this, veterinary intervention will not be able to save some of them." Of the more than 200 pedigree breeds in Britain, most now have problems with hereditary diseases. Among those most at risk are breeds such as the bulldog, which suffers from breathing problems, and shar peis, which are bred with twice as much skin as necessary, and suffer from chronic infections. Both breeds cost about £1,000 a puppy. The average price for pedigrees is £600. Dachshunds are increasingly prone to arthritis, because they are bred to have longer bodies and shorter legs, while Yorkshire terriers often need orthopaedic surgery to fix dislocated knees. Deafness is now common in dalmatians, because the deafness gene is linked to the shape of the spots, for which they are bred. While great danes and Irish wolfhounds, selectively bred for their massive sizes, have been left susceptible to heart disease and bone cancer and are lucky to live to seven. Of the two most popular breeds, labrador retrievers suffer from three different hereditary joint problems, six eye and two heart conditions, while English cocker spaniels have five eye and four heart conditions, as well as kidney disease. A new association has been set up to push for reform of the pedigree dog system. The Pets Parliament has been established to secure ratification of the European Convention for the Protection of Pet Animals, which has already been signed by more than 20 countries. The convention highlights a list of breed characteristics that need to be modified for the dogs' best interests and also bans breeding if the two animals share a grandparent. The move could see some breeds disappear, and alter significantly in appearance, and the move is being resisted by the Kennel Club, which currently registers pedigrees. Holly Lee, from the Kennel Club, said: "We're aware of the inherited health problems but we're the best placed to deal with them." At $4K each, K-9 imports draw howls European bloodlines touted over U.S. dogs USA TODAY  By Mimi Hall The government imports hundreds of untrained bomb- and drug-sniffing dogs from Europe each year for as much as $4,535 apiece, four times the price charged by American breeders, says a federal report out today. The high canine price tags are prompting outrage from congressional and government spending critics and U.S. breeders, who say taxpayer money is being wasted. "What kind of dogs are these — gold-plated?" asked Leslie Paige of Citizens Against Government Waste. The Homeland Security Department's inspector general (IG) found that the Customs and Border Protection division spent $1.46 million on 322 untrained dogs between April 2006 and June 2007. CBP has more than 1,000 trained dogs working at the nation's borders, airports and seaports, and the number is likely to grow. The report called the figure "reasonable" and "comparable" to what other government agencies pay. The Secret Service, which has 75 dogs, pays an average of $4,533 for its dogs. The Department of Defense, which gets a discount because it buys more dogs than other agencies, pays between $3,300 and $3,800 per dog, the IG found. House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., called it "irresponsible" that the government is spending so much, even before it pays $15,000 per canine team for 13 to 15 weeks of training. A typical purebred in the USA sells for about $1,200. A show dog could go for as much as $2,000. "Using canines … is smart security," Thompson says. But "paying $4,000 for an untrained European canine seems excessive, a waste of taxpayer money and does not support the breeders we have right here at home." Lee Titus, director of CBP's Canine Enforcement Training Center in Front Royal, Va., where the dogs are trained, said 90% of the dogs come from overseas because Europe has a long history of breeding dogs with the proper temperament for security duties. U.S. breeders, he says, breed mostly "pretty" show dogs or pets. Secret Service spokesman Ed Donovan says the "bloodlines from Europe make the dogs very desirable for us." The government, which puts its requests for dogs out for competitive bidding, buys Belgian Malinoises, Labradors and shepherds. Michelle Denson, who breeds Belgian Malinois dogs in Ocala, Fla., says her dogs are no different from European dogs. She says she has sold some to police departments for $1,000. "There's plenty of American breeders who breed these kinds of dogs," she says, "and they don't charge this exorbitant amount of money."