What are the pros and cons of owning a big dog breed?
Sign up to our newsletter for daily updates and breaking news Invalid Email Something went wrong, please try again later. Sign up here! Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice  The Channel 4 documentary Big Dog Britain showcases a number of big breeds and claims that their numbers are declining as people opt to own smaller ones instead. While sales of French Bulldogs in the UK have increased 300 per cent, Great Dane registrations are at their lowest for 50 years. Big Dog Britain features some of the very biggest dog breeds: Great Danes, Newfoundlands, Saint Bernards, English Mastiffs, Irish Wolfhounds and Pyrenean Sheepdogs. The programme acknowledged that big breeds are expensive to keep  one owner says their gentle giant costs 200 a week in food. They take up lots of space, especially if, like one family in the documentary, you have TEN Irish Wolfhounds. And theyre a huge commitment. One owner, whos Brazilian but lives in London, is asked what its like when her Great Dane sits on her lap. A bit of pain, she admits. Another downside is that big breeds can have complex health issues and dont tend to live as long as smaller dogs. Wolfhounds, for example, only tend to live for about seven years as theyre prone to heart disease. But the documentary also highlighted the advantages of having a big dog over a small one. Its generally accepted they arent as noisy. They can scare off burglars. And if you were drowning in a river, you wouldnt be comforted if the dog that jumped in to save you was a Chihuahua. The owners in the film give a number of reasons why they love their supersized pets, including theyre funny, quirky, you know theyre there, theyve got a presence, their size, their looks and when you walk down the road everybody stops. Sadly, abandonment is a huge issue for dogs, even in the UK, and perhaps its more acute for the bigger breeds. People start with a lovely, tiny puppy, but they arent prepared for how big they become, were told. With luck, anyone weighing up the idea of getting a big breed will watch this programme and have a better insight into what theyre letting themselves in for. Next episode is on July 1, or you can catch up on Big Dog Britain on All 4.