Dr O'Neill reviewed the current  evidence of health issues in brachycephalic dogs.

BVA Congress explores what is driving the preference for brachycephalic breeds

RVC professor in companion animal epidemiology Dr Dan O’Neill has called on members of the veterinary profession to stop normalising the suffering of brachycephalic dogs.

Speaking at BVA Congress (16 - 17 November), the VetCompass researcher said: "If I can make on plea to you today, it’s to stop using the word ‘normal’ in clinical notes. Normal is a statistical term that means 'somewhere in the middle’. It isn’t necessarily good or healthy, so we should be moving towards typical and, even better than that, typically good or typically bad.”

Dr O’Neill made the comments during a session entitled ‘Pug Pulling Power: what makes brachys so popular?’ The session explored what is driving the preference for brachycephalic breeds and what the profession is doing to provide evidence on the health of these breeds.

Belief Vs Evidence

Two common beliefs about brachycephalic dogs is that they are rising in popularity and that they suffer from long-term health problems - both of which are regularly reported in the media. To see whether they are true, Dr O’Neill reviewed the epidemiological evidence on brachycephalic dog health and welfare.

Referring to data gathered by Vetcompass - a database of millions of clinical records collected from veterinary practices - Dr O’Neill was able to show that ownership of brachycephalic dogs in England is indeed on the rise. Figures reveal that pugs accounted for less than one per cent of all puppies born in England before 2008. In 2013, however, this figure rose to 2.8 per cent. At the same time, the number of French bulldogs rose from less than one per cent to 3.5 per cent.

Dr O’Neill also referred to a study on the associations between brachycephaly and upper respiratory tract (URT) disorders. The study of some 200 dogs - selected from a sample of over 170,000 - concluded that URT disorders are most prevalent in the bulldog, french bulldog and the pug.

What should we do?

Veterinary professionals may wish to join the Brachycephalic Working Group (BWG) - an independent consortium incorporating animal charities, owners, breeders, veterinary associations and academia. Formed in 2016, the group focuses on improving the health and welfare of brachycephalic dogs and agrees shared actions.

The BWG group is currently working with the Kennel Club to develop Breed Health and Conservation Plans for individual breeds, including the bulldog, French bulldog. Pekingese and pug. It is also reviewing the use of in-show health assessments at major dog shows and contacting companies to stop them from using brachycephalic breeds in their promotions.

Because veterinary professionals have direct contact with brachycephalic dogs and their owners - and vets are seen as credible and trustworthy - Dr O’Neill said the profession has an important role to play in raising awareness of preventable health and welfare problems.

“As a profession, we do need to get behind this,” he said. “We need to move beyond talking about possibilities and move towards actions.”

The BWG Framework includes several actions veterinary professionals can take to improve the welfare of brachycephalic dogs. They include:

▪ promoting and undertaking brachycephalic health assessments
▪ focus on obesity prevention and treatment
▪ report conformation-altering surgery and caesarean sections undertaken for Kennel Club registered dogs
▪ sensitively convey to owners that frequent respiratory sounds by their dog - such as snorting and snoring are not normal, but instead clinical signs of compromised breathing.