Veterinarians have warned of an emerging canine welfare crisis caused by rapidly increasing number of brachycephalic dogs. These dogs have exaggerated anatomical features that can affect their health and well-being. The most concerning of the issues they face is Brachycephalic Obstructive Airway Syndrome (BOAS).
The Hereditary Disease Committee (HDC) of the World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA) has produced an educational video highlighting the problems BOAS can cause in brachycephalic breeds, including French bulldogs, English bulldogs, and pugs. During the video experts explain how the appearance of short-nosed breeds has been affected by breeding for extreme and exaggerated anatomical conformation.
The WSAVA Hereditary Disease Committee has called on all stakeholders – breeders, owners, veterinarians, media, regulators, and others – to work together to improve the welfare of these breeds.
It urges them to foreground health-focused breeding initiatives to produce dogs with less exaggerated anatomical features so that BOAS and other related health issues are not passed on.
The 17-minute video, available in several languages, features contributions from Jerold Bell, Chair of the WSAVA HDC, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, Tufts University, USA; Åke Hedhammar, WSAVA HDC member, Senior Professor in Internal Medicine at the University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden; and Jane Ladlow, Clinical Lead of the BOAS Research Group, Cambridge University, UK
“We hope our video will help educate breeders, owners, and all of those involved in or influencing the breeding and care of short-nosed dogs,” Bell said. “We also hope it will give them useful advice on the steps they can take to help as we work together to resolve a serious welfare issue. All dogs deserve to live healthy lives. We must not let them down.”
The video is available at www.wsava.org/boas.