Tag Archives: French Bulldog

Why flat-faced dogs remain popular despite health problems

Posted on September 8, 2020 | Leave a comment

Owners of bulldogs, French bulldogs and pugs are highly likely to want to own their breed again in the future, and to recommend their breed to other owners, according to a study published August 26, 2020 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Rowena Packer of the Royal Veterinary College, UK, and colleagues.

The development of breed loyalty toward these so-called brachycephalic (flat-faced) dogs may lead to their continued proliferation and popularity, despite their substantial health risks.

In the past decade, the popularity of brachycephalic dogs has dramatically increased worldwide. But these breeds are strongly predisposed to a range of severe disorders, including respiratory disease, eye disease, spinal disease, heat stroke and pneumonia, and their lifespan is reduced by on average four years compared to dogs with longer muzzles. Some veterinarians consider bulldogs, French bulldogs and pugs as having health and welfare too compromised to continue breeding, while owners of pets with chronic illnesses report greater psychological distress and a lower quality of life. It is important to understand factors that influence breed choice to avoid the future proliferation of breeds that are prone to substantial health risks. Toward this goal, Packer and colleagues conducted the first large-scale study to explore owners’ desires to reacquire or recommend the most popular brachycephalic breeds in the UK.

Among the 2168 owners surveyed, 93% would choose to own their current breed again in the future, and two-thirds would recommend their current breed to a potential first-time dog owner. The likelihood of reacquisition or recommendation is increased by first-time ownership and increased strength of the dog-owner relationship, and is decreased by an increased number of health problems and dog behavior being worse than expected. Owners recommend their breed because of positive behavioral attributes for a companion dog, breed suitability for a sedentary lifestyle with limited space, and suitability for households with children. Owners recommended against their breed due to the high prevalence of health problems, expense of ownership, ethical and welfare issues associated with breeding brachycephalic dogs, negative effects upon owner lifestyle and negative behavioral attributes. According to the authors, these results can be used to inform interventions that highlight undesirable traits of brachycephalic dogs and desirable traits of other breeds to control the population boom in brachycephalic breeds in the long term.

The authors add: “Although dog breed popularity often follows a boom and bust pattern, our results are of real concern as they indicate that this ‘brachy boom’ is here to stay. Owners are becoming hooked on the loving personalities of these sweet dogs, but also accepting and normalising their shocking health issues.”

Read: Come for the looks, stay for the personality? A mixed methods investigation of reacquisition and owner recommendation of Bulldogs, French Bulldogs and Pugs here

Source: Science Daily

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Posted in dog breeds, Dogs, research

Tagged brachycephalic, bulldog, French Bulldog, pugs

Mutation makes bulldogs and Norwich terriers more susceptible to breathing problems

Posted on May 17, 2019 | Leave a comment

The discovery of a new mutation associated with breathing difficulties in popular dog breeds suggests that shortened skulls causing flat faces is not the only factor that contributes to the condition, but that swelling around the airways from edema may also play a role. Jeffrey Schoenebeck of the University of Edinburgh and colleagues report these findings in a new study published 9th May 2019 in PLOS Genetics.

Respiratory diseases are prevalent across dog breeds, particularly in brachycephalic breeds such as the Bulldog and French bulldog. The flat facial conformation of these breeds has long been assumed to be the major predisposing factor, however, the underlying genetics of their respiratory condition has never been elucidated.

Upper Airway Syndrome

The research team became interested in the Norwich Terrier, a breed presenting with many of the same respiratory disease symptoms as the Bulldog. A distinction, however, is that the Norwich terrier is not considered to be a brachycephalic breed and so presented an opportunity to dissociate respiratory disease from head conformation.

The researchers performed a genome-wide association analysis for respiratory disease severity in the Norwich Terrier and resolved an association on chromosome 13 to a missense mutation in ADAMTS3. Variants in this gene were previously shown to cause an oedematous phenotype–a disease characteristic in the airways of affected Norwich Terriers and brachycephalic dogs alike. The researchers screened over 100 breeds for the ADAMTS3 variant and found that it is enriched in the Norwich Terrier, Bulldog and French Bulldog. This discovery changes how we view respiratory disease predisposition in the dog, offers potential genetic screens and highlights a new biological function for ADAMTS3.

The study presents a new way of looking at these respiratory diseases in dogs, where fluid retention in the tissue that lines the airways makes it more likely that dogs with the mutation will develop breathing obstructions. “We conclude that there are additional genetic risk factors, that if inherited, will likely lead to airway disease in dogs regardless of their face shape,” stated author Jeffrey Schoenebeck. “The challenge ahead is to integrate these ideas, and implement sensible breeding practices and treatments that consider various health risks including those presented by the mutation of ADAMTS3.”

If scientists develop a test for this mutation, then dog breeders can develop better breeding practices to avoid passing on the faulty gene. Additionally, screening for the mutation may help veterinarians identify dogs which are at risk of UAS, and in particular identify the dogs at risk of swelling of their airways after surgical treatment, which is a common, life-threatening post-operative complication.

Sources: Science Daily and PLOS Genetics

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Posted in dog breeds, Dogs, research

Tagged English Bulldog, French Bulldog, Norwich Terrier

Love is Blind – Health is Real

Posted on February 26, 2019 | 3 comments

I’ve been practising for ten years now and, during this time, I’ve seen a fair number of the brachycephalic breeds including Pugs, French Bulldogs and English Bulldogs. These breeds can have a lot of health problems.

In 2016, the Australian Veterinary Association and the RSPCA Australia joined forces to produce the Love is Blind campaign. Watch this short 3 minute video:

The message is fairly clear – consumer preference is driving the breeding of these dogs. So increase the understanding of the health implications consequences of that cute, squishy face, and change the breeding standards, too.

In the show ring, it’s suggested that you give the blue ribbon to the healthiest dog. Not a bad idea.

Kathleen Crisley, Fear-Free certified professional and specialist in dog massage, rehabilitation and nutrition/food therapy, The Balanced Dog, Christchurch, New Zealand

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Posted in animal welfare, dog breeds, Dogs

Tagged boston terrier, brachycephalic, English Bulldog, French Bulldog, pugs, RSPCA Australia

Bulldogs’ Screw Tails Linked to Human Genetic Disease

Posted on January 13, 2019 | Leave a comment

With their small size, stubby faces and wide-set eyes, bulldogs, French bulldogs and Boston terriers are among the most popular of domestic dog breeds. Now researchers at the University of California, Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine have found the genetic basis for these dogs’ appearance, and linked it to a rare inherited syndrome in humans.

Moxie, a 3-year-old French bulldog, took part in a study of the genetics of “screwtail” dog breeds (bulldogs, French bulldogs and Boston terriers). A common mutation in these dogs is similar to genetic changes in a rare human disease, Robinow syndrome. (Photo credit: Katy Robertson)

Bulldogs, French bulldogs and Boston terriers aren’t the only dogs with short, wide heads, but they do share another feature not found in other breeds: a short, kinked tail or “screwtail,” said Professor Danika Bannasch, Department of Population Health and Reproduction in the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. These three breeds all lack the vertebrae that make up the tail bone, she said.

The researchers sequenced the whole genome — the entire DNA sequence — of 100 dogs, including 10 from screwtail breeds. All the participating dogs were privately owned pets seen at the UC Davis Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital, whose owners agreed to participate. Graduate students Tamer Mansour and Katherine Lucot, with C. Titus Brown, associate professor at the School of Veterinary Medicine and Genome Center, searched through the DNA sequences to find changes associated with screwtail breeds.

From more than 12 million individual differences they were able to identify one mutation, in a gene called DISHEVELLED 2 or DVL2. This variant was found in 100 percent of the bulldogs and French bulldogs sampled, and was very common in Boston terriers.

This kind of whole genome comparison is relatively new, Bannasch said.

“Normally, we would have first had to identify a region DNA and work from there,” she said. “We could look at breed-specific traits, but not as well as we can now.”

Professor Henry Ho at the UC Davis School of Medicine studies similar genes in humans. Mutations in the related DVL1 and DVL3 genes are known to cause Robinow syndrome, a rare inherited disorder in humans characterized by strikingly similar anatomical changes — a short, wide “babyface,” short limbs and spinal deformities. In addition, Robinow patients and the screwtail breeds also share other disease traits, such as cleft palate. In both humans and dogs, DVL genes are part of a signaling pathway called WNT involved in development of the skeleton and nervous system, among other things, said Peter Dickinson, professor of surgical and radiological sciences at the School of Veterinary Medicine. By characterizing the screwtail DVL2 protein product, Sara Konopelski, a graduate student in the Ho lab, pinpointed a key biochemical step in the WNT pathway that is disrupted by the mutation. This finding further suggests that a common molecular defect is responsible for the distinct appearances of both Robinow patients and screwtail dog breeds.

The DVL2 screwtail mutation is so common in these breeds, and so closely tied to the breed appearance, that it would be difficult to remove it by breeding, Dickinson said. Other genes are known to contribute to short, wide “brachycephalic” heads in dogs, and there are likely multiple genes that contribute both to appearance and to chronic health problems in these breeds.

Understanding a common mutation in popular dog breeds may, however, give more insight into the rare Robinow syndrome in humans. Only a few hundred cases have been documented since the syndrome was identified in 1969.

“It’s a very rare human disease but very common in dogs, so that could be a model for the human syndrome,” Bannasch said.

Source: UC Davis media release

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Posted in Dogs, research

Tagged boston terrier, brachycephalic, bulldog, French Bulldog, genetics, Robinow syndrome, screwtail

Demography and disorders of the French Bulldog population

Posted on May 3, 2018 | Leave a comment

French Bulldogs, predicted soon to become the most popular dog breed in the UK, are vulnerable to a number of health conditions, according to a new study published in the open access journal Canine Genetics and Epidemiology.

Researchers at The Royal Veterinary College (RVC), UK found that the most common issues in French Bulldogs over a one year period were ear infections, diarrhea and conjunctivitis (inflammation of the eye surface).

French Bulldog puppy. Credit: © Mary Swift / Fotolia

Dr. Dan O’Neill, RVC Senior Lecturer and the main author, said: “French Bulldogs are a relatively new arrival to the list of common UK breeds so there is very little current research on them in the UK. Our study — the first on this breed in the UK — is based on anonymised records gathered from hundreds of UK vet clinics. It provides owners with information on the issues that they could expect and should look out for in French Bulldogs. It may also help potential new owners to decide if a French Bulldog really is for them.”

Dr. O’Neill adds: “One of the interesting finding from our research is that male French Bulldogs appear to be less healthy than females. Males were more likely to get 8 of the 26 most common health problems while there were no issues that females were more likely to get than males.”

The authors suggest that the distinctive appearance of the French Bulldog, with their short muzzles and wide, prominent eyes, may be a key factor influencing their popularity. However, these characteristics may also increase the risk for some of the health problems seen in French Bulldogs. For example breathing issues, seen in 12.7% of the dogs in this study, are a known problem in breeds with short noses and flat faces. Skin problems overall were the most common group of health issues and the authors suggest that this may be due to the skin folds that are characteristic of the breed.

Dr. O’Neill said: “This study also documents the dramatic rise in popularity of the French Bulldog, from 0.02% of puppies born in 2003 to 1.46% of puppies born in 2013. This level of population growth in a single dog breed is unprecedented. There is a worry that increased demand for the French Bulldog is damaging to these dogs’ welfare because of the health risks associated with their extreme physical features.”

The authors analyzed data on 2,228 French Bulldogs under veterinary care during 2013 from 304 UK clinics, collected in the VetCompass™ database. The French Bulldogs had a median age of 1.3 years old compared to a median age of 4.5 years for the other dog breeds in the VetCompass™ database. This reflects the growth in popularity of French Bulldogs.

The authors caution that the study may even under-estimate the true number of dogs with health problems as the data may include more severely affected animals that require veterinary management. Additionally, as French Bulldogs have only recently become popular the data was mostly collected from young dogs and it is well recognized that health problems generally become more common with age.

Source: Science Daily

Read the journal article here

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Posted in dog breeds, Dogs, research

Tagged French Bulldog, genetics, Royal Veterinary College, United Kingdom

Two french bulldogs and a pug

Posted on December 28, 2017 | Leave a comment

Today, I gave Aki, Haru, and Yuki their Christmas presents – relaxation massages paid for by their Dad. I was booked up last week when he rang and couldn’t fit in 3 hours of massage before the holiday – luckily everyone was happy to wait.

All I knew was that I was going to meet “two french bulldogs and a pug.” I was not disappointed; all three were charming. Yuki is the oldest, and will be 8 years old in March; Aki is 5; Haru will be 2 in February.

Yuki the Pug

Haru the French Bulldog

Aki the French Bulldog

Massages for your dog make a wonderful gift; relaxation massage distributes the oils of the coat to support skin health, allows your dog to chill out and be the center of attention, and I report back on any lumps and bumps I find to ensure you have discussed these with your vet.

Kathleen Crisley, specialist in dog massage, rehabilitation and nutrition/food therapy, The Balanced Dog, Christchurch, New Zealand

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Posted in dog breeds, dog care, Dogs

Tagged dog massage, French Bulldog, pug, relaxation massage

No simple way of predicting breathing difficulties in pugs, French bulldogs and bulldogs from external features

Posted on August 13, 2017 | Leave a comment

As many as a half of all short-nosed dogs such as pugs, French bulldogs and bulldogs experience breathing difficulties related to their facial structure. However, research published by the University of Cambridge suggests that there is no way to accurately predict from visible features whether an apparently healthy pug or French bulldog will go on to develop breathing difficulties.

The findings have implications for attempts to ‘breed out’ this potentially life-threatening condition.

French bulldog.jpg

Pugs and bulldogs have become popular breeds in recent years – the French bulldog is set to become the UK’s most popular canine, according to the Kennel Club. However, a significant proportion are affected by a condition known as Brachycephalic Obstructive Airway Syndrome (BOAS) related to their head structure.

Studies suggest that for over half of such dogs, BOAS may lead to health problems, causing not just snoring but also difficulty exercising and potentially overheating. It can even prove life-threating. But as symptoms often do not arise until after the dog has begun breeding, veterinary scientists have been searching for markers that can predict whether a dog is likely to develop breathing difficulties – and hence potentially help breed out the condition.

A study in 2015 led by researchers at the Royal Veterinary College, University of London, working across many breeds suggested that dogs whose muzzles comprised less than half their cranial lengths and dogs with thicker neck girths were at increased risk of BOAS. However, this new study suggests that these measures applied to individual breeds are not dependable for this purpose.

The Cambridge researchers took external measurements of features of head and neck shape, and of the external appearance of nostrils, together with measurements of body size and body condition score (an approximation to the degree of fatness/obesity) in just over 600 pugs, bulldogs and French bulldogs, the most numerous breeds that show this problem. Each of the dogs had also been graded objectively for respiratory function.

The team found that while the external head measurements did have some predictive value for respiratory function, the relationship was not strong, and the measurements that showed the best predictive relationship to BOAS differed between breeds. They were unable to reproduce conclusively the findings from the previous study by the Royal Veterinary College in any breed.

“It can be incredibly difficult to take measurements such as distance between eyes or length of nose accurately, even for experienced vets, as the dogs don’t keep still,” says Dr Jane Ladlow, joint lead author. “This may explain why it is so difficult to replicate the findings of the previous study or find any conclusive markers in our own.”

Neck girth was a slightly more reproducible measurement, and larger neck girth in comparison to chest girth or neck length was associated with disease in the bulldogs and French bulldogs. In male bulldogs, neck girth showed a close enough association with disease to give moderately good predictive accuracy for the presence of clinically significant BOAS.

The best measure identified by the Cambridge team was the degree of nostril opening, which proved a moderately good predictor of the presence and severity of BOAS in pugs and French bulldogs, and was also a useful marker for disease in bulldogs.

Altogether the variables measured, when combined, gave an 80% accuracy in predicting whether or not dogs will have BOAS, the difficulty of taking some of the measurements accurately, and the need to make multiple measurements and combine them in order to produce a prediction means that the researchers would not recommend using them as a guide to breeding.

Dr Nai-Chieh Liu, first author of the study, says: “Breeding for open nostrils is probably the best simple way to improve these breeds. Dog breeders should also avoid using dogs with extremely short muzzles, wide faces, and thick necks. These traits are all associated with increased risk of having BOAS.”

Joint lead author Dr David Sargan adds “At this moment there is no conclusive way of predicting whether any individual pug or bulldog will develop breathing difficulties, so we are now looking for genetic tests that may help breeders get rid of BOAS more rapidly.

“The best advice we can give to owners of short-nosed dogs is to make sure you get your dog checked annually for any potential difficulties in breathing, even if you have not yourself observed any in your dog, and to keep your dog fit and not let it get fat.”

Source: University of Cambridge media release

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Posted in dog breeds, Dogs, research

Tagged brachycephalic, breeding, bulldog, French Bulldog, pug, University of Cambridge

DNA influences face shape

Posted on May 30, 2017 | Leave a comment

A study of dog DNA has revealed a genetic mutation linked to flat face shapes such as those seen in pugs and bulldogs.

The research reveals new insights into the genes that underpin skull formation in people and animals. Scientists say their findings also shed light on the causes of birth defects that affect babies’ head development in the womb.

Researchers at the University of Edinburgh’s Roslin Institute analysed DNA samples from 374 pet dogs of various pedigree and mixed breeds. The dogs were being treated at the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies.

All of the animals underwent body scans as part of their care, producing detailed 3-dimensional images of the dogs’ heads. These high-resolution images — called CT scans — enabled the researchers to take precise measurements of the shape of the dog’s skull.

By comparing the dogs’ genetic information with measurements of their skulls, the team were able to pinpoint DNA variations that are associated with different head shapes.

One variation — found to disrupt the activity of a gene called SMOC2 — was strongly linked to the length of the dog’s face. Animals with the mutation had significantly flatter faces, a condition called brachycephaly.

Babies are sometimes born with brachycephaly too, though little is known about its causes. Scientists say screening children for changes in the SMOC2 gene could help to diagnose the condition.

Lead researcher Dr Jeffrey Schoenebeck, of the University’s Roslin Institute, said: “Our results shed light on the molecular nature of this type of skull form that is so common and popular among dogs.”

Source: University of Edinburgh news

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Posted in Dogs, research

Tagged brachycephalic, brachycephaly, bulldogs, English Bulldog, French Bulldog, pugs

Mr Quiggly outruns the greyhounds

Posted on December 21, 2015 | 1 comment

This video is a few years old – but worth resurrecting. Great advertising!

Kathleen Crisley, specialist in dog massage, rehabilitation and nutrition/food therapy, Canine Catering Ltd, Christchurch, New Zealand

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Posted in Dogs, dogs in advertising

Tagged French Bulldog, Greyhound, running shoes, Skechers

Best dogs for apartment living

Posted on August 21, 2015 | Leave a comment

Did you know that the American Kennel Club has published a list of the best dogs for apartment living?

With cities growing and land prices escalating, most metropolitan areas around the globe are looking to establish neighborhoods characterized by apartments rather than single-family homes. This move can create challenges for people wanting to ensure that dogs remain part of their lives.

Years ago for example, in New Zealand, the main telecommunications company here used a Jack Russell Terrier named Spot in its commercials. The breeding and demand for these dogs soared. People thought that the dog, being small, would be good for the suburbs (let alone, apartments). But terriers need wide-open spaces and are bred for hunting down prey like rabbits and ferrets. The result: lots of ill-behaved dogs and owners who were out of their depth.

I would say that this list is a starting point, many mixed-breed dogs can acclimate to apartment living with the right routine and devotion. And small dog breeds need to be managed carefully around stairs – because a lifetime of walking up and down stairs puts a lot of strain on the back and shoulders….

The best dog breeds for apartment living are: