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New Study Reveals UK Public’s Clear Preference for Healthier-Looking Flat-Faced Dogs

Vet Record 2025

Elizabeth Youens, Dan G. O’Neill, Zoe Belshaw, Sayaka Mochizuki, Johanna Neufuss, Mickey S. Tivers, Rowena M. A. Packer

Background
Brachycephalic dog breeds (e.g., French Bulldog, Pug, English Bulldog) are known for their distinct, extreme physical traits, such as short muzzles and skin folds, which are linked to serious health issues. Despite these welfare concerns, these breeds remain popular, driven largely by their appearance. The study aims to assess UK public preferences for varying degrees of conformational extremeness within these breeds and whether more moderate body shapes are perceived more favorably.

Methods
An online survey targeted UK residents (≥18 years), collecting responses between January and March 2024. AI-generated images of the three brachycephalic breeds were digitally manipulated to depict three degrees of conformational extremity: less extreme, currently typical, and super extreme. Participants rated the dogs on five criteria: attractiveness, perceived health, emotional response, ethical breeding, and ownership desire. A total of 4899 valid responses were analyzed statistically using ANOVA and generalized linear modeling.

Results
Less extreme versions of all three dog breeds consistently received significantly higher ratings across all five criteria, including by current and former owners of brachycephalic dogs. Ratings showed a clear preference hierarchy: less extreme > typical > super extreme. Owners of purebred brachycephalic dogs rated all conformational types more positively than other groups, yet still preferred the less extreme versions. Additionally, many participants misidentified the less extreme versions as not being purebred, suggesting a disconnect between healthful appearance and breed recognition.

Limitations
The sample was predominantly female and UK-based, which may limit generalizability to broader populations. Additionally, participants were self-selected, potentially introducing response bias.

Conclusions
The UK public, when given the choice, prefers less extreme conformations in brachycephalic breeds, favoring dogs perceived as healthier and more ethically bred. These findings offer an opportunity to influence breeding practices and consumer demand toward less extreme, healthier conformations, potentially improving canine welfare at a population level.

Sets of three images for each of the three most popular extreme brachycephalic breeds (French Bulldog, Pug and English Bulldog), which were generated and manipulated using a combination of artificial intelligence (AI) and digital editing to produce varying degrees of brachycephalic conformation and associated physical traits, for example, tail length/presence, degree of skin wrinkling. For each breed, dog 1 represents the less extreme conformation, dog 2 represents the current typical conformation and dog 3 represents the super extreme conformation.

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Disclaimer: The summary generated in this email was created by an AI large language model. Therefore errors may occur. Reading the article is the best way to understand the scholarly work. The figure presented here remains the property of the publisher or author and subject to the applicable copyright agreement. It is reproduced here as an educational work. If you have any questions or concerns about the work presented here, reply to this email.