Did you know that the French bulldog is now the UK’s most popular breed.
In their study titled ‘Great expectations, inconvenient truths, and the paradoxes of the dog-owner relationship for owners of brachycephalic dogs.’ in 2019, Packer RMA; O’Neill DG; Fletcher F; Farnworth MJ from the RVC looked at owners of short-muzzled dogs. They revealed the close bonds between them and their pets, especially between pugs and their owners, female owners and their dogs or owners without children in the home.
However, worryingly, the academics found that while one fifth of short muzzled dogs in the study had undergone at least one corrective surgery, only 6.8% of owners consider their dog to be less healthy than average for their breed.
The most common health issues relating to their body shape .Other common diagnoses amongst these breeds included allergies (27%); corneal ulcers (15.4%); skin fold infections (15%) and airway obstruction (11.8%). Owners were to some extent aware of such health problems in their own dog, with 17.9% reporting breathing problems and 36.5% reporting overheating. Yet, 70.9% of owners still considered their dog to be in ‘very good health’ or ‘the best health possible.’
For more information visit the RVC article by clicking on the link below.
New Forest Animal Osteopathy 