Page 11 - Clinical Connections - Summer 2022

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Page 11 - Clinical Connections - Summer 2022
P. 11

Research News






        DESIGNER DOGS’ WELFARE              awareness of these severe health problems,  BULLDOG HEALTH
        THREAT                              the full scale of the health crisis in pugs has
                                            not been fully appreciated until now.  RVC research has revealed that English
        An RVC-led study has revealed rapidly   To address this knowledge gap, the study,   bulldogs have lower health overall and are
        rising demand for designer crossbreed   led by the RVC’s VetCompass programme,   more likely to suffer from certain health
        dogs in the UK and identified some key   compared  the  health  of  random  samples   conditions, particularly those related to
        factors driving popularity – including   of  4,308  pugs  with  21,835  non-pugs.   being flat-faced, than other dogs. As such,
        beliefs that they are more hypoallergenic,   Information on all disorders recorded in   the breed remains compromised by major
        generally healthy, easy to train and   each dog over a single year was extracted.   health risks.
        good with children, which could be   Overall, pugs were 1.9 times more likely to   English bulldogs have risen sharply in
        misconceptions. The study suggests that   have one or more disorders in a year than   popularity in the UK over the past decade.
        the increased demand poses a significant   non-pugs.                    However, the breed’s distinctive and
        risk to the health and welfare of these   Compiling a list of the 40 most common   exaggerated short muzzle, protruding lower
        dogs due to high demand leading to poor   disorders across pug and non-pug groups,   jaw and stocky body is linked to several
        breeding and to buyers unintentionally   pugs had higher risk of 23 (57.5%) disorders   serious health and welfare issues, including
        supporting puppy farming and illegal   compared with lower risk of only seven   breathing problems, skin and ear diseases
        importation of underage pups.       (17.5%) disorders. BOAS was the disorder   and eye disorders. Sadly, many of the
          The team comprised of researchers from   with the highest risk in pugs, with the   breed’s problematic characteristics such as
        the RVC, the University of Nottingham and   breed almost 54 times more likely to have   a flat face, deep facial skin folds and noisy
        an independent consultant. They used   the  condition.  This  reflects  the  common   breathing are often perceived as ‘normal’ or
        the online Pandemic Puppies Survey to   respiratory  difficulties  experienced  by   even ‘desirable’ novelties rather than major
        canvas nearly 6,300 owners across the UK   brachycephalic breeds.       welfare issues.
        who acquired a puppy between 2019 and                                    The study findings indicate that urgent
        2020, including 1,575 owners of designer   Research paper: O’Neill et al. (2022) ‘Health of   action is required to reduce the high rate of
        crossbreeds. The five most common       Pug Dogs in the UK: disorder predispositions and   health issues related to the extreme body
        designer crossbreeds purchased were   protections’, Canine Medicine and Genetics  shape typically seen in English bulldogs
        the Cockapoo, Labradoodle, Cavapoo,                                     if the breed’s future is to be protected.
        Sprocker and Goldendoodle.                                              It is hoped that these research findings
          The team previously documented a                                      will discourage purchasing of English
        significant increase in designer crossbreed                             bulldogs overall as well as also promoting
        ownership during the pandemic, rising from                              a shift towards public acceptance of more
        fewer than one in five puppies in 2019                                  moderate conformation with improved
        being a designer crossbreed (18.8%), to                                 innate health.
        over one in four puppies in 2020 (26.1%).                                The RVC’s VetCompass programme
                                                                                compared the health of random samples
            Research paper: Burnett, E., Brand, C.L., O’Neill,                  of 2,662 English bulldogs and 22,039 other
            D.G. et al (2022) ‘How much is that doodle in the                   dogs to extract information on disorders
        window? Exploring motivations and behaviours of UK                      recorded in each dog over a single year.
        owners acquiring designer crossbreed dogs (2019-
        2020)’, Canine Medicine and Genetics                                    Overall, English bulldogs were more
                                                                                than twice as likely to have one or more
        PERVASIVE PUG PROBLEMS                                                  disorders annually than other dogs. From
                                                                                a list of 43 common disorders across both
        An RVC study suggests urgent action                                     groups, English bulldogs were at a higher
        is needed as the health of pugs in the                                  risk of suffering from 24 out of the 43
        UK is now significantly worse than non-                                 disorders – and a lower risk of just six.
        pugs. Pugs are almost twice as likely to
        be diagnosed with one or more disorders                                    O’Neill et al. (2021) ‘English Bulldogs in the UK: a
        annually than other dogs. These findings                                    VetCompass study of their disorder predispositions
        suggest urgent action is required to reduce                             and protections’, Canine Medicine and Genetics
        the breed’s high rate of health risks.
          The pug has become extremely popular,                                 Infographics related to news pieces
        with  a  five-fold  increase  in  Kennel  Club                          on this page can be downloaded from
        registrations from 2005 to 2017. However,                               the following link: /
        there is growing concern over health issues                             vetcompass/audio-visual-resources/
        stemming from the breed’s flat face, bulging                            research-infographics.
        eyes, wrinkled skin and tendency towards
        obesity – characteristics often considered
        ‘cute’ by the public. While there is growing


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