Overview
- The Royal Kennel Club study, published Wednesday in PLOS One, found that 21–49% of breathing function and 31–39% of nostril size are heritable.
- Following Wednesday's findings, the club updated its voluntary advice to mark any mating with a Grade 2 dog as red, which means not recommended.
- The grading scheme covers registered pedigree dogs and cannot stop unregistered breeding, so progress depends on wider testing and breeder buy-in.
- Data from more than 4,000 Bulldogs, French Bulldogs and Pugs showed BOAS in 15.6% of French Bulldogs, 18.9% of Bulldogs and 19.8% of Pugs, with three-quarters of dogs in the tested breeds classed as affected across grades.
- Veterinary experts caution that focusing on breathing alone ignores other harms linked to extreme flat faces, and they note the Netherlands banned breeding of excessively flat-faced dogs in 2020.