Many popular dog breeds have been selectively bred to extremes that cause chronic health problems. Welfare reform through breed standard revision and health testing is essential.
The relationship between breed conformation and chronic health problems represents one of the clearest cases of human-caused animal suffering in companion animals. We have created breeds that cannot breathe properly, whose joints are chronically painful, whose spines are structurally compromised, and whose skulls compress their brains. These are not incidental welfare problems but designed-in consequences of selection for appearance over function. Reform requires simultaneous action: revising breed standards to penalise extreme conformations, requiring health testing before breeding, and educating the public to choose health over appearance.