The popularity of flat-faced dog breeds like pugs, bulldogs, and French bulldogs has created a major animal welfare crisis driven by consumer demand.
Brachycephalic dogs live with chronic oxygen deprivation, sleep apnoea, dental overcrowding, skin fold infections, and spinal malformations as a direct result of selective breeding for extreme conformation. Many owners are unaware their dog is suffering because these dogs were bred to tolerate and mask discomfort. The normalisation of laboured breathing as characteristic rather than pathological represents a fundamental welfare failure.