Selective breeding for extreme physical traits has created dogs living in permanent poor health. Breed reform — changing breed standards and breeding priorities — is the systemic welfare response.
Dog breed reform is the systemic answer to the individualised welfare problem of brachycephalic disease. Treating individual dogs with BOAS surgery is necessary and compassionate; it does not address the breeding practices that produce dogs requiring surgery to breathe normally. Breed reform — changing what dog shows reward, what health tests registrars require, and what traits breeders select for — operates at the population level. Progress is measurable but slow: the lag between breeding decisions and population health outcomes is a generation of dogs. The most promising interventions combine show ring reform that penalises extreme traits, mandatory health testing requirements for breed registration, and consumer education that shifts demand away from extreme phenotypes. Without demand reduction from buyers, market pressure will continue to override welfare-motivated breeding constraints.