Selective breeding has created hereditary health conditions in many dog breeds, and welfare reform requires changes in breeding standards, registration requirements, and consumer demand.
Dog breed welfare reform is an urgent priority given the scale of inherited suffering in popular breeds. Millions of dogs worldwide live with chronic pain, breathing difficulty, and neurological compromise as direct consequences of human selective breeding decisions. Reform requires simultaneous action on multiple fronts: updating breed standards to exclude extreme conformations, requiring health testing before breeding registration, improving consumer information, and reducing demand for severely affected breeds. Veterinarians have an ethical obligation to counsel clients about breed health before acquisition.