Brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome (BOAS) causes chronic breathing difficulty in flat-faced breeds, requiring objective assessment and often surgical correction.
BOAS dogs experience chronic oxygen restriction, impaired thermoregulation, sleep-disordered breathing, and exercise intolerance. Many owners are unaware their dog is breathing abnormally because the signs are so familiar as to be normalised. Research shows BOAS dogs have significantly reduced exercise capacity and are chronically stressed by their respiratory compromise. The popularity of severely affected breeds perpetuates suffering at population scale through continued selective breeding.