Selective breeding for extreme physical traits in dogs has created populations suffering from inherited health conditions that cause chronic pain and reduced lifespan. Breed reform is one of the most important welfare issues in companion animal medicine.
Dog breed welfare represents a systemic welfare problem created by human aesthetic preference overriding animal welfare. The breeds currently most popular - French bulldogs, bulldogs, pugs - are precisely those with the most severe inherited health burdens. BOAS is not a minor inconvenience: severely affected dogs cannot exercise without respiratory distress, sleep poorly, and require surgery for a manageable but never fully normal quality of life. Breed clubs, kennel clubs, and veterinary associations have all acknowledged the problem, but market demand continues to drive breeding of extreme conformation dogs. Consumer choices have direct welfare consequences for the dogs born.