Brachycephalic breeds including French bulldogs, pugs, and English bulldogs continue to experience severe welfare problems from extreme skull conformation, but breed reform efforts are gaining momentum.
Brachycephalic breed welfare represents a systemic failure where decades of selection for extreme facial features have normalised chronic suffering. Many brachycephalic dog owners believe heavy breathing and snoring are normal for their breed - they are not normal, but indicators of chronic airway obstruction causing laboured breathing throughout every day of the dog's life. The welfare cost is lifelong and substantial. Reform requires action across multiple levers simultaneously: breeder education, veterinary guidance against surgical interventions that enable continued breeding from affected dogs, Kennel Club breed standard reform, regulatory restrictions on extreme phenotypes, and consumer education to shift demand toward healthier individuals. Progress is real but slow relative to the scale of ongoing suffering.