A new report by The Kennel Club, launched 5 September 2023, is urging collaboration on the issues facing flat-faced, or brachycephalic, dogs such as French Bulldogs, Pugs and Bulldogs.
The report, ‘Play Your Part: Breeding, buying and bringing up brachycephalic dogs better’, highlights the welfare crisis faced by some of these dogs due to their huge increase in popularity, and details the collaborative measures that need to be taken by the puppy buying public, breeders, vets, Government and The Kennel Club to protect and improve the health of current and future generations.
Some of the most popular brachycephalic breeds – French Bulldogs, Bulldogs and Pugs – now account for one in five dogs in the UK, and The Kennel Club report recommends action focussing on:
The FBCE support the call for increasing use of Health Screening and recommend all owners and breeders participate in the FBCE Health Scheme and RKC Respiratory Function Grading Scheme.
More information on Brachycephalic Health can be found in the Health Hub on the RKC Website by clicking here
The report, ‘Play Your Part: Breeding, buying and bringing up brachycephalic dogs better’, highlights the welfare crisis faced by some of these dogs due to their huge increase in popularity, and details the collaborative measures that need to be taken by the puppy buying public, breeders, vets, Government and The Kennel Club to protect and improve the health of current and future generations.
Some of the most popular brachycephalic breeds – French Bulldogs, Bulldogs and Pugs – now account for one in five dogs in the UK, and The Kennel Club report recommends action focussing on:
- Health screening, including increasing uptake of the only current tool to analyse and improve Brachycephalic Obstructive Airway Syndrome - the University of Cambridge/Kennel Club Respiratory Function Grading scheme
- Education and behaviour change of breeders, puppy buyers and dog owners, and the role of online marketplaces which advertise pets
- Introducing mandatory contracts for breeders and overhauls to Codes of Practices on caring for dogs
The FBCE support the call for increasing use of Health Screening and recommend all owners and breeders participate in the FBCE Health Scheme and RKC Respiratory Function Grading Scheme.
More information on Brachycephalic Health can be found in the Health Hub on the RKC Website by clicking here
Brachycephalic Working Group (BWG)
In 2017 in response to the booming popularity of the French Bulldog , Bulldog and Pug , all of the major stakeholders in dog welfare in the UK formed a single body called the Brachycephalic Working Group (BWG) to try to improve the welfare of these dogs. The French Bulldog Club of England, Pennine & Scottish French Bulldog Association and Breed Health Co-Ordinator , Dr Laura Hamilton BVM&S PgC SAC MRCVS , all hold seats on the working group and attend the regular meetings to give the Breed Club's perspective on Health & Welfare. You can find information of the important work undertaken by the Working Group by clicking here.
In 2017 in response to the booming popularity of the French Bulldog , Bulldog and Pug , all of the major stakeholders in dog welfare in the UK formed a single body called the Brachycephalic Working Group (BWG) to try to improve the welfare of these dogs. The French Bulldog Club of England, Pennine & Scottish French Bulldog Association and Breed Health Co-Ordinator , Dr Laura Hamilton BVM&S PgC SAC MRCVS , all hold seats on the working group and attend the regular meetings to give the Breed Club's perspective on Health & Welfare. You can find information of the important work undertaken by the Working Group by clicking here.
In 2020 our Breed Health Co-Ordinator Dr Laura Hamilton BVM&S PgC SAC PgC SAM MRCVS & The Kennel Club Health Team undertook a a a comprehensive survey of the breed with 8727 individual responses (12025 dogs) to view the full report ,
Click Here.
Click Here.
** POSTPONED From January 2023, the Kennel Club will be limiting
“Hereditary Clear” status of registered dogs to two generations**
From January 2023, the Kennel Club will limit the assignment of ‘hereditary clear’ status of registered dogs to two generations. This change will be put in place to safeguard against the impact that dogs with an incorrect ‘hereditary clear’ status could have on health issues within a breed.
Following on from a recent Kennel Club study, published in the journal of Canine Genetics and Epidemiology, the decision to restrict hereditary status was made by the Kennel Club Board on the recommendation of the Dog Health Group.
Hereditary clear status is given to dogs that are determined to be free of specific genetic material linked to a particular inherited disease. The Kennel Club’s registration system assigns a dog this status if their parents are known to be clear, either because they have both been DNA tested as clear, or because they are hereditary clear themselves.
Dogs could be mistakenly given a false hereditary clear status for a number of reasons; for example if there has been a failure of laboratory protocols, pedigree errors or incorrectly recorded parentage. In these instances it is unlikely that the inaccuracies would be noticed immediately, but rather that several generations later many dogs throughout the breed descended from the individual with the original incorrect status will also have erroneous hereditary status, and the well-intended mating of two such apparently hereditary clear dogs risks producing affected puppies.
The Kennel Club research analysed the risks faced by a population following the incorrect assignment of hereditary status and determined that the rate of dogs with false hereditary clear status could rise considerably over a fairly small number of generations, particularly for genetic conditions that are more common.
To reduce the knock-on effect of these errors, and the risk of unintentionally breeding affected puppies, the Kennel Club will be ensuring that from January 2022, the ‘hereditary clear status’ will be limited to two generations, unless lineage is verified by DNA parentage profiling recorded by the Kennel Club. DNA parentage profiling is a separate procedure to screening DNA for disease causing mutations, but can often be carried out at the same time by the same laboratory.
Kennel Club Genetics and Research Manager Dr Tom Lewis said: “Kennel Club advice has always been that even apparently ‘clear’ lines should be retested every few generations. This change to hereditary status reinforces that view and ensures that breeders can remain confident that the puppies they produce remain free from disease. DNA tests are helping breeders eradicate health issues in dogs and we want our registration system to maximise the impact these tests are having.”
“Hereditary Clear” status of registered dogs to two generations**
From January 2023, the Kennel Club will limit the assignment of ‘hereditary clear’ status of registered dogs to two generations. This change will be put in place to safeguard against the impact that dogs with an incorrect ‘hereditary clear’ status could have on health issues within a breed.
Following on from a recent Kennel Club study, published in the journal of Canine Genetics and Epidemiology, the decision to restrict hereditary status was made by the Kennel Club Board on the recommendation of the Dog Health Group.
Hereditary clear status is given to dogs that are determined to be free of specific genetic material linked to a particular inherited disease. The Kennel Club’s registration system assigns a dog this status if their parents are known to be clear, either because they have both been DNA tested as clear, or because they are hereditary clear themselves.
Dogs could be mistakenly given a false hereditary clear status for a number of reasons; for example if there has been a failure of laboratory protocols, pedigree errors or incorrectly recorded parentage. In these instances it is unlikely that the inaccuracies would be noticed immediately, but rather that several generations later many dogs throughout the breed descended from the individual with the original incorrect status will also have erroneous hereditary status, and the well-intended mating of two such apparently hereditary clear dogs risks producing affected puppies.
The Kennel Club research analysed the risks faced by a population following the incorrect assignment of hereditary status and determined that the rate of dogs with false hereditary clear status could rise considerably over a fairly small number of generations, particularly for genetic conditions that are more common.
To reduce the knock-on effect of these errors, and the risk of unintentionally breeding affected puppies, the Kennel Club will be ensuring that from January 2022, the ‘hereditary clear status’ will be limited to two generations, unless lineage is verified by DNA parentage profiling recorded by the Kennel Club. DNA parentage profiling is a separate procedure to screening DNA for disease causing mutations, but can often be carried out at the same time by the same laboratory.
Kennel Club Genetics and Research Manager Dr Tom Lewis said: “Kennel Club advice has always been that even apparently ‘clear’ lines should be retested every few generations. This change to hereditary status reinforces that view and ensures that breeders can remain confident that the puppies they produce remain free from disease. DNA tests are helping breeders eradicate health issues in dogs and we want our registration system to maximise the impact these tests are having.”