Nordic collaboration study: Is there enough variation to breed healthier Pugs, English Bulldogs, French Bulldogs and Boston Terriers?

A Nordic collaboration study aimed to reveal if there is enough phenotypic and genotypic variation to breed for a change in anatomy and predisposition for Brachycephalic Obstructive Airway Syndrome (BOAS).

The study gathered data and samples from each Scandinavian country on a wide variety of individual dogs of four brachycephalic breeds – English bulldog, French bulldog, Pug and Boston terrier.

Here's the summary of the study:

Lack of success in reduction of illness related to a brachycephalic constitution have been proposed to be due to lack of genetic variation (Pedersen et al 2016). Crossbreeding with non-brachycephalic breeds is repeatedly proposed to handle that but is neither practiced to any greater extent nor favoured by many breeders.
A multicentre Nordic study with data and samples from each Scandinavian country on a wide variety of individual dogs of the brachycephalic breeds – English bulldog, French bulldog, Pug and Boston terrier aimed to reveal if there is enough phenotypic and genotypic variation to make it possible to select for a change in anatomy and predisposition for Brachycephalic Obstructive Airway Syndrome (BOAS).

Initially “Breed” -gatherings of as many individuals as possible in these breeds at various locations to attract registered as well as non-registered individuals nationally and internationally aimed to be obtained reflecting the within breed variations. Later results from BOAS testing have served the same purpose.

Results: Several dogs already operated on mainly nostrils. Almost all considered healthy by their owners but affected by heat and variable but high Body Condition Scores in many dogs. Variations within and between breeds in clinical signs, in shape of nostrils, in length of nose, in width of neck, in cranio-facial ratio and a verification of earlier noted correlations between conformation and clinical signs.

You can download the whole report as a pdf file below.
 

BOAS invention study Nordic Countries.pdf