Hot Topics - Brachycephalics

The articles listed below  date added/edited include:

2015

10/16/2015 - The Brachycephalic Issue

• The International Partnership for Dogs (IPFD) and DogWellNet.com aims to support efforts to define and address issues of health and welfare in brachycephalic dogs     

10/16/2015 - The Brachycephalic Issue: 1. Sweden Fall 2015

• Links to Swedish Veterinary professional's petition - expressing concerns for Brachycephalic health issues - SKK's response - owner concerns

10/24/2015 - The Brachycephalic Issue: Finland Pug Study 2012

• Link to a preliminary study done at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of The University of Helsinki  at the request of and in collaboration with The Finnish Pug Club... findings have been used by the Finnish Pub Club and the Finnish Kennel Club (FKK) to inform work on health issues in this breed.     

10/29/2015 - The Brachycephalic Issue: Evidence and Efforts

• Link to study: (Rowena M. A. Packer, Anke Hendricks, Michael S. Tivers, Charlotte C. Burn; [PLOS] Published: October 28, 2015   DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0137496 )  Impact of Facial Conformation on Canine Health: Brachycephalic Obstructive Airway Syndrome and overview of Partner actions (BSI and Breed Watch).  

10/30/2015 - The Brachycephalic Issue: New Project Finland

• Announcement by the Finnish Kennel Club. English Bulldog breed club and the University of Helsinki Veterinary Hospital for project 'Fitness examination being prepared for Bulldogs' .

10/30/2015 - The Brachycephalic Issue: Evidence and Efforts: Non-invasive Respiratory Function Assessment in Brachycephalic Dogs  

• Announcement of a research project at Queen’s Veterinary School Hospital, Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge spearheaded by a stellar team of researchers : Jane Ladlow, MA VetMB CertSAS CertVR DipECVS MRCVS; Dr David Sargan, MA PhD; Dr Vicki Adams, DVM MSc PhD MRCVS; and Nai-Chieh Liu DVM MPhil  into the Brachycephalic Obstructive Airway Syndrome (BOAS). In their flyer, Non-invasive Respiratory Function Assessment in Brachycephalic Dogs, they describe the study and call for participants in the UK.

10/30/2015 - The Brachycephalic Issue: Evidence and Efforts: Characterisation of Brachycephalic Obstructive Airway Syndrome in French Bulldogs

• Link to study,  Characterisation of Brachycephalic Obstructive Airway Syndrome in French Bulldogs Using Whole-Body Barometric Plethysmography... " Whole-body barometric plethysmography (WBBP) is a non-invasive method that allows safe and repeated quantitative measurements of respiratory cycles on unsedated dogs."  

11/03/2015 - The Brachycephalic Issue: Physical and Physiological Problems

• This article provides resources that are available describing the problems that can arise because of the brachycephalic conformation.  There are many articles online - highlights a few sites that have useful information and a variety of approaches for management advice on diet, exercise, explanations of conformation details... provided by breed clubs, veterinarians...   

11/06/2015 - IPFD's Brachycephalic Resources

• This article provides a summary of DogWellNet Resources - includes links to DWN articles, research papers, breed-specific, kennel and breed club actions, and links to resources for understanding welfare implications and understanding human-animal interactions - Why do people buy dogs with potential welfare problems related to extreme conformation and inherited disease? Authors: P. Sandøe, S. V. Kondrup1, P. C. Bennett, B. Forkman, I Meyer, H. F. Proschowsky,J. A. Serpell, T. B. Lund and IPFD CEO Brenda Bonnett's presentation, How Beliefs and Attitudes about Dog Health and Welfare Limit Behaviour Change.(last edited September 2017)
   

11/06/2015 - Brachycephalic Resources: External Links

• An overview: includes external links that point to The Cambridge BOAS Research Group , a selection of Veterinary Journal articles, management strategies and general interest articles - UFAW, AVMA, RVC, AKC-CHF... (last edited September 2017)

2016

05/11/2016 - UK Vets: Urgent call by vet profession to relieve suffering of brachycephalic dogs and cats

• IPFD's CEO Brenda Bonnett provides an overview of IPFD's Partner's actions to address brachycephalic issues, a link to vet-help-direct blog post with statements by the UK's BSAVA, BVA and the Dog Breeding Reform Group (DBRG). 

05/11/2016 - THE SKK CONFERENCE ON BRACHYCEPHALIC DOGS

• The goal for the conference: that the parties, who can impact future wellness of Bulldogs, Pugs, and other short-skulled dogs, may be able to reach mutual values and strategies... this article includes links to an English translation of Åsa Linholm's Hundsport article on the conference, Dr. Brenda Bonnett's PDF presentation Agria Breed Stats Presentation Brachy conference and links to YouTube presentations.    

05/11/2016 - May 2016 -- In the Press -- SKK -- Brachycephalics

• The content of the SKK's Brachycephalic conference held in February of 2016 was reviewed by a working group and resulted in a statement and strategies for future work on the issue. Link to  Strategies and statement brakycefalikonferensen and the English translation.

06/22/2016 - The Brachycephalic Issue: Vets, KCs and Collaboration

•  An overview of DWN resources from 2015 & 2016 - in addition to comments by IPFD's CEO, Dr. Brenda Bonnett, on the complexity of the issues, stakeholders roles and finding opportunities to collaboratively work to compile information and evidence, and interpret it in a logical and unbiased way to affect positive change.

07/29/2016 - Is Crossbreeding a Part of the Plan for Bulldogs -- Genetic Considerations

• Points to the University of California, Davis study, "A genetic assessment of the English bulldog",  and includes links to the response from The Bulldog Club of America's including their Position Statement.  

08/24/2016 - English Bulldogs - Studies and Research - Understanding Tracheal Hypoplasia

• Link to Swedish study, Comparison between tracheal ratio methods used by three observers at three occasions in English Bulldogs" and to the The French Trachea Study Report (English version & French version) 2013-2016 as well as Sofia Malm's, "Breeding healthier bulldogs – A new Swedish breeding strategy for the English bulldog".
   

11/13/2016 - The Nordic Kennel Union -- Health and Welfare in Brachycephalic Dogs

• Here we provide links to information posted by the Norwegian Kennel Club (Focus on brachycephalic breeds) and The Finnish Pug Club  on approaches to and initiatives for management of health and welfare in brachycephalic breeds.  

2017

09/03/2017 - Brachycephalic Breeds Health and Research Learning Resources -- The Kennel Club

• Link to The Kennel Club's Brachycephalic Obstructive Airway Syndrome (BOAS) online learning resource available via the Kennel Club Academy... launched to provide free accessible education to those with an interest in BOAS and the research being undertaken at Cambridge University with brachycephalic dog breeds.

09/03/2017 - Nationwide Insurance - Brachycelphalic Study -- March 2017

• See The Nationwide® Brachycephalic Breed Disease Prevalence Study -- Short-nosed breeds more often affected by common conditions, not just known issues.   

09/03/2017 - Conformational risk factors of brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome (BOAS) in pugs, french bulldogs, and bulldogs

• Link to the University of Cambridge study,  Conformational risk factors of brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome (BOAS) in pugs, french bulldogs, and bulldogs  

09/07/2017 - Finnish Kennel Club to add Walk test results to Koiranet DB

• The FKC announces official health examinations added to the Finnish Kennel Club's Breeding Database and addition information and research on the Walk Test.   

09/20/2017 - Current thinking about brachycephalic syndrome: more than just airways

• Veterinary Ireland Journal I Volume 5 Number 11 article...  "Although respiratory problems are the best recognised of the problems associated with BS, the problem is not limited to the respiratory tract"

10/05/2017 - Brachycephalic breeds - A few highlights from 2017

• An overview of 2017 links to JAVMA, AVMA, BVA approach and positions, understanding motivations, KC and breed club's actions, 3rd IDHW presentation...   

10/07/2017 - Brachycephalic Videos - A cross section for owners, breeders and veterinarians

• BOAS evaluations, KC tests, conference presentations, about BOAS...   

2018

01/04/2018 - Reports from the UK vet world - brachy health and welfare (Dec. 2017 and beyond)

• Addressing the growing popularity of breeds like the Pug, French Bulldog and Bulldog in the UK is reflected in the Brachycephalic Working Group's (BWG) framework for a partnership approach to improving brachycephalic dog health and welfare. The article also includes Veterinary and club statements and resources.    

02/01/2018 - The Evolution of Petface

• Smithsonian Magazine article... addresses how extreme breed conformation can affect dog welfare, presents specific information on a myriad of health conditions and explores the human contribution to the situation - concluding with the statement, "In a culture that celebrates pups that sport adorable faces but can barely fend for themselves, the fact that many of our pets are burdened by breed-related conditions raises the question: can the damage we’ve done been undone?" The article's author,  Kat Eschner did quite a bit of research, interviewing veterinary canine welfare experts to include observations by animal welfare scientist James A. Serpell and IPFD's CEO, Brenda Bonnett.  

5/21/2018 - 2018 - SKK's work for brachycephalic health

• Here you will find information pertaining to management of brachycephalic dog breeds - discussion and actions - by representatives from Swedish Veterinary Association, the Swedish Board of Agriculture, the County Administrative Board, the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences and SKK.