How is it that so many animal rights activists and experts of the 21st century can be so short sighted and misinformed? Did you know that the Dutch kennel club has banned the registration of brachycephalic breeds when bred to the original breed standards? While the intent is an effort to breed healthier dogs, their attempt to destroy this ancient breed will not solve health problems as we will discuss in this blog. "The implication that all brachycephalic breeds are inherently unhealthy is completely incorrect."  -- Dr. Maryanne R Mack DVM

​So, let's begin by addressing some of this misinformation. Let's start at the beginning.

Dolichocephalic breeds (such as Greyhounds, Collies, Setters, Dachshunds, Italian Greyhounds, Great Danes) are those with extremely long skulls. 

Mesaticephalic or mesocephalic ('middle-headed') breeds (Dalmations, Beagles, Border Collies, Norwegian Elkhounds, English Springer Spaniels, Yorkshire Terriers) involve the length and width being equal, giving a square shape.

Brachycephalic breeds (Pugs, French Bulldogs, Boxers, Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, Pekinese, Tibetan Spaniels) make up some of the most popular dogs in the United States and can be identified by their shortened snouts or faces that appear flat and, as a result, have smaller airways. The term Brachycephalic originates from the Greek words "short" and "head". 

One of the world's best pug breeders of the 21st century, who embraces breed standard plus health screening and modern science is now fined a sum of money if she breeds a pug to the breed standard which essentially shuts down any preservation breeder (who don't make money in the first place --- if breeding is done correctly with health testing and all that is involved. And no pug can be registered if it does not have a muzzle of specified length (thus no longer a pug).

To avoid paying fines, her pugs would now need to look like mutts . . .

With these poorly researched government policies, these seemingly well-intentioned yet misinformed politicians and activitists have not only destroyed an ancient breed but also filled the world with more ugly mutts who STILL have breathing problems.

Here's the thing! A dog can have a longer muzzle and still have problems with breathing. 

There are many issues involving BOAS and simply adding a longer snout will not fix them. Let's explore what causes BOAS issues.
​
BOAS (Brachycephalic Obstructive Airway Syndrome)
Brachycephalic = Shortened Foreface (see above)
Obstruction = Any obstruction narrowing or blockage
Airway = the route from the outside via the nose/mouth through the back of the throat larynx and pharynx to the lung via the windpipe or trachea to the small airways.
Syndrome = combination of the above.

Beyond the stenotic nares (or really tight nostrils), some other components of BOAS involve an elongated soft palate and a hypoplastic trachea. ​

Here is ​Dr. Maryanne R Mack DVM complete article (below).  Hopefully, the recent BOAS health screening tests will allow Dutch breeders to once again register pugs (pugs who look like pugs, not mutts) and prevent future bans globally. These health screening tests are not anything revelatory or earth shattering. They're common sense. They are what ethical breeders have done for generations and hundreds of years. (Ethical breeders do not breed a pug who does not breath well. End of story. They examine parents, grandparents, offspring. They use common sense.) What the tests will do, or could do potentially, is prevent unethical breeders from being able to continue to harm the breed and perhaps educate less experienced breeders giving everyone involved a more tangible means of assessing BOAS concerns. 

Here is the article by Dr. Maryanne R Mack DVM :

OFA testing for hips, elbows, etc. are based upon things that are pretty easy to measure. But it's a little trickier to test how a dog breaths. Is it calm? Is it stressed? Has it just exercised? What's the temperature? 

However, there are studies now where they are attempting to quantify grading systems, such as the one developed a few years ago at the University of Cambridge.

There are 2 parts of the Cambridge study:
1) The dog is put in a chamber that measures how much air they're bringing in, how hard they're working to breath, it measures all the pressure, the oxygen, the carbon dioxide levels, and gives a good information of the dog at rest and how its moving air.
2) Then they do an evaluation of the dog at rest, how it's breathing, is it making any noise? is it having increased effort or panting? (FYI, this is what ethical breeders have done for hundreds of years).
3) Then they make the dog do light exercise for 3 minutes and then repeat the evaluation. And they grade the dog on a scale based upon the result. It is pretty exact for predicting how affected the dog is by BOAS issues.

Noisy breathing usually increases when exited or exercising. Stertor (low pitched due to nose narrow or palate vibrating) and or stridor (high pitched due to laryngeal collapse) can also be affected by other factors. Is the pug overweight?  Noises normally increase when excited or exercising. Snoring maybe evident during sleep.

Just recently, they have now developed a similar test/BOAS screening in the USA and they are gradually training more and more vets across the country how to administer the testing. 

Personally, I feel like these evaluations need to have a larger scope. (Think more like the amazing and ethical preservation breeders throughout the past who have kept the breed alive over the past 2,500 years.) A broader scope would include questions such as "does the dam and sire breath well?" "Did the grandparents?" Looking laterally, "how do the siblings breath?" "Is it allergy season with a lot of pollen?" "Is the pug overweight?" "Is the pug in season?" "Did the pug just eat?" "Did the pug just travel a long distance?" "Is the pug socialized so not unduly suffering from anxiety during the testing process, travel to test site, meeting of strangers etc.?" There are a lot of factors to consider so, in my mind, one test will not solve BOAS issues. Common sense and the strength and conviction to spay or neuter a poor breathing pug is the only real answer. 

I'm reminded of something I observed when visiting the Hill Country pug breeders in Texas. There was a large group of young puppies in the den. They were letting the pups grow-out before deciding who would be the picks who stayed in their breeding program. One puppy made a noise (indicative of a BOAS issue). The breeder asked her husband "put a mark on that puppy" and they put a dot of fingernail polish on it to make sure it would not be considered in the mix to stay as a show dog. 

Standards. Guts. Professionalism. That's what it takes to create more Macintosh pugs. (Incidentally, Macintosh's sire was a Hill Country pug). A longer skull on a pug just creates a mutt who will probably have a greater chance of developing BOAS issues because only backyard breeders would choose to breed a pug that does not conform to breed standard.

I've seen a judge in the ring excuse a pug because it couldn't breath. It was an air-conditioned building and, of course, the pugs are leisurely gaiting about the ring. Yes, sometimes stress and fear can cause a pug to tighten which causes a bit louder breathing but, when examining this pug outside the ring, the breathing was poor most of the time. This brings to mind that the entire 'village' -- breeders, handlers, judges, owners, vets, researchers, politicians, activists, rescue organizations -- need to work together, supporting, encouraging each other, to breed responsibly. It takes a village.

The new Tracheal Hypoplasia Evaluation may not necessarily improve the breed within the realm of reputable breeders (as they already have high standards when choosing which pugs to include in their breeding program), but perhaps the concrete scores/gradings will allow for the amazing pug breeder in the Netherlands to once again register her incredibly healthy and gorgeous breed standard pugs. 

The Dutch Ban involves 12 Brachycephalic breeds (Affenpinscher, Boston terrier, English and French bulldog, Griffon bruxellois, Griffon belge, Petit Brabancon, Japanese Chin, King Charles spaniel, Pekingese, Pug and Shih Tzu). 

To those animal activists, and "Vets against Brachycephalics", think on this: how do these ancient breeds still exist among us? How have they survived since the time BEFORE CHRIST? 

Pugs have existed since around 551. Your organizations since 1980s.

Have pugs really changed that much? Many of the "puggle" pugs you see in photographs from the Victorian era might perhaps just be poorly bred backyard puggle pugs (just sayin'). If Confucius was referring to the pug breed around 551, he described it as a "short-mouthed dog".  

Testing might help with the naysayers and, to a degree, assist breeders in restrictive countries, but BOAS is complex, progressive, and unpredictable and can change over the course of a dog's lifetime. ​

BOAS appears to be more prevalent in those dogs which are overweight with heavy short necks and narrowed nostrils. That's one reason we always look for a pug with a beautiful neck and open nares when choosing the pugs we will include in our breeding program at Pickwick Pugs. We never breed a pug who has obvious breathing problems and makes a lot of noise in breathing. We re-evaluate regularly.

Once the testing becomes available we will add the tool to our toolbox, but more as a means to add more data and concrete proof of our assessments and perhaps contribute to the development of future testing with additional data.

In the European countries utilizing the evaluations, it is recommended to do the assessment at 12 months and then every 2 years thereafter until breeding stops but the Cambridge study recommends yearly assessment from 1 year until they are stable (usually around 5 years of age).

The grading is typically along this line but, just as with OFA hip screening, susceptible to the individual assessor (some vets grade more strictly or, with hips, compare pugs to other breeds who are built entirely differently).

Grade 0 = the dog is clinically unaffected and is currently free of respiratory signs of BOAS. 
Grade 1 = the dog is clinically unaffected but does have mild respiratory signs linked to BOAS. These signs do not affect their exercise performance.
Grade 2 = the dog is clinically affected and has moderate respiratory signs of BOAS that should be monitored and may require veterinary treatment.
Grade 3 = the dog is clinically affected and has severe respiratory signs of BOAS and should be seen by your own vet for a thorough veterinary examination with treatment. We do not recommend that you breed from your dog.

Again, these tests are common sense and basically preservation breeders have been doing already for centuries. Yet, now, the ethical breeders will have to pay even more money, making breeding even less feasible, in a futile attempt to weed out the unethical/inexperienced breeders. But that's how much preservation breeders care about the breed they are preserving. I have to wonder if these tests will truly reveal something that an experienced, ethical breeder doesn't already know. 

Breeders do not need to hide behind these health screenings, though. I'll probably catch some flack for saying this and, really, this is topic for another blog post in itself ... addressing breeders who do the testing, get a chic number, but still breed dogs who are not worthy.

"Bad hips? Worst possible OFA score? Breed anyway!" (Yes, breeders have personally told me this.) The same thing can happen with BOAS screening. Another concern would be if a breeder rested on the laurels of a good score when the pug was younger, but did not retest a year later. A pug who received a grade of 0 or 1 at age 1 would need to be retested again annually throughout the breeding life of the dog. 

Even if these tests are used responsibly, they STILL cannot guarantee that a puppy from two unaffected parents will be free from BOAS. 

At some point, these tests in themselves will irradicate these ancient breeds, though, if the activists don't first, because the ethical, smaller hobby/show preservation breeders simply cannot afford all of these health tests. Perhaps if the activists really cared, they would start paying for these health tests. That would be the best solution.  

One last thought. The problem pugs with the BOAS issues are primarily bred by backyard breeders, not by ethical preservation breeders. 

Dr. Mack mentioned that approximately 95% of pugs she dealt with who had breathing issues had been purchased from a backyard breeder or pet store. 

Backyard breeders do not do health testing. Any health testing. These are the pugs that need the screening, so how will the tests aid in preventing backyard breeders from including poor breathers in their breeding programs?

The big picture has to be even bigger.

One thing that IS certain however is that changing type and breed standard (by "adding a snout") is not the answer. Again, using common sense, look at ALL of the pugs produced by backyard breeders who have long noses -- the puggle type pug -- who are still bad breathers!

Testing in it and of itself is not the answer. Education and ethical preservation breeders working together is the answer. 

WOW! What a bombproof little showgirl Tory is turning out to be. At just 6 months, she held her own in the ring with 29 other major pugs from all over the country. She won her 1-9 puppy class each day and held her stacks like a pro. Most importantly, she honestly had so much fun! 

Robert had fun preparing for Rally Obedience (he's not quite ready to compete yet, though), and just having a chance to be away from home and the 'only boy'. He and Tory both enjoyed the hotel room and time to relax in between shows. And thank you so much to Gary Williams, the President of the Pug Dog Club of America for your help in evaluating the puppies. We appreciate your input and learning opportunity so very much .... we also appreciate all you do for the Club. The pups met so many people on the trip and had a blast.