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Posted: 7th July 2025

Less extreme body shapes becoming more popular in flat-faced dogs
The findings could pose opportunities to reverse the normalisation of extreme body shapes.
RVC calls findings a 'positive step' for animal welfare.

A new study from the Royal Veterinary College (RVC) has discovered that UK pet owners now prefer flat-faced dogs with less extreme body shapes.

The public revealed that they found brachycephalic dogs with less extreme body shapes to be more attractive, healthier, more ethically bred and more desirable to own.

The project saw nearly 5,000 members of the general public complete an online questionnaire to explore their preferences. Participants saw images, created by artificial intelligence, which showed less extreme, super extreme and currently typical versions of a French bulldog, pug and English bulldog.

Of the respondents, 25.9 per cent owned a purebred brachycephalic breed, 8.8 per cent owned a crossbred brachycephalic breed and 61.9 per cent owned a non-brachycephalic breed. 3.4 per cent were not dog owners.

A series of questions aimed to assess their preference for varying degrees of muzzle length, eye size, eye shape, skin wrinkling and tail length in these breeds. Participants also scored the images based on perceived attractiveness, health, happiness their appearance induced, ethics of breeding and ownership desire.

Results overwhelmingly showed that the less extreme variant of each brachycephalic breed was preferred across all aesthetic and perceptual characteristics.

Similarly, the typical version of each dog consistently scored above the super-extreme conformation dog.

Researchers believe that these findings could pose opportunities to reverse the normalisation of extreme body shapes in flat-faced breeds. It may also mark a positive step forward for raising awareness of the welfare crisis.

However, RVC says that this task will require acceptance of outcrossing to return more moderate features. The 'less extreme' variants are extremely rare in the current purebred population and not typical of dogs meeting breed standards.

RVC is currently undertaking research into the health and welfare of brachycephalic outcrosses, in order to make evidence-based recommendations on outcrossing breeding programmes.

Elizabeth Youens, lead author of the study, said: “This study shows that general preference is for less extreme body shapes in brachycephalic dog breeds, even amongst those who are attracted to the current extreme conformations typically displayed.

“This implies that current breed standards could be amended to reduce the glorification of these extreme body-shapes, thereby promoting better health, without reducing popularity and demand.”

The full study can be found in the journal VetRecord.

Image © Shutterstock



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