The Extreme Conformation Crisis in Dogs: Breed Data Reveal the Serious Scale of the Problem
How Many Dogs Still Face Risks From Extreme Conformation?
Extreme Conformation (i.e. a body shape that limits the capacity of the dog to fully perform all the natural canine activities, such as easily breathing, running, etc) is widely accepted as one of the most pressing health and welfare issues of dogs worldwide today. Gaining a clear picture of how common extreme conformation is in dogs can help us all to better understand the overall health and welfare impacts. Most dogs are recognisable as a specific breed by how they look. This information on breed can be used to estimate the proportions of dogs who have an extreme conformation. Based on their recorded breed, the evidence shows that over 25% of dogs in the UK are likely to have at least one form of extreme conformation (e.g. flat face, shortened legs, etc). While the level of exaggeration of the dog’s conformation will vary from dog to dog and many affected dogs may still be able to live a good life, even for these dogs there will still be some loss of ability to enjoy living a full canine life that could have been avoided if these dogs had been bred to have a more moderate conformation.
Breed Statistics Paint a Bleak Picture but Offer Hope for a Better Future:
Professor Dan O’Neill of the Royal Veterinary College co-leads the VetCompass Research Programme https://www.rvc.ac.uk/VetCompass . VetCompass shares anonymised health data information from 25% of all UK veterinary surgeries and includes over 15 million dogs since 2010. This information has been used to support over 100 peer-reviewed publications and offers a huge resource for understanding the breed structure of the general population of UK dogs. A 2024 study published by Dogs Trust on the size, density, and demographic distribution of the UK dog population offers further wonderful information on the composition of UK dogs breeds https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-82358-y. The Royal Kennel Club registers around 25% of all UK dogs each year and offers a fantastic resource for understanding the UK pedigree dog population https://www.royalkennelclub.com/about-us/resources/breed-registration-statistics/ .
Combining the results from these three data sources helps to provide an estimate on the likely levels of differing extreme conformation in the UK. These results also show the huge potential for improving the lives of dogs by moving their body shapes towards having more moderate conformation. Sadly, the results of this data analysis show that the extreme conformation crisis in the UK is very serious, with over 25% of the 2,250,303 dogs in VetCompass during 2019recorded by breed as expected to showing at least one of just 3 of the extreme conformation traits tested for by the Innate Health Assessment. These 3 extreme conformational traits are brachycephaly (flat-faced, shortened muzzles), excessively shortened legs (i.e. out of proportion with the dog’s body) and shortened tails/ no tails. Considering just the proportion of dogs with brachycephaly alone, the 2024 Dogs Trust study showed similar results, with over 20% of UK dogs recorded as being from a flat-faced breed. And finally, the Royal Kennel Club (RKC) data shows that over 10% of RKC registrations come from just the nine breeds listed on their Breed Watch Category 3 list of breeds with severe health and welfare concerns because of their extremely exaggerated conformation
However, the good news for breeders and owners is that many of these dog breeds currently associated with having extreme conformation traits do not need to change much to no longer be considered as having extreme conformation. These breeds can be moved towards more moderate conformation by breeding for e.g. a longer muzzle, longer legs, longer tails, etc as appropriate. The IHA offers a vital tool to help breeders and owners achieve this change and to ensure that all of our current UK dog breeds can continue to be bred and have healthier futures.
Read the full data report here