As someone who posts a ton of veterinary photos and videos online, I find brachycephalic pets to be a bit of a tricky fish. On the one hand, I often see brachycephalic (aka “smooshed-faced”) pets with absolutely wonderful personalities and are a joy to be around. These include brachycephalic dog breeds like pugs, Frenchies, and bulldogs as well as cat breeds like Persians, Himalayans, and Burmese. I love these pets as individuals, and I celebrate the joy they bring to their families.
At the same time, breeding trends that have pushed these guys to have shorter and shorter noses have also led to more and more health concerns (Here’s some very good data if you are interested). For this reason, I generally don’t post pictures of these breeds on my social media feeds. My thought here is not that I want to boycott or shame anyone. It’s simply that I don’t want to encourage people to seek out or request traits in pets that are physically detrimental to those pets’ health.
Simply put, I think breeders will always breed what consumers want to buy. I don’t think it’s contradictory to love an individual pet and want the best for him or her and also refrain from publicly celebrating a trend you don’t want to perpetuate. That’s been my position on the brachycephalics for years now.
Well, the other day I saw my first long(er) nosed Frenchie! He didn’t have medial patellar luxations, his back wasn’t painful, and he didn’t make any abnormal noises when he breathed. I told the owner “This is exceptional! I love his little snout!” She said she knew she wanted a Frenchie and found a breeder who was actively working to breed length back into the nose and focused on making the healthiest Frenchies possible.
This little dog made my day. Not just because he was wonderful to interact with, but because he reminded me that sometimes we can make changes for the better. Sometimes we can raise awareness of issues and pet owners will listen. Sometimes we can communicate productively and collaboratively with breeders to make the world a healthier place. Sometimes we can push a pendulum that has swung too far back in the other direction.
I don’t mean this post to be about what kinds of dogs people should like, where they should get them, or how they should spend their money. I mean it to be about recognizing that things can change, and negative trends can be reversed if people want them to be. I left my appointment feeling optimistic and a renewed belief that while it might sometimes feel like everything naturally slides towards getting worse, this isn’t actually true.
Cynicism seems to be in style these days, but I don’t believe the world is bending inevitably towards darkness. Instead, I think the world is just messy. Some parts of our lives and jobs will get worse, and some parts will get better, and some parts will get worse and then better. Remembering that it’s possible for tides to turn is the first step in developing a rosier view of our futures.
