The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
Brachycephalic breeds are proliferating internationally, with dramatic rises in popularity juxtaposed with common and severe breed-related health problems. Physical appearance is as a dominant factor attracting owners to brachycephalic breeds; however, whether these owners will choose their current breed for future ownership and develop ‘breed-loyalty’ in the face of health problems is not yet known. The aims of this study were (1) to quantify levels of, and explore factors associated with, brachycephalic dog owners’ intentions to: (i) reacquire and/or (ii) recommend their current breed to potential first-time dog owners, and (2) to use qualitative methods to explore why brachycephalic dog owners would or would not recommend their current breed. This large mixed methods study reports on 2168 owners of brachycephalic breeds (Pugs: n = 789; French Bulldog: n = 741; Bulldogs: n = 638). Owners were highly likely to want to own their breed again in the future (93.0%) and recommend their breed to other owners (65.5%). Statistical modelling identified that first-time ownership and increased strength of the dog-owner relationship increased the likelihood of reacquisition and/or recommendation. In contrast, an increased number of health problems, positive perception of their dog’s health compared with the rest of their breed, and dog behaviour being worse than expected decreased the likelihood of reacquisition and/or recommendation. Thematic analyses constructed three themes describing why owners recommend their breed: positive behavioural attributes for a companion dog, breed suited to a sedentary lifestyle with limited space, and suitability for households with children. Five themes described why owners recommended against their breed: high prevalence of health problems, expense of ownership, ethical and welfare issues associated with breeding brachycephalic dogs, negative effects upon owner lifestyle and negative behavioural attributes. Understanding how breed-loyalty develops, and whether it can be attenuated, will be key to controlling the current population boom in brachycephalic breeds in the long-term.
In the past decade, the popularity of brachycephalic (flat-faced) dogs has dramatically increased in the UK and internationally [
Several factors have been identified that affect decision-making of prospective dog owners [
Brachycephalic appearance generates an inherent conflict in that their positively perceived physical traits are intrinsically unhealthy, and thus (informed) potential owners must choose whether to prioritise desired aesthetics over health. Evidence suggests that health considerations are generally secondary in the decision to acquire dogs. In a study of American Kennel Club registrations, health and longevity were not correlated with breed popularity, and on the contrary, the most popular breeds tended to have significant health problems [
As the popularity of brachycephalic breeds has already reached high levels in the UK, in addition to understanding decision-making about initial acquisition of these breeds, there is increasing need to understand aspects related to re-acquisition from existing owners. A recent study of Danish dog owners reported that nearly one third of French Bulldog owners planned to acquire the same breed in the future, more than owners of any of the other small breeds studied (Chihuahua, Cairn Terrier, Cavalier King Charles Spaniel) [
To use quantitative methods to quantify levels of, and explore factors associated with, brachycephalic dog owners’ intentions to: (i) reacquire and/or (ii) recommend their current breed to other future owners
To use qualitative methods to explore reasons why brachycephalic dog owners would or would not recommend their breed to other owners
The population sampled for this study was described in detail in a previous publication [
Sections 1–6 of this survey are reported in an existing publication [
Section 7 is the focus of the current study and explored re-acquisition desire and peer-peer recommendation of an owner’s current breed. Owners were asked to report whether they would choose to own their current breed again (Yes/No). Although a previous study [
Following initial cleaning of data in Microsoft Excel 2013, statistical analyses were carried out in IBM SPSS Statistics v24 (SPSS Inc, Chicago, IL, USA). Binary logistic regression models were used to determine which factors predicted owner’s desire to acquire another dog of the same breed, or to recommend their breed to a potential first-time dog owner. Binary outcome variables tested were whether owners would re-acquire (Yes/No) and recommend (Yes/No) their current breed. Variables tested for their association with owner attitudes towards reacquisition or recommendation of their current breed were: canine demographics (breed, age); owner demographics (age, gender, whether they were a first-time dog owner (1/0), children in household (1/0), country; veterinary experiences (veterinary costs per year (£); veterinary costs to date (£); number of conformation-related surgeries); health scores and owner perceptions of their dog’s health (owner reported breathing score (ORB); heat intolerance score; eating difficulty score; disordered sleeping score; number of perceived health problems; health compared to the rest of their dog’s breed; overall health rating); owner expectations of the breed vs. reality of ownership (veterinary costs, exercise levelsand maintenance levels: scored as less than expected, met expectations or more than expected, and overall behaviour: scored as worse than expected, met expectations, or better than expected) and the dog-owner bond as measured by the MDORS (emotional closeness, perceived costs, dog-owner interactions). Factors with liberal associations in univariable tests (
Free-text responses were analysed using thematic analysis methods described by Braun and Clarke [
In total, 2168 valid responses were received from owners of Pugs (n = 789), French Bulldogs (n = 741) and Bulldogs (n = 638). Respondents were predominantly from the UK (72.0%) followed by USA (13.9%) and Canada (2.4%). The majority of respondents were aged 25–34 years (34.2%) and female (89.1%). The median age of study dogs was 2.17 years (IQR: 0.92–4.33), 58.4% of dogs were male and 42.0% of all animals were entire. Further details, including breakdowns by breed are reported in Packer et al, 2019 [
The majority of owners (93.0%, n = 2012) would choose to own their current breed again in the future, with no difference identified in levels of reacquisition desire between the three breeds. At the univariable level, 19 variables were significantly associated with whether an owner would reacquire their breed (
Variable | Sub-category | OR (95% CI) | P |
---|---|---|---|
First-time dog owner | Yes | 2.45 (1.49–4.03) | <0.001 |
No | |||
No. of BOAS-related health problems | - | 0.54 (0.45–0.66) | <0.001 |
Compared to the rest of their breed | Much less healthy | 0.70 (0.21–2.35) | 0.568 |
Less healthy | 0.64 (0.32–1.30) | 0.217 | |
Average health | |||
Healthier | 0.84 (0.50–1.42) | 0.511 | |
Much healthier | 0.36 (0.19–0.69) | 0.002 | |
Overall health rating | Worst possible | 0.05 (0.01–0.44) | 0.008 |
Very poor | 0.07 (0.02–0.22) | <0.001 | |
Moderately poor | 0.17 (0.07–0.45) | <0.001 | |
Good | 0.19 (0.08–0.43) | <0.001 | |
Moderately good | 0.28 (0.13–0.61) | 0.002 | |
Very good | 0.53 (0.27–1.04) | 0.064 | |
Best possible | |||
Overall behaviour | Better | 1.25 (0.72–2.15) | 0.430 |
Met | |||
Worse | 0.60 (0.37–0.97) | 0.037 | |
Emotional closeness | - | 2.55 (1.89–3.44) | <0.001 |
Perceived costs | - | 2.17 (1.59–2.97) | <0.001 |
N.B. For the variable ‘Perceived costs’, a higher score indicates a lower perceived cost of ownership.
Two thirds of owners (65.5%, n = 1275) would recommend their current breed to a potential first-time dog owner, with significant differences at the univariable level between the three breeds; highest in the Pug (73.7%) and lower in the Bulldog (56.2%; OR 0.46 (CI95 0.36–0.58), p<0.001) and French Bulldog (64.6%; OR 0.65 (CI95 0.52–0.82), p<0.001). At the univariable level, 20 variables were significantly associated with whether an owner would recommend their breed to a potential first-time dog owner (
Variable | Sub-category | OR (95% CI) | P |
---|---|---|---|
Breed | Bulldog | 0.50 (0.38–0.64) | <0.001 |
French Bulldog | 0.64 (0.49–0.83) | 0.001 | |
Pug | |||
First-time dog owner | Yes | 3.09 (2.38–4.01) | <0.001 |
No | |||
No. of conformation- related surgeries | - | 0.75 (0.66–0.87) | <0.001 |
No. of BOAS-related health problems | - | 0.74 (0.65–0.85) | <0.002 |
Compared to the rest of their breed | Much less healthy | 0.49 (0.18–1.38) | 0.178 |
Less healthy | 0.79 (0.45–1.38) | 0.400 | |
Average health | |||
Healthier | 0.64 (0.49–0.84) | 0.001 | |
Much healthier | 0.46 (0.33–0.64) | <0.001 | |
Overall health rating | Worst possible | 3.70 (0.26–51.91) | 0.332 |
Very poor | 0.23 (0.09–0.58) | 0.002 | |
Moderately poor | 0.29 (0.15–0.53) | <0.001 | |
Good | 0.33 (0.21–0.52) | <0.001 | |
Moderately good | 0.40 (0.28–0.60) | <0.001 | |
Very good | 0.59 (0.45–0.78) | <0.001 | |
Best possible | |||
Expectation of overall behaviour | Better | 1.24 (0.94–1.62) | 0.124 |
Met | |||
Worse | 0.59 (0.43–0.80) | 0.001 | |
Emotional closeness | - | 1.29 (1.08–1.54) | 0.006 |
Perceived costs | - | 1.25 (1.02–1.53) | 0.034 |
N.B. For the variable ‘Perceived costs’, a higher score indicates a lower perceived cost of ownership.
Eight themes were constructed from the free text analysis: three related to characteristics of a breed which owners
There was an emphasis on physical affection between dogs and their owners, with owners valuing dogs who appeared to enjoy being cuddled and played with; “
Despite acknowledging health issues, many owners indicated that they would not change their own dog and would reacquire their breed in the future. Some owners justified their own dog’s health problems by explaining that the positive elements of their breed outweighed the negatives; “
Health problems were sometimes a divisive issue between owners and non-owners of brachycephalic breeds, with perceptions of unfounded biases against their breeds. Some owners defended their breed’s health problems and considered them as comparable to those of other breeds; “
Some owners were reticent to recommend their own dog’s breed until changes to breeding practices had been made; “I
This is the first large-scale study to explore owners’ desires to reacquire or recommend the most popular brachycephalic breeds in the UK. Inference from the results is strongly enhanced by the application of the mixed methods approach which builds on the quantitative statistical analyses of the data with a qualitative approach. This elicits deeper emotional and perceptual insights from these owners and yields previously uncovered perspectives. The majority of owners indicated they would reacquire their breed in the future (93.0%), and around two-thirds of owners (65.5%) would recommend their breed. Reacquisition desire did not significantly differ between the three breeds; however, Pug owners were more likely to recommend their breed than Bulldog and French Bulldog owners. The high levels of both reacquisition desire and recommendation are of concern as this may indicate that the current spike in brachycephalic popularity [
Dog behaviour was a key influence on an owner’s desire to reacquire or recommend their current breed. Owners whose dogs behaved worse than they expected had reduced odds of reacquisition desire or recommending their breed, while positive behavioural characteristics were core reasons
In contrast to the positive behavioural traits reported here, there is existing evidence for negative behavioural traits in brachycephalic dogs which may defy owner expectations and reduce their likelihood of wanting to own them again or recommend to others. Compared to longer muzzled breeds, brachycephaly was associated with higher levels of persistent barking and compulsive staring in an owner-reported survey [
Perceived suitability for living with children was also a core reason for recommendation by Bulldog, French Bulldog and Pug owners and may be a key factor perpetuating brachycephalic popularity in young families. In international studies of the ‘ideal companion dog’, safety with children was the most desirable behavioural characteristic, with over two thirds of Australian [
Owner lifestyle, and perception of a breed’s ability to fit within it, was influential in explaining both why an owner would and would not recommend their breed. Bulldogs, French Bulldogs and Pugs were promoted by owners as requiring little exercise or space, deeming them suitable for busy lifestyles, city-living and households considered unsuitable to other larger or more active breeds. These findings are in agreement with previous studies that identified brachycephalic breeds as being more likely to live in apartments than non-brachycephalic breeds, and that breed size being suited to an owner’s lifestyle was more influential in the decision-making on acquisition of brachycephalic than non-brachycephalic breeds [
Several characteristics were considered to negatively impact upon owner lifestyle, leading to recommendations against brachycephalic breeds. Education about these characteristics to potential brachycephalic owners who are otherwise not influenced by messaging regarding breed health from an ethical perspective, may encourage them to consider other breeds instead. High levels of coat shedding were considered undesirable and were often unexpected by brachycephalic dog owners. The desirability of non-shedding dogs is exemplified in the international population boom in ‘designer cross breeds’ that include Poodle genetics (e.g. Labradoodle, Cockapoo) [
The health of an owner’s current dog influenced the odds of reacquisition desire and of recommending their breed. Owners who reported that their dog had a greater number of BOAS-related health problems, or considered their dog to have health less than ‘the best possible’ had reduced odds of wanting to own their breed again or recommending it to others, compared to those with better health. In addition, those owners whose dogs had undergone a higher number of conformation-related surgeries had decreased odds of recommending their breed, compared to those who had undergone fewer. Studies indicate that owners of pets with chronic illnesses report a greater ‘caregiver burden’, psychological distress and reduced quality of life compared with owners of healthy pets [
Somewhat paradoxically, owners who considered their dog to be healthier than average for the breed had a reduced odds of reacquisition desire or of recommending their breed compared to those considered to have average health. This result may be influenced by skewed perceptions of what is ‘average’ for brachycephalic breeds. In this study population, previously published analyses indicated that 63.1% of owners considered their dog more healthy than average, with only 30.1% considered average, and just 6.8% less healthy than average [
Concerns over the welfare costs of breeding practices associated with producing brachycephalic dogs were rarely cited as a reason to recommend against their breed, with very few owners expressing guilt regarding acquiring breeds that they acknowledged to have common and severe health problems. This may be driven by processes of cognitive dissonance, when a person’s behaviour or belief is inconsistent with another belief they hold, resulting in one of the beliefs being modified in an attempt to reduce the dissonance [
Two positive facets of the dog-owner relationship (as quantified by the MDORS) increased the odds of reacquisition desire and recommendation; an increased level of emotional closeness, and a reduced perception of the costs of ownership. In a population of Danish dog owners, the dog-owner relationship (as quantified by the Lexington Attachment to Pets Scale [
First-time dog owners had over twice the odds of reacquisition desire, and three times the odds of recommending their breed compared to owners who had owned any other dogs before. This effect may be explained by differences in what first-time owners vs. more experienced dog owners consider ‘normal’. If a person’s first ownership experience is with one of the studied brachycephalic breeds, their baseline for canine health and behaviour may become skewed. Signs of poor health may be considered ‘normal’ [
Limitations of this study include the sampling strategy used and resulting study population. The sample was biased towards young Bulldogs, French Bulldogs and Pugs, which is likely due to the huge expansion in popularity of these breeds (particularly the latter two) in recent years, resulting in the rate of addition of new puppies to these breeds’ demographic profiles being much higher relative to other breeds that are not expanding. This bias towards younger dogs may also be due to the reduced life expectancy in extreme brachycephalic breeds (including the breeds studied here) compared to moderately brachycephalic and non-brachycephalic breeds (median 8.6 vs. 12.7 years), thus older dogs being less represented in studies such as this [
These novel results offer important insights into common reasons explaining why owners would re-acquire or recommend brachycephalic breeds and can be used to inform interventions aimed at attenuating these desires. We hypothesise that differing factors may influence individual owners and/or would-be owners e.g. high hair-shedding may deter a house-proud owner, whereas high veterinary costs may deter an owner facing financial hardship. Determining the most effective intervention(s) requires further work to devise wider-scale initiatives based on theories from human behaviour change science, which are increasingly being adopted to tackle companion animal welfare issues [
In the current study, we adopted a high quantity free-text approach for our qualitative data collection as we were motivated to identify common viewpoints, but consequently our data were relatively shallow. More in-depth qualitative research techniques e.g. semi-structured interviewing may be valuable in future research, for example, to glean deeper insights into the psychological processes underlying behaviour change e.g. identifying factors that changed the minds of owners who were contemplating buying a brachycephalic breed but did not, or owners who previously owned brachycephalic breeds but have chosen not to going forward.
Owners of Bulldogs, French Bulldogs and Pugs dogs are highly likely to want to own their breed again in the future, and to recommend their breed to other owners. The development of breed-loyalty towards brachycephalic breeds may lead to their continued proliferation, and perpetuation of a high level of popularity, despite their substantial health risks. Although owners are initially attracted to the distinctive appearance of brachycephalic dogs, perceived breed-related behavioural traits are a core component of why owners perceive their breed positively, alongside the strong emotional bonds they inspire and perceived suitability for sedentary lifestyles. Understanding how breed-loyalty develops, and whether it can be attenuated will be key to controlling the current population boom in brachycephalic breeds in the long term. Although further work is required to devise effective larger-scale behaviour change interventions to attenuate the desire to reacquire and recommend brachycephalic breeds, in the short-term, these novel findings offer authentic accounts from existing owners that greatly increase our understanding of this pressing phenomenon and can be used to inform discussions by veterinarians and other animal health professionals when counselling would-be and current owners on breed selection.
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Thanks go to all the people and websites that assisted in distribution of the questionnaire and the owners who completed it. This manuscript was internally approved for submission (Manuscript ID number CSS_02143).