Hostname: page-component-65f69f4695-bj4tz Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-06-26T18:47:51.323Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Welfare concerns associated with pedigree dog breeding in the UK

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2023

NJ Rooney  and
DR Sargan
NJ Rooney*
Affiliation:
Animal Welfare and Behaviour Group, Department of Clinical Veterinary Sciences, University of Bristol, Langford BS40 5DU, UK
DR Sargan
Affiliation:
Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1RX, UK
*
* Contact for correspondence and requests for reprints: nicola.rooney@bristol.ac.uk
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

In the UK, numerous pedigree dogs of many breeds experience compromised welfare due to the direct and indirect effects of selective breeding. Many breeds are selected to have physical conformations which, although perceived by some to be desirable, have direct negative effects upon their welfare. Dogs are regularly bred whose heads are too large and pelvises too small to birth naturally or whose faces are so flat that they are unable to breathe or exercise normally. There are also many indirect effects of selective breeding for appearance, including significantly elevated prevalence of specific diseases within particular breeds. Current breeding practices can therefore result in unnecessary suffering due to pain, disability, disease and behavioural problems. In this paper, we summarise and review the current scientific evidence for such suffering, and difficulties associated with assessing the impact of current breeding practices. Limited record-keeping, lack of transparency in the breeding and showing world, and the absence of sufficient research, mean that the full extent of the problem is difficult to assess. Furthermore, the collection of data is currently unsystematic, and although there are specific case studies of individual breeds and particular disorders, relatively few have been conducted in the UK. Individual breeds each suffer from their own array of problems, so each breed's survival and improvement (in terms of health and welfare) is likely to require a different specific course of action. With 209 breeds currently registered in the UK, this makes the situation complex. We collate and present a range of suggestions which may help to improve pedigree dog welfare significantly, and prioritise these based on expert opinion.

Keywords

animal welfaredog breedsdomestic dogsexaggerated featuresinbreedingrecommendations

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Arman, K 2007 Animal welfare bien-etres des animaux, A new direction for kennel club regulations and breed standards. Canadian Veterinary Journal 48: 953–965Google Scholar
BBC 2008 BBC One Reveals Shocking Truth About Pedigree Dog Breeding in UK. http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2008/08_august/19/dogs.shtml. (Accessed on 28/06/09)Google Scholar
Bedford, PG 1998 Collie eye anomaly in the Lancashire heeler. The Veterinary Record 143(13): 354–356CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bradshaw, JWS and Casey, RA 2005 Anthropomorphism and anthropocentrism as influences in the quality of life of companion animals. Animal Welfare 16: S149–S154Google Scholar
Breit, S and Kunzel, W 2004 A morphometric investigation on breed-specific features affecting sagittal rotational and lateral bending mobility in the canine cervical spine (c3-c7). Anatomia, Histologia, Embryologia: Veterinary Medicine Series C33: 244–250CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brooks, M and Sargan, DR 2001 Genetic Aspects of Disease in Dogs. In: Ruvinsky, A and Sampson, J (eds) The Genetics of the Dog. CABI Publishing: Wallingford, UKGoogle Scholar
Calboli, FCF, Sampson, J, Fretwell, N and Balding, DJ 2008 Population structure and inbreeding from pedigree analysis of purebred dogs. Genetics 179(1): 593–601CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cattanach, B 1996 Genetics Can Be Fun. http://www.steynmere.com/ARTICLES1.htmlGoogle Scholar
Channel Four 2009 Jamie's Fowl Dinners. http://www.channel4.com/food/on-tv/jamie-oliver/jamies-fowl-dinners/Google Scholar
Companion Animal Welfare Council (CAWC) 2006 Breeding and Welfare in Companion Animals. The Companion Animal Welfare Council's Report on Welfare Aspects of Modifications, Through Selective Breeding or Biotechnological Methods, to the Form, Function or Behaviour of Companion Animals. http://www.cawc.org.uk/sites/default/files/CAWCModifications.pdfGoogle Scholar
Cruz, F, Vilà, C and Webster, MT 2008 The legacy of domestication: accumulation of deleterious mutations in the dog genome. Molecular Biology and Evolution 25(11): 2331–2336Google ScholarPubMed
Dalmatian Club of America 2007 Independent Scientific Review, Dalmatian Urinary Uric Acid Assessment. Backcross Dalmatian Project. http://www.thedca.org/backcrossreview.htmlGoogle Scholar
Demko, J and McLaughlin, R 2005 Developmental orthopedic disease. Veterinary Clinics of North America: Small Animal Practice 35(5): 1111–1135CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Egenvall, A, Bonnett, BN, Shoukri, M, Olson, P, Hedhammar, A and Dohoo, I 2000 Age pattern of mortality in eight breeds of insured dogs in Sweden. Preventive Veterinary Medicine 46: 1–14CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ekman, S and Carlson, CS 1998 The pathophysiology of osteochondrosis. Veterinary Clinics of North America: Small Animal Practice 28(1): 17–32CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fall, T, Hamlin, HH, Hedhammar, A, Kämpe, O and Egenvall, A 2007 Diabetes mellitus in a population of 180,000 insured dogs: Incidence, survival, and breed distribution. Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine 21: 1209–1216CrossRefGoogle Scholar
FAWC (Farm Animal Welfare Council) 1992 FAWC updates the five freedoms. The Veterinary Record 13: 357Google Scholar
Fossum, TW 2002 Surgical management of tracheal collapse. Proceedings of the 27th World Congress of the World Small Animal Veterinary Association. www.vin.com/proceedings/Proceedings.plx?CID=WSAVA2002&PID=2695Google Scholar
Gelatt, KN and MacKay, EO 2004 Prevalence of the breed-related glaucomas in pure-bred dogs in North America Veterinary Ophthalmology 7(2): 97–111Google Scholar
Gough, A and Thomas, A 2004 Breed Predispositions to Disease in Dogs and Cats. Blackwell Publishing: Oxford, UKCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Johnson, L 2000 Tracheal collapse. Diagnosis and medical and surgical treatment. Veterinary Clinics of North America: Small Animal Practice 30(6): 1253–1266CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jones, P, Chase, K, Martin, A, Davern, P, Ostrander, EA and Lark, KG 2008 Single-nucleotide-polymorphism-based association mapping of dog stereotypes. Genetics 179(2): 1033–1044CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
K9 Magazine 2007 British Dogs Cost Owners £145 billion. K9 Magazine & K9 Media Ltd. http://k9magazine.com/viewarticle.php?sid=15&aid=1100&vid=0&page=1&stext=churchillGoogle Scholar
Kennedy, LJ, Davison, LJ, Barnes, A, Short, AD, Fretwell, N, Jones, CA, Lee, AC, Ollier, WE and Catchpole, B 2006 Identification of susceptibility and protective major histocompatibility complex haplotypes in canine diabetes mellitus. Tissue Antigens 68(6): 467–476Google ScholarPubMed
Kienle, RD, Thomas, WP and Pion, PD 1994 The natural clinical history of canine congenital subaortic stenosis. Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine 8: 423–431Google ScholarPubMed
Lindblad-Toh, K, Wade, CM, Mikkelsen, TS, Karlsson, EK, Jaffe, DB, Kamal, M, Clamp, M, Chang, JL, Kulbokas, EJ, Zody, MC, Mauceli, E, Xie, XH, Breen, M, Wayne, RK, Ostrander, EA, Ponting, CP, Galibert, F, Smith, DR, de Jong, PJ, Kirkness, E, Alvarez, P, Biagi, T, Brockman, W, Butler, J, Chin, CW, Cook, A, Cuff, J, Daly, MJ, DeCaprio, D, Gnerre, S, Grabherr, M, Kellis, M, Kleber, M, Bardeleben, C, Goodstadt, L, Heger, A, Hitte, C, Kim, L, Koepfli, KP, Parker, HG, Pollinger, JP, Searle, SMJ, Sutter, NB, Thomas, R, Webber, C and Lander, ES 2005 Genome sequence, comparative analysis and haplotype structure of the domestic dog. Nature 438: 803–819CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McGreevy, PD 2007 Breeding for quality of life. Animal Welfare 16: S125–S128Google Scholar
McGreevy, PD and Nicholas, FW 1999 Some practical solutions to welfare problems in dog Breeding. Animal Welfare 8: 329–341Google Scholar
Miklósi, A 2007 Dog Behaviour, Evolution, and Cognition. Oxford University Press: Oxford, UKCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Monnet, E 2003 Gastric dilatation-volvulus syndrome in dogs. Veterinary Clinics of North America: Small Animal Practice 33(5): 987–1005Google ScholarPubMed
Monnet, E 2004 Brachycephalic Airway Syndrome. Proceedings of the 29th World Congress of the World Small Animal Veterinary Association. www.vin.com/proceedings/Proceedings.plx?CID=WSAVA2004&PID=8768&O=GenericGoogle Scholar
Patronek, GJ, Waters, DJ and Glickman, LT 1997 Comparative longevity of pet dogs and humans: Implications for gerontology research. Journal of Gerontology Series 52(3): B171–B178CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
PFMA (Pet Food Manufacturer's Association) 2009 Pet Population Figures 09. http://www.pfma.org.uk/overall/pet-statistics.htmGoogle Scholar
Rooney, NJ 2009 The welfare of pedigree dogs: Cause for concern. Journal of Veterinary Behavior: Clinical Applications and Research 4(5): 180–186Google Scholar
Rooney, NJ and Bradshaw, JWS 2004 Breed and sex differences in the behaviour of specialist search dogs: a questionnaire survey of trainers and handlers. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 86(1-2): 123–135CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rooney, NJ and Sargan, D 2009 Pedigree Dog Breeding in the UK: a Major Welfare Concern? An Independent Scientific Report Commissioned by the RSPCA http://www.rspca.org.uk/servlet/Satellite?blobcol=url-blob&blobheader=application%2Fpdf&blobkey=id&blobtable=RSPCABlob&blobwhere=1233061353142&ssbinary=true&Content-Type=application/pdfGoogle Scholar
Salmon Hillbertz, NHCS, Isaksson, M, Karlsson, EK, Hellmé, E, Pielberg, GR, Savolainen, P, Wade, CM, von Euler, H, Gustafson, U, Hedhammar, A, Nilsson, M, Lindblad-Toh, K, Andersson, L and Andersson, G 2007 Duplication of FGF3, FGF4, FGFI9 and ORAOV1 causes hair ridge and predisposition to dermoid sinus in Ridgeback dogs. Nature Genetics 39: 1318–1320Google ScholarPubMed
Sargan, DR 2004 IDID: Inherited diseases in dogs: web-based information for canine inherited disease genetics. Mammalian Genome 15(6): 503–506CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sargan, DR and Rooney, NJ Genetic health in pedigree dogs: How much of a problem? Biological Reviews, in prepGoogle Scholar
Smith, CW and Stowater, JL 1975 Osteochondrosis of the canine shoulder joint: a review of 35 cases. Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association 9: 658–662Google Scholar
The Kennel Club 1998 The Kennel Club's Illustrated Breed Standards: The Official Guide to Registered Breeds. Ebury Press: London, UKGoogle Scholar
The Kennel Club 2006 Individual Breed Results for Purebred Dog Health Survey. http://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/item/570Google Scholar
The Kennel Club 2009a Annual Report 2008/2009. The Kennel Club: Aylesbury, Bucks, UKGoogle Scholar
The Kennel Club 2009b Kennel Club Announces Healthy New Year Regulations for Pedigree Dogs. http://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/item/2234/23/5/3Google Scholar
Willis, MB 1995 Genetic aspects of dog behaviour with particular reference to working ability. In: Serpell, JA (ed) The Domestic Dog: its Evolution, Behaviour and Interactions with People pp 59. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, UKGoogle Scholar