Scoring form for short-snouted dogs

The scoring form for short-snouted dogs in PetScan helps veterinarians check whether breeding animals meet the legally applicable standards according to six criteria. (English subtitles available)

Enforcement criteria

The breeding of companion animals is subject to laws and regulations designed to protect animal health and welfare. Short-snoutedness (brachycephaly) and breeding with short-snouted dogs often causes serious health problems. To address this problem, the Expertise Centre for Veterinary Genetics developed six criteria that a dog must meet as a minimum in order to minimise the risk of brachycephaly-related disorders in its offspring. This work was commissioned by the Dutch government.

Rapport on breeding with short-snouted dogs

Our report on breeding with short-snouted dogs (Fokken met kortsnuitige honden, in Dutch) lists six criteria that a dog must meet as a minimum in order to be used for breeding for the purpose of ensuring healthy skull conformation in offspring:

  1. No abnormal breathing sounds when the dog is at rest
  2. Sufficiently large nostrils
  3. A craniofacial ratio of at least 0.3 (ratio between nose length and skull length)
  4. No nose fold
  5. Limited visibility of the whites of the eyes
  6. Ability to close the eyes completely

In PetScan, these criteria can be scored immediately and the system will indicate whether the dog is safe to breed with.