Squashed-face dogs including pugs and French bulldogs are declining in popularity, data suggests, with experts hopeful the trend reflects a growing awareness of the health problems such breeds face.
According to breed registration statistics from the UK’s Royal Kennel Club (RKC), there were 1,400 registrations of French bulldogs in the first three months of 2026 – a 37% drop compared with the same period in 2025. Bulldog registrations dropped by 34% and pug registrations by 43%, with only 126 pugs registered in the first three months of 2026.
The recent declines appear to be part of a larger trend. Pug registrations fell from 10,408 in 2016 to 834 in 2025. French bulldog registrations fell to 7,750 in 2025 from a high of 54,074 in 2021.
The surge in popularity of flat-faced, or brachycephalic, breeds caused concerns among experts, and veterinary organisations and charities have run numerous campaigns to highlight the serious health issues such breeds are prone to as a result of their extreme body shapes. These range from skin disorders and eye ulcers to difficulties giving birth, spine abnormalities and breathing difficulties.
Prof Dan O’Neill, of the Royal Veterinary College, suggested the decline in registrations reflected an end to the demand for flat-faced dogs in the UK, noting that other data had indicated the public were moving heavily towards owning poodle-cross designer dogs.
“The British public are known as animal lovers and the new RKC breed data support this view,” he said. “After a decade of evidence generation and campaigning by the Royal Veterinary College along with the RKC, charities, veterinary organisations and many other welfare groups, to show the dramatically shortened lives and high health burden in dog breeds with extreme flat faces, the British public are now responding by rejecting ownership of these breeds, despite the dogs themselves often having lovely temperaments.
“As well as the unnecessary suffering often endured by the dogs themselves, issues such as high financial costs from their frequent health problems along with the human heartbreak and guilt from watching these extreme flat-faced dogs often gasp to breathe or die early are likely to contribute to reduced ownership demand.”
The RKC suggested the fall in registration figures reflected growing awareness about responsible breeding and ownership of such breeds.
Dr Elizabeth Mullineaux, a senior vice-president of the British Veterinary Association, welcomed the figures on flat-faced breeds. “We saw a huge explosion in the popularity of flat-faced dogs at the start of the last decade, fuelled largely by social media and celebrity influencers. These new figures are an encouraging sign that campaigns such as BVA’s #BreedToBreathe and collaborative work by the [Brachycephalic Working Group] are beginning to have a positive impact on demand,” she said.
“Of course, we know that there’s a large population of flat-faced dogs who aren’t Royal Kennel Club registered who’re being bred and bought across the UK, or being imported from abroad, so there’s still work to be done to tackle irresponsible breeding and to improve the overall welfare of these breeds. Our advice to anyone looking to get a puppy continues to be to prioritise health over looks.”
