For a while now, concern about the health and welfare of certain dog breeds has been growing. In particular, the ill health and breathing issues of flat-faced (brachycephalic) dogs have been described as an animal welfare crisis. But some of these breeds are commonly used in advertising and other public communications materials—and that’s a problem, according to the International Collaborative on Extreme Conformation in Dogs (ICECDogs), who say it helps to popularize these breeds.

ICECDogs have just released new guidelines for advertising and social media that recommend avoiding the use of images or film of any dogs with an extreme physical appearance. The guidelines are aimed not just at advertising agencies but anyone who publishes images of dogs, including film companies, social media influencers, and greeting card manufacturers.

When we say that a dog’s conformation (or physical appearance) is extreme, it means that over time, selective breeding to create and maintain dog breeds has changed the dog’s appearance so that it has become very different from a more natural type of dog. Although dogs have lived with or around people for thousands of years, most dog breeds were created in the last 150 years, especially in Victorian England. These changes give each breed a distinctive appearance, but in some cases, unfortunately, the breed has ended up with an extreme look that is linked to health issues.

Some flat-faced dog breeds are very popular. The French Bulldog was the most popular dog breed in the United........

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