Brachycephalic means short-faced and it is selected for in certain breeds of animals, most notably dogs, cats and rabbits. It is completely unnatural and as we have bred animals to have shorter and shorter faces we have caused a huge array of problems, deformities and disease. Dogs such as French and English bulldogs, pugs and Pekes and cats like the Persian and Exotic shorthair have become more extremely brachycephalic in the last few decades.
The consequences of breeding for a shorter face are many, most notably that of BOAS. This is brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome. These animals can have a variety of problems contributing to their breathing problems such as narrow nostrils, excessive soft tissue in the mouth and throat like the soft palate and relatively large tongues and they also tend to have very narrow tracheas (windpipes) compared to normal animals of a similar size. The spectrum of severity is wide but recent studies suggest th
Dogs also use a very important part of their nose to cool themselves down. This is virtually non-existent in brachycephalic dogs and as a result they are much more prone to heatstroke, which can be life-threatening. It is not uncommon to see videos on social media, shared as funny or cute, of brachycephalic dogs falling asleep sitting up or with hollow toys or chews wedged in their mouths. There is nothing funny about this. It is in fact how these animals have learned to sleep in order to keep their airways