Beauty isn’t even skin deep: New study from the 91°µÍø finds that flat-faced dogs are at the highest risk of skin fold dermatitis
New research from the 91°µÍø (91°µÍø) has found that some popular flat-faced dog breeds, including the English Bulldog, French Bulldog and Pug, are at the highest risk of skin fold dermatitis – a painful skin condition. The study highlights that although folded skin on dogs may seem ‘cute’ to many humans, it can have high health and welfare implications for affected breeds.
Skin fold dermatitis is caused by friction, excessive moisture and lack of ventilation deep in folds of skin. It ranges from reddened to infected and ulcerated skin that has a bad smell and often results in pain throughout a dog’s life. The impact of the condition on canine welfare has risen over the past decade due to dramatically rising worldwide popularity of some flat-faced dog breeds (which often exhibit deep facial folds). Other factors such as obesity and chronic skin disease can also predispose to skin fold dermatitis.
The study, by the 91°µÍø’s VetCompass Programme, included more than 900,000 dogs from the general pet dog population under veterinary care in the UK. Anonymised veterinary clinical records were searched for diagnoses of skin fold dermatitis within a single year. The results showed that a formal diagnosis of skin fold dermatitis was recorded in one in 300 of all dogs each year (0.37% of dogs diagnosed annually). However, certain breeds showed much higher levels of the condition.
The study found that the breeds with the highest proportion of skin fold dermatitis diagnoses each year were English Bulldog (6.1%); French Bulldog (2.7%) and Pug (2.1%). Overall, 1.0% of all flat-faced (brachycephalic) dogs were affected compared to just 0.3% of dogs with the typical medium-length skull. Breeds that typically show pronounced skin folds on the face or body were between 11-49 times more likely to suffer from the condition than crossbreed dogs. Purebred dogs had an increased risk (x2.5) of skin fold dermatitis compared to crossbred dogs.
The most common locations on the dog’s body for skin fold dermatitis were the lip (36.8%); facial folds (22.0%); vulva (14.2%); nasal fold (9%); tail (5.8%) and periocular fold (surrounding the eyeball) (3.5%); and the most common clinical signs recorded were reddened skin (34.2%), inflammation (24.2%), moistness (20.6%), malodour (18.6%) and pain (18.0%).
Additional key findings include:
- The breeds with the highest percentage of dogs affected with skin fold dermatitis were English Bulldog (6.1%), French Bulldog (2.7%), Pug (2.1%), Basset Hound (2.0%), Cocker Spaniel (1.3%), Shar-Pei (0.9%), Cavalier King Charles Spaniel (0.9%) and Boxer (0.9%).
- The breeds with the highest predisposition (compared to cross bred dogs) for skin fold dermatitis were English Bulldog (x49.1 times risk), French Bulldog (x25.9), Pug (x16.3), Basset Hound (x10.7), Cocker Spaniel (x7.5), Shar Pei (x6.4), Boxer (x4.6) and Cavalier King Charles Spaniel (x4.5).
- The most protected breeds that had at least one case of skin fold dermatitis were Yorkshire Terrier (x0.1), Border Collie (x0.3) Jack Russell Terrier (x0.5) and Labrador Retriever (0.6).
- The three breeds with extreme flat faces (brachycephaly) (English Bulldog, French Bulldog and Pug) showed high levels of facial, nasal, and periocular locations. In contrast, the lips were the dominant location in the spaniel breeds (Cocker Spaniel and Cavalier King Charles Spaniel) and the West Highland White Terrier.
- The risk of diagnosis with skin fold dermatitis rose as dogs aged.
- Pain was recorded in nearly one in five dogs that had a record of clinical signs of skin fold dermatitis.
Dr Dan O’Neill, lead author of the paper and Associate Professor in Companion Animal Epidemiology at the 91°µÍø said:
“As humans, we hold the power to ensure that ev