Three Things to Know
The British Veterinary Association and other organizations have proposed pre-purchase consultations (PPCs) as a means to discourage potential dog owners from acquiring brachycephalic breeds. However, offering and uptake rates remain low. This study investigated veterinarian attitudes towards PPCs, revealing several key challenges.
Many veterinarians are constrained by practical concerns, including time and staffing shortages, as well as the financial implications of addressing brachycephalic breed-related issues. Furthermore, they fear jeopardizing client relationships by sharing potentially unwelcome information about the health risks. Lastly, veterinarians hold diverse views on their responsibility to influence client choices and the extent of their influence.
Recognizing these challenges, researchers emphasized the need for alternative approaches. These include leveraging the skills of veterinary nurses, incorporating perspectives from former brachycephalic dog owners, and exploring the potential of online consultations. Additionally, the profession should establish clear ethical boundaries by collectively refusing to engage in practices that perpetuate the breeding of brachycephalic dogs.
For Dog Welfare Practitioners:
This research underscores the complexities faced by dog welfare advocates. While the concept of pre-purchase consultations (PPCs) is sound, its implementation is hindered by significant barriers. Veterinarians often hesitate to implement PPCs due to resource constraints and concerns about jeopardizing client relationships.
A critical issue highlighted by this research, and echoed by other studies on humane training methods, is the lack of a unified voice and approach within the dog welfare sector. In the case of brachycephalic dogs, veterinarians struggle to identify a single, credible source of information outlining the concerns associated with acquiring these breeds.
While the effectiveness of consortiums and professional associations may be debated, they bear the responsibility of reforming PPCs to enhance their success. These organizations must also play a crucial role in establishing single sources of truth that can serve as authoritative guides for dog welfare advocates.
The Full Picture
The rising global population of brachycephalic dogs presents significant health and welfare challenges. These breeds suffer from numerous “man-made” health problems stemming from extreme physical traits, driven by breeding practices, societal demand, and even veterinary interventions like caesarean sections that inadvertently support these breeds. In fact, tackling unethical breeders who continue to introduce these breeds to the market was identified as a top priority by UK dog welfare advocates.
Veterinarians face increasing caseloads, ethical dilemmas treating these dogs, and moral distress when confronted with emotionally attached owners. Pre-purchase consultations (PPCs) have been suggested as a tool to influence prospective owners’ decisions. Through PPCs, veterinarians have the opportunities to raise awareness about brachycephalic health problems and discourage acquisition of these breeds. However, PPCs are underutilized, with few veterinary practices offering them and limited owner uptake.
This study, titled “‘All I do is fight fires’: Qualitative exploration of UK veterinarians’ attitudes towards and experiences of pre-purchase consultations regarding brachycephalic dogs”, explores UK veterinarians’ attitudes and experiences with pre-purchase consultations (PPCs) for brachycephalic dogs.
Study Methods
This qualitative study explored UK veterinarians’ attitudes and experiences with pre-purchase consultations (PPCs) for brachycephalic dogs. The researchers conducted semi-structured interviews conducted online between March and May 2022 with small animal veterinarians recruited via social media, primarily Facebook.
Study Results
Thirteen veterinarians participated in this study, all from different practices across the UK. All participants were female, with post-qualification experience ranging from 6 months to 26 years. Twelve worked exclusively with small animals, and one was in mixed practice.
Five key themes emerged from the interviews:
Theme 1: Barriers Created By the UK General Practice
Challenges faced by the veterinary workforce in the UK, driven by the loss of EU veterinarians due to Brexit and compounded by the increase in “Pandemic Puppy” clients, are well-documented. Time constraints and limited staff posed practical obstacles, discouraging non-urgent welfare activities like PPCs. As brachycephalic breeds also represent a significant revenue source due to their frequent health issues, some participants felt that management might not support PPCs.
Moreover, the emotionally demanding nature of veterinary practice, including dealing with euthanasia and communicating difficult diagnoses, left veterinarians feeling drained and ill-equipped to engage in complex PPC discussions. These findings highlight the interplay of systemic, emotional, and practical factors that influence veterinarians’ ability to engage in PPCs.
Theme 2: The Veterinarian-Client Relationship
Veterinarians felt constrained by the quality of their client relationships, limiting their ability to engage in pre-purchase consultations (PPCs) for brachycephalic dogs. A key challenge was client perception, with many viewing veterinarians as problem-solvers for existing issues rather than proactive advisors. This, coupled with a general lack of understanding of the value of pre-purchase veterinary advice, limited client engagement.
Furthermore, public distrust of the veterinary profession, characterized by concerns about profit-driven motives, hindered effective communication. Veterinarians also recognized the risk of damaging their client relationships by offering advice that might not align with clients’ preferences. This delicate balance between providing honest guidance and maintaining client trust presented a significant obstacle to successful pre-purchase consultations.
Theme 3: Responsibility
Veterinarians held diverse views on their responsibility to influence client decisions regarding brachycephalic dog purchases. Some felt a strong moral obligation to educate clients, citing the ethical implications of breeding and owning these dogs. However, others argued that this responsibility should be shared with other influential parties, such as breeders, The Kennel Club, and celebrities.
The veterinarians argued that celebrities and social media influencers often hold greater sway over client behaviors. In addition, clients often trusted breeders more than veterinarians when choosing a breed, even if many breeding practices are unethical and questionable. Overall, the veterinarians surveyed felt their ability to impact public opinion was limited. These factors contributed to varying levels of engagement in pre-purchase consultations and differing levels of moral distress among veterinarians.
Theme 4: Autonomy
Veterinarians held diverse views on the balance between client autonomy and their role in influencing breed choices. Some emphasized client autonomy, focusing on providing information about breed-related health issues to empower informed decision-making. Others believed clients should be responsible for conducting their own research. Professional autonomy also varied significantly, with some veterinarians experiencing tension between their professional obligations and personal beliefs. Factors such as business needs and the pressure to treat breed-related illnesses often limited their ability to address root causes, leading to frustration and dissatisfaction. This disconnect between personal convictions and professional actions contributed to feelings of distress and dissatisfaction among many veterinarians.
Theme 5: Perceived Outcome as a Barrier to Engagement
Veterinarians often perceived PPCs with prospective brachycephalic dog owners to be ineffective, leading many to avoid these discussions. Clients determined to acquire these breeds often displayed selective ignorance. Others acted defensively, especially when veterinarians implied they might struggle to meet the needs of these high-maintenance breeds. The fear of negative consequences, such as client conflict or harm to practice profitability, deterred many veterinarians from adopting a direct approach during PPCs.
Implications and Considerations
Despite recommendations from major veterinary bodies like the British Veterinary Association (BVA) to provide pre-purchase consultations (PPCs) for improved animal welfare, several structural and perceptual barriers hinder veterinarians’ ability to effectively address both immediate clinical needs and broader welfare concerns related to brachycephalic breeds.
These challenges have shifted many veterinarians towards a reactive approach, prioritizing immediate clinical needs over preventive strategies. Solely relying on veterinarians during consultations risks overburdening practices, straining veterinarian-client relationships, and potentially exacerbating the mental health crisis already prevalent in the veterinary field.
A Better PPC Approach
To mitigate these challenges, leveraging the skills of veterinary nurses presents a promising solution. Often perceived as approachable intermediaries, veterinary nurses can foster effective communication and address client concerns more comfortably than veterinarians. Delegating PPC responsibilities to veterinary nurses could alleviate pressure on veterinarians and improve client engagement. However, with shortages of qualified veterinary nurses in the UK, this approach cannot be the sole solution, as it risks redistributing the workload imbalance without addressing underlying systemic issues.
Alternative strategies, such as offering online consultation services, may also help overcome barriers like limited appointment availability and client scheduling conflicts. While online consultations currently face low demand, enhanced marketing and promotion — particularly by larger veterinary organizations — could increase their uptake. These efforts could shift public perception of veterinary services from emergency responders to proactive advisors on pet acquisition and preventive health, ultimately improving outcomes for both clients and animal welfare.
Creating A Collective Front
For a wider impact, profession-wide collective actions and consistent messaging are crucial. Consensus on contentious issues, such as reproductive interventions, conformation assessments, and breeding reforms, is essential to establish unified positions and support legal measures like breed bans or restrictions on extreme conformations. While individual autonomy remains important, inconsistent advice undermines the profession’s credibility. Consensus-based advocacy can improve staff morale, especially among recent graduates who might lack confidence or organizational backing.
Educational initiatives, such as BVA’s “Breed to Breathe” campaign, can reinforce the profession’s welfare ethos. Creating a centralized, evidence-based website with client-friendly resources could guide owners to reliable information, reducing misinformation. Furthermore, incorporating messaging from alternative stakeholders, like former brachycephalic dog owners, may build trust.
Beyond education, actions such as refusing to engage in practices that perpetuate brachycephalic breeding could signal clear ethical boundaries for the profession. However, veterinarians themselves may avoid uncomfortable conversations due to their own biases or perceived futility, highlighting the need for further research on how to identify demographics that may be more open to advice.
The role of other stakeholders, such as The Kennel Club and social media influencers, in perpetuating the brachycephalic crisis cannot be ignored. These groups, with financial incentives tied to the popularity of extreme breeds, exert significant influence on public attitudes. For meaningful change, the veterinary profession must collaborate with these groups to challenge the normalization of breeding dogs with known health problems. These efforts should complement individual actions like PPCs and contribute to a broader societal shift in attitudes.
Conclusion
UK veterinarians face significant barriers — including time constraints, staff shortages, perceived futility of PPCs, and public distrust — hindering their ability to offer brachycephalic pre-purchase consultations (PPCs). These barriers, often intractable at the individual level, lead to moral distress, compromising professional integrity. Stronger leadership from the RCVS, BVA, and corporates is urgently needed to address these challenges. This requires collective action from the profession, going beyond education, applying pressure on other stakeholders, and using more practical solutions to deliver PPCs more readily.
Miscellaneous
Data From Study:
–
Year of Publication:
2024
External Link:
Pound L, Farrow M, O’Neill D, Deane DJ, Packer RMA. ‘All I do is fight fires’: Qualitative exploration of UK veterinarians’ attitudes towards and experiences of pre-purchase consultations regarding brachycephalic dogs. Vet Rec. 2024;e3897. https://doi.org/10.1002/vetr.3897