That doesn't mean Flint's appearance alone proves superior health, nor does it establish that every conventionally built French Bulldog is unhealthy.
A photograph cannot diagnose BOAS.
It cannot reveal every genetic disorder.
It cannot replace veterinary examination, respiratory function testing, imaging or other appropriate health screening.
What the photograph can demonstrate is something much simpler:
Selective breeding can produce dramatically different physical forms within the same breed.
And breeders therefore have considerable influence over which traits become more common in future generations.
Health Testing Matters More Than Appearance Alone
Modern veterinary programs increasingly emphasize objective testing rather than assumptions based solely on what a dog looks like.
The University of Cambridge and The Kennel Club, for example, use a Respiratory Function Grading system to assess BOAS.
The assessment includes exercise because some dogs with moderate disease may appear relatively normal while resting.
Dogs are assigned grades based on their respiratory function. Grade 0 dogs are considered BOAS-free in the clinical grading system, while Grade I dogs are clinically unaffected but display mild respiratory signs. Grades II and III indicate clinically relevant BOAS of increasing severity.
This approach illustrates an important shift.
Instead of asking only:
“Does this dog look like the breed standard?”
responsible breeding programs increasingly need to ask:
Can this dog breathe normally?
Can it exercise comfortably?
Can it maintain a healthy body temperature?
Can it move freely?
Does it have structural abnormalities likely to affect its welfare?
And is it a suitable animal from which to produce the next generation?
The Kennel Club's current health guidance recommends BOAS respiratory function grading for French Bulldogs and also lists screening relating to hereditary cataracts, elbows, eyes and hips.
That is a much broader definition of breeding quality than appearance alone.
The Debate Is Changing
The conversation surrounding brachycephalic dogs has changed considerably in recent years.
Veterinary researchers, welfare organizations, kennel organizations, breed clubs and breeders do not necessarily agree on every proposed solution.
But there is growing recognition that exaggerated physical characteristics should not prevent a dog from performing basic biological functions comfortably.
The Kennel Club explicitly advises breeders to avoid producing exaggerated dogs when physical characteristics compromise normal abilities such as breathing, walking, seeing or hearing without discomfort.
Meanwhile, a collaborative Brachycephalic Working Group brings together organizations including The Kennel Club, British Veterinary Association, British Small Animal Veterinary Association, Dogs Trust, Royal Veterinary College, RSPCA and Cambridge University Department of Veterinary Medicine to address health and welfare concerns associated with flat-faced dogs.
Research is continuing as well.
In February 2026, Cambridge researchers reported work involving nearly 900 dogs that expanded understanding of BOAS beyond the breeds traditionally considered most vulnerable. Their findings reinforced the idea that respiratory risk depends on multiple interacting physical characteristics, including head shape, nostril narrowing, neck thickness and body weight.
In other words, canine health cannot be reduced to a single measurement.
But neither can extreme anatomy be dismissed as purely cosmetic.
Form and function are connected.