The Brachycephalic Paradox: The Relationship Between Attitudes, Personality, Knowledge of Health Problems, and Dog-Human Eye Contact

Abstract

Brachycephalic, or “flat-faced” dogs are popular despite the health problems they often face. We assumed that individuals who like these dogs have lower knowledge about the associated health problems and a specific personality profile and highly value the tendency of these dogs to form eye contact with humans. We conducted an online survey with 1,156 respondents, and some of the results were contrary to our expectations. People with a positive attitude toward brachycephalism associated more health problems with it and did not prefer photos of dogs making eye contact (looking into the camera) over those looking away. They were also found to be younger, more often women, had children, had lower levels of education, and a higher level of agreeableness, conscientiousness, and dog-directed emotional empathy. The results suggest that the tendency of brachycephalic dogs to form eye contact does not play a role in their popularity and that high emotional empathy and knowledge about health problems do not discourage people from liking these dogs. Future research is necessary to examine how behaviours other than eye-contact contribute to the popularity of flat-faced dogs, as well as how owners’ sensitivity to fashion trends and their lack of recognition of the dogs’ health issues contribute.