With their huge eyes, large heads and tiny snub noses, the public perception of flat-faced dogs as “cute” and “infant-like” has driven demand over recent years.

Film, TV and the greetings card industries have long capitalised on this anthropomorphism, attracting criticism from animal welfare campaigners who highlight the painful health disorders experienced by the extreme conformation of short-muzzled or brachycephalic breeds such as the English bulldog, French bulldog and pug.

Now scientists have launched a toolkit to assess dogs on 10 traits, called the innate health assessment (IHA). Those passing eight of the criteria are judged acceptable for breeding. The list includes merle, or mottled colouration, wrinkly skin, bulging outward-turning eyes, drooping eyelids, under or overbite and a muzzle that allows easy breathing.

The scheme introduced by the all-party parliamentary group for animal welfare (APGAW) is voluntary and intended to breed out extreme deformities for all breeds.

According to the group, the IHA “marks the start of a breeding revolution”. The APGAW co-chair Prof Alexander Trees, a veterinary surgeon, said: “The fashion for extreme conformation is arguably the most chronic and prevalent welfare issue in dogs in the UK, yet it persists in plain sight in a nation of animal lovers.”

It is yet another valuable tool in the armoury of those fighting to phase out extreme breeding, and while ownership of brachycephalic breeds remains high internationally, the message may be getting through.

According to recent research by the Royal Veterinary College, a survey in the UK showed participants preferred less extreme body shapes. “This presents major welfare opportunities to reverse the current normalisation of extreme body shapes in some currently popular brachycephalic dog breeds,” the paper concluded.

Vicky Collins-Nattrass, the health coordinator at the Bulldog Breed Council for 15 years, said the IHA initiative was to be applauded, but questioned how it would influence the 70% of English bulldog breeders who were not registered with the Kennel Club.

The council had been educating on the health issues experienced by brachycephalic dogs with extreme conformation for years, she said. “In the show ring we want heads with not so much wrinkle. We don’t want the nose pushed in between the eyes. Or a noisy breathing dog. And we want tails.”

But the show world made up just 2% of bulldog owners in the country, she said. “Only 30% of all English bulldogs bred are registered at the Kennel Club. The other 70% are unregistered, or have made up their own registry. They have no idea about breed standards. They have realised how popular they are and use it financially.”

During Covid, when people were stuck at home and buying more dogs, “it was a free for all”, she said. “People were churning out puppies with different mixes, different colours, furry coats … and people wanted them because they were desirable and rare. But the problems they have are not rare, and the vets must be sick of seeing them. They are overdone, they’ve got too much of everything.

“How do you reach 70% of a dog population if they are not listed and no one knows who has got them?”

The Kennel Club supports the IHA in principle, but said: “We believe that for our pedigree breeder community, veterinary involvement is crucial to ensure a consistent and robust way of assessing conformation and recording data to help breeders demonstrate progress.

“We are therefore developing a robust nose-to-tail veterinary assessment, which builds on over a decade of prior work with breeders committed to ensuring a healthy future for dogs.”

It said it supported encouraging a healthy body shape in dogs but “we will not require owners or breeders to take part in this particular assessment”.