The British Bulldog Health Program Built on DNA, Not Promises
Most breeders will tell you they have healthy British Bulldogs.
They believed it when they said it.
They were also wrong — not because they were dishonest, but because for decades, the science to prove it didn't exist. Breeders looked at a dog that breathed, moved, and passed a vet check and called it healthy. That was the best anyone could do.
In 2019, the picture changed. A gene called ADAMTS3 was identified as a primary contributor to airway oedema in British Bulldogs. For the first time, breeders could look at a specific, testable variant relevant to airway health — not just how a dog appeared, but a documented copy number that informs what may be passed to the next generation.
Most breeders heard about this. Some even got the test.
Then they kept breeding the same way.
Hollywood Bulldogs AUS didn't.
The gene that was shaping your dog's airways before either of you were born
ADAMTS3 is a gene. When a British Bulldog carries certain variants of it, it produces a protein that causes airway tissue to swell. That swelling — called airway oedema — is one of the primary contributors to BOAS (Brachycephalic Obstructive Airway Syndrome), the condition responsible for the breathing difficulties that define the worst outcomes in this breed.
This gene was identified by Hédan et al. in 2019. Before that paper, no test existed. No breeder on earth — no matter how experienced, no matter how good their vet — could see it. After 2019, every breeder could.
The ones who chose not to look are still choosing not to look.
Approximately 98% of British Bulldogs carry at least one copy of the risk variant. That means the overwhelming majority of dogs currently being bred carry genetics that increase the risk of airway oedema in their offspring.
If your previous British Bulldog struggled to breathe — struggled in the heat, snored through every night, needed surgery you didn't budget for — there is a strong likelihood this gene was part of why. Not bad luck. Not poor care on your part. Genetics that nobody tested for, because nobody made them.
Every British Bulldog is dealt one of three genetic hands. Here's what each one means for your dog.
ADAMTS3 operates on a simple copy model. Every dog carries 0, 1, or 2 copies of the risk variant. That number determines the level of ADAMTS3-driven airway risk your dog carries — and passes on to every puppy it produces.
Your dog carries two copies of the ADAMTS3 risk variant. ADAMTS3-driven airway oedema risk is at its highest. This is the outcome seen in the vast majority of the breed. It is also the one most breeders have never tested for and cannot see.
Your dog carries one copy. ADAMTS3-driven airway risk is significantly reduced compared to 2-copy dogs. Breeding a 1-copy dog to a 0-copy dog produces offspring that can be 0-copy — this is how a program advances the breed one generation at a time.
Your dog carries zero copies of the ADAMTS3 risk variant. There is no ADAMTS3-driven airway oedema. BOAS risk is minimised as far as current science allows. You have done everything that genetic testing can currently do to protect your dog's airways.
This is not a guarantee against all breathing difficulty — BOAS has multiple contributors. But the ADAMTS3 driver has been removed. That matters. That is the difference between a dog bred with the best available science and one that wasn't.
There is one program in Australia that can prove all of this. One.
Hollywood Bulldogs AUS holds Australia's largest collection of ADAMTS3-tested 0-copy and 1-copy British Bulldogs.
The program documented Australia's first 0-copy British Bulldog males.
This is not a claim we make on our own authority. It is verified through the MDBA (Master Dog Breeders and Associates) Breeding for Health Genetic Action Plan — an external framework that holds breeding programs to an independently assessed standard. When the MDBA endorses a program, it means the testing is real, the records are documented, and the claims have been evaluated by someone other than us.
We didn't build this program to look good. We built it because once we saw what was in the DNA, we couldn't unsee it.
Every other breeder will show you a dog that looks healthy. We show you what the DNA says — because that's what your dog inherits.
Here is the distinction that matters most.
When a breeder tells you their dogs are healthy because a vet has examined them, because they look good, because they breathe well on the day you visit — they are giving you phenotypic evaluation. Assessment based on how the dog appears at that moment.
Phenotypic evaluation doesn't necessarily pass to progeny.
A dog can look healthy, breathe well, and produce offspring with severe airway oedema. Because what passes to the next generation is the DNA — not the appearance. Not the vet check result. Not the breeder's honest belief about the dog in front of them.
DNA always passes to progeny. Every time. Without exception.
This is why we test. Not because we distrust our dogs. Because we don't trust appearance to tell us what the genetics will do to your dog's offspring, or to the litter after that.
For reproductive procedures we engage reproductive veterinarians rather than general practice vets, and we seek professional veterinary advice where it is relevant to a specific decision. We use the best available equipment. And we continuously educate ourselves on the latest brachycephalic breeding science, because this field is still developing and what was considered best practice three years ago may already have been superseded.
The breed is improving because some people decided to stop guessing.
The DNA panel behind every Hollywood Bulldogs AUS litter
Every breeding dog in our program is tested across a 6-panel DNA evaluation. This goes beyond ADAMTS3. It covers the full genetic picture of what your dog will inherit.
Every dog in our program is tested before breeding. Results are documented. Pairings are planned around the outcomes — not around what looks good, sells well, or is fashionable this season.
You don't have to take our word for any of this. You shouldn't.
We are aware that "our dogs are healthy" is the single most repeated claim in British Bulldog breeding. Every breeder says it. Most believe it. The words have been drained of meaning because they have never been required to mean anything provable.
This is precisely why we built this program — and why we sought external validation rather than simply announcing our own credentials.
The MDBA Breeding for Health Genetic Action Plan exists because self-assessment is not a standard. When an independent body evaluates and endorses a breeding program — when specialist reproduction vets assess the animals, the records, and the protocols — that endorsement carries weight that no breeder's words can replicate.
Our program is backed by the MDBA. Our testing is real and documented. Australia's first documented 0-copy British Bulldog males were recorded externally, not announced by us.
We are not asking you to trust us. We are asking you to look at what sits behind our claims — and compare it with what sits behind every other claim in this industry.
You will find a gap.
If you're a breeder who wants to be part of what comes next — this is where that starts.
The British Bulldog is a breed in a health crisis. That is not an opinion. It is the reason this program exists.
That crisis will not be resolved by breeders who sell colour and exaggerated features to buyers who don't ask the right questions. It will not be resolved by programs built on good intentions and a single vet check.
It will be resolved by breeders who decide that each litter should be genetically better than the last. Who understand that DNA evaluation is not optional if you're serious about what you're producing. Who want their program to be something they can defend with evidence — not just belief.
Hollywood Bulldogs AUS is building something. A standard. A documented, externally validated framework for British Bulldog breeding that advances the health of the breed with every generation.
If you are a new breeder — or an existing breeder who has watched this industry and felt that something has to change — we want to hear from you.
This is not for everyone. It is not for breeders whose primary interest is producing the most in-demand colour or the widest wrinkle for buyers who won't ask questions. It is not for breeders who aren't willing to invest in the science, the testing, and the ongoing education this approach requires.
But if you understand why the breed is where it is — and you want to be part of changing it — the conversation starts here.
The families who find us say the same thing.
They wish they'd found us before their last British Bulldog.
Not because of how our dogs look. Because of how they breathe. Because of how they sleep through a Queensland summer without struggling. Because they made it to ten years without the surgeries, the vet bills, the grief that comes from watching a dog you love fight for air.
If you're here because you've been through that — we understand more than you know. This program exists because we weren't willing to be part of that outcome again.
If you're here because you want to get it right the first time — this is where that decision begins.
Frequently Asked Questions
Research & References
- Hédan, B., et al. (2019). Identification of a genetic variant associated with respiratory syndrome in brachycephalic breeds. PLOS Genetics.
- MDBA Breeding for Health Genetic Action Plan. Master Dog Breeders and Associates. mdba.com.au