Breeds & registries
Brachycephalic
Short-headed — a skull bred shorter front to back, producing the flat face of Pugs, French Bulldogs and Persians.
The word is a shape description, sitting at one end of a scale with mesocephalic in the middle and the long-nosed dolichocephalic breeds at the other. It refers only to the proportions of the skull, and it applies to cats as much as to dogs.
The shape brings a cluster of consequences that follow from geometry rather than bad luck: an obstructed airway, crowded teeth, eyes that sit proud in shallow sockets, skin folds that trap moisture, and puppies too broad-headed to be born without a caesarean. Vets can now grade the airway consequences objectively, which is turning the argument from aesthetics into measurement.
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FCIThe international federation of national kennel clubs, which recognises breeds, sorts them into ten groups and lets each breed's country of origin write its standard.AKCThe main US registry, which keeps its own studbook, recognises a shorter list of breeds than the FCI and sorts them into seven groups.Breed standardThe written description a registry holds for a breed — proportions, coat, movement, temperament — and the document judges score against in the ring.MerleA coat pattern that dilutes patches of pigment into a mottled marbling — and a gene with real consequences when two merles are bred together.PedigreeA registered record of an animal's ancestors — a family tree issued by a registry, not a guarantee of health or quality.OutcrossingBringing in unrelated animals — sometimes from another breed entirely — to widen a gene pool that has become too narrow to breed out of.