Eniko Kubinyi

1. Introduction The popularity of brachycephalic (short-nosed) dogs is steadily growing worldwide [1,2], despite serious health, welfare, and longevity issues, including upper respiratory diseases (e.g., brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome), allergies, and corneal ulceration [3,4]. Owners of these breeds are also highly likely to remain loyal to their breed (93.0%) and recommend them to others (65.5%) [5].

1. Introduction The popularity of brachycephalic (short-nosed) dogs is steadily growing worldwide [1,2], despite serious health, welfare, and longevity issues, including upper respiratory diseases (e.g., brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome), allergies, and corneal ulceration [3,4]. Owners of these breeds are also highly likely to remain loyal to their breed (93.0%) and recommend them to others (65.5%) [5].

Abstract Freezing behavior, characterised by attentive immobility as a reaction to a perceived threat, is widely studied in the context of fear, anxiety and stress. To uncover the genetic factors underlying this behavior, we conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) in kennel-housed beagle dogs. Our analysis identified a single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in intron 5 of the KCNQ3 gene on chromosome 13 associated with freezing behavior in response to unfamiliar environments and people.