FAQs about the Standard
Q1. As a breeder, why should I comply with this Standard?
A. This Standard sets out in one place, simply and clearly, both the standards you should meet if you wish to provide good standards of health and welfare for all your dogs, and advice on how to meet the standard. By complying with the Standard you will therefore be secure in the knowledge that you are providing the best possible conditions for both adult dogs and puppies.
Moreover, as a good breeder, it is in your interest to encourage purchasers to be careful and very selective about where they buy. Compliance with this Standard is a good way of demonstrating you are a good breeder. The Advisory Council, and other animal welfare bodies, advises potential purchasers to be very careful to buy only from such a breeder. None of us with the welfare of dogs at heart wish to encourage people to buy from negligent or careless breeders.
Q2. As a potential purchaser, why is this Standard important to me?
A. If you wish to buy a puppy that is fit, healthy, well socialised and likely to make a good pet it is vital you buy from a good breeder. How the puppy has been bred and reared in its first few weeks will have a far-reaching effect on its future with you as a pet. If you find a breeder that can demonstrate they meet this Standard, you have found one who is doing their best for their dogs and has their dog’s welfare at heart.
If you buy a puppy or an adult dog from a breeder or supplier who disregards basic standards of health and welfare, you are not only contributing to the problem - you have become part of it. Even though you may be buying a puppy with the best of intentions, all you will be doing is helping the breeder or supplier to stay in business and thereby to allow them to perpetuate the unnecessary suffering of dogs bred simply for profit, without proper care and attention to their health and welfare. If there is no market for their puppies, they will stop selling them.
Q3. I don’t want a pedigree dog. I just want a cross-bred or designer dog or a “mutt”. Is this Standard relevant to me?
A. All dogs should be bred to a standard that ensures good health and welfare for both parents and all puppies. This applies whatever the type of dog. All dogs deserve to be treated with kindness and care taken in how they are bred and reared.
Q4. Why do we need a Council Standard? The Kennel Club Assured Breeder Scheme (ABS) has been around for a long time and is well respected.
A. The Assured Breeder Scheme has had uptake only from breeders of KC registrable dogs - roughly 30% of the dogs in the UK. Our aim is to provide a Standard that protects all dogs.
Furthermore, when Professor Sir Patrick Bateson reported in 2010 he reviewed the Kennel Club scheme and concluded that, although it was the best scheme around, it did not fully meet all the criteria he considered necessary for a robust welfare standard. The Council agrees with his view. Moreover, the Kennel Club themselves have carried out an analysis of the gap between the Council Standard and the Assured Breeder Scheme that has confirmed substantial differences. We will continue to discuss with the Kennel Club how their Assured Breeder Scheme might deliver against the Council Standard, for it is clear that a unified scheme would be desirable.
Further documentation and the breed standard can be found at http://www.dogadvisorycouncil.com/resources/breeding-standard-final.pdf