Canine Health and Welfare the Future of our Purebred Dogs, our sports, Parent Clubs and the AKC Dr. Patricia Haines

Future of our purebred dogs and their sports depends on the continuation of our selective, purposeful and responsible breeding of our breeds.

Parent club breeders To meet the public’s concerns for health and welfare, our parent club breeders need to stand above all other puppy sources: Purposely bred to improve the breed Raised in proper environment Healthy physically Correct temperament Home properly and for life

Parent clubs Parent clubs need to encourage their breeders to address health and welfare. Parent clubs need to help market their breeders’ puppies Provide leadership and governance

HEALTH CONCERNS embrace new science, new knowledge and understanding of health issues design programs to promote solutions through education and acceptance of the members.

Simple approaches to encourage focus on health issues The important step is encouraging the testing, not the results!! require positive identification and DNA parentage for entries at nationals offer ‘health classes’ only open to dogs with testing premiums offered to winners if identification and DNA parentage is present, or if individual is health tested awards to those addressing identification and health

Improve Canine welfare What is canine welfare? quality of life Who should offer better quality of life than parent club breeders?

Addressing welfare This is accomplished through Parent Club codes of ethics: a) Address age of breeding b) Prohibit sale of puppies to pet stores, auctions, research facilities this is a parent club concern, not the role of the AKC c) Breeders must be responsible to all puppies produced for the life of the pet. d) Develop care and conditions acceptable for the respective breed

Marketing To continue to breed and produce puppies, we must have homes and buyers for these special, selectively bred puppies and supporters in the public.

Acceptable market outlets Parent club breeders must outreach to public to market puppies This would be achieved more positively though a parent club program rather than individually INTERNET is our outreach

Conclusion The future of our sport is in the hands of the Parent Clubs. We must address the issue of providing the best puppies available to the pubic and this is accomplished by addressing health and welfare. This is not accomplished through punitive actions, but through education and elevation! Develop acceptable outlets to market our puppies to the public.