IKC - Breeding Control

mickmcl09

AFAIK, the IKC breeding restrictions are as follows.
- Bitch must be aged between 2 & 8.
- Dog must be over 12 months of age.
- Maximum number of litters from a bitch is 6, I think.

As we are all aware, we got a massive dog population issue. It's putting strain not only on animal welfare services but the reputation of responsible dog owners.

My question is.
Should the IKC add a further stipulation, putting a maximum quota of litters an owner / breeder can register, say, in a 5 or 10 year period?

If they should, what's stopping them from doing so, right now?

I also believe that this would make things very difficult for the puppy farming industry. DoneDeal makes my blood boil!

gud4u

Would that be penalising a really good breeder though who might have a few bitches and sires, breeding for a living. I mean the really top end breeders that sell top pedigree dogs worldwide or for guards/army use.

I could be totally wrong of course, just wondering.

Ronnie Beck

In my opinion you should have to apply for a licence to breed from a particular dogs. It should be easily affordable but the owner and dog should be assesed as being fit for purpose. Lots of good breeds are being ruined in my opinion both in terms of health issues and mentality.

andreac

Sorry but those rules are incorrect.

It should read:

•I shall not allow to be mated any bitch kept by me (a) under one year of age, (b) or over eight years of age, (c) whelp more than six litters in her lifetime, (d) a period of at least twelve months have elapsed between litters (e) or dogs to mate under seven months or over the age of twelve years. Permission must be sought and granted by the Irish Kennel Club to exceed these provisions.
Taken from the IKC website

seamus

Well aside from the IKC rules, I would generally require that all breeders require a licence, and that all pups over 6 weeks of age are microchipped and registered in the breeders' name, with a full owner history maintained on the chip every time the dog changes hands.

If someone (anyone) is found in possession of a dog that is unchipped or does not have the correct details, they are fined €1,000 per dog and the dog is taken from them. Any breeder found with unchipped/unregistered pups are banned from holding a licence permanently.

It's something we need to get very strict on. If we introduce mandatory microchipping, we can also introduce legislation which allows wardens and rescues to scan for a chip and immediately seize and declare the dog as "abandoned" if they don't find one. Or the "owner" can pay €1,000 to keep their dog once the dog has been chipped and registered.

Likewise if an owner is not licenced for breeding, a rescue or warden can sieze and have the dog spayed without the owner's consent. If someone is that concerned about having an intact dog or bitch, they can pay for a licence.

mickmcl09

Let's list those 'breeding for a living'.

- puppy farmers
- greyhound breeders

The rest on my list would more than likely be supplementing their income by breeding dogs, such as run of the mill families or somebody who has a reputation for breeding working dogs for police or rescue authorities and dogs for assisting the blind.

Top end show breeders generally don't breed even on an annual basis and when they do, it's to continue or try to improve on what they have. Breeding pups for money isn't on their agenda as a general rule.

Back to your point regarding the Army or Police. I'd see no issue with an exemption being provided for, where a breeder provides the IKC with a 'purchase order letter' (for a minimum of 4 pups, if produced in the litter) from the Army, Police, Rescue team or for the purpose of guide dog training.

Registration and change of ownership should be done together along with a letter confirming their sale to one of these organisations. Alot of red tape you might say, but the loop holes have to be shut in the face of unscrupulous breeders.

mickmcl09

seamus wrote: »

Well aside from the IKC rules, I would generally require that all breeders require a licence, and that all pups over 6 weeks of age are microchipped and registered in the breeders' name, with a full owner history maintained on the chip every time the dog changes hands.

If someone (anyone) is found in possession of a dog that is unchipped or does not have the correct details, they are fined €1,000 per dog and the dog is taken from them. Any breeder found with unchipped/unregistered pups are banned from holding a licence permanently.

It's something we need to get very strict on. If we introduce mandatory microchipping, we can also introduce legislation which allows wardens and rescues to scan for a chip and immediately seize and declare the dog as "abandoned" if they don't find one. Or the "owner" can pay €1,000 to keep their dog once the dog has been chipped and registered.

Likewise if an owner is not licenced for breeding, a rescue or warden can sieze and have the dog spayed without the owner's consent. If someone is that concerned about having an intact dog or bitch, they can pay for a licence.

Hi Seamus, I see your point but that's all after the horse has bolted really. There's nothing wrong with what your saying, but to be real about it, it wouldn't be enforced. We can't even enforce the most basic of rules in Ireland never mind going down the route of checking breeders after the pup has been bred and sold.

The problem has to be nipped at the source.

gud4u

mickmcl09 wrote: »

Let's list those 'breeding for a living'.

- puppy farmers
- greyhound breeders

The rest on my list would more than likely be supplementing their income by breeding dogs, such as run of the mill families or somebody who has a reputation for breeding working dogs for police or rescue authorities and dogs for assisting the blind.

Top end show breeders generally don't breed even on an annual basis and when they do, it's to continue or try to improve on what they have. Breeding pups for money isn't on their agenda as a general rule.

Back to your point regarding the Army or Police. I'd see no issue with an exemption being provided for, where a breeder provides the IKC with a 'purchase order letter' (for a minimum of 4 pups, if produced in the litter) from the Army, Police, Rescue team or for the purpose of guide dog training.

Registration and change of ownership should be done together along with a letter confirming their sale to one of these organisations. Alot of red tape you might say, but the loop holes have to be shut in the face of unscrupulous breeders.

That's what I meant, good explanation, thank you.

Cherry Blossom

The kennel club in the UK are at least making some attempt at moving the focus towards more responsible breeding, For UK KC registration a bitch is allowed no more than 4 litters in her lifetime as of this year. If a bitch has had 2 caesarian sections you can register no more pups from that bitch unless you apply in advance of mating with documented proof and a veterinary report of why they were done and this must be approved first and you can't breed any more litters if the op was done due to the genetic make-up or shape of the dog (i.e. breeds that are unable to give birth naturally). There is no maximum age limit as far as I know for stud dogs (the older the better the indicator of the dogs health).

They are also making a good attempt at making information more readily available for potential puppy seekers and breeders alike. Their assured breeder scheme has much more stringent criteria for those on those who opt into it. Results of health tests done through the BVA scheme and the inbreeding co-efficient of every dog registered can be found on their site for all to see.

All in all this is helping to raise awareness of the problems that are going on and encourages genuine breeders to adopt the best practices. They have a wide range of information guides on practically every topic you would imagine people make enquiries about and provide information services for vets (a huge folder containing a heap of info on every breed that needs to be taken into consideration before breeding) and they advise a proper veterinary consultation for anyone considering breeding where the dog can be assessed using this knowledge and advice passed on to the owner.

It would be great, (but highly unlikely) if the IKC would follow suit.
<ETA - I would like to see both kennel clubs raise the minimum age for bitches to at least 2 years old>