The Kennel Club: Protecting and Promoting Dog Health and Welfare, Lecture notes of Veterinary

Download The Kennel Club: Protecting and Promoting Dog Health and Welfare and more Lecture notes Veterinary in PDF only on Docsity! ABOUT THE KENNEL CLUB AND DISCOVER DOGS WE ARE: The UK’s largest organisation dedicated to the health and welfare of dogs. OUR OBJECTIVE: To protect and promote the general wellbeing of dogs. All of the profits that the Kennel Club makes go back into dogs and at its heart are programmes and investments into education and health initiatives, to help ensure that dogs can live healthy, happy lives with responsible owners. WE BELIEVE: That together, working with breeders, owners, the government, other dog organisations and the veterinary profession, we can give all dogs the chance to lead happy healthy lives. HISTORY: Originally founded in 1873, the Kennel Club’s sole consideration was to regulate the conduct of dog shows and trials and then later to register dogs to avoid the duplication of a name in the stud book. Whilst these functions remain, the Kennel Club has developed in ways that could not possibly have been imagined when it was established in Victorian times. CONTACT: For any media enquiries, please contact the Kennel Club Press Office on 020 7518 1008. You can also reach us out of hours (5pm-9am) on 07800 937070. Alternatively, please email press.office@thekennelclub.org.uk. The Kennel Club PR team consists of Ella Brough, Glen Dymock, Helena Byrne- Stevens, Heidi Ancell-Day and Sara Wilde. The primary KC spokespeople are Caroline Kisko (Kennel Club Secretary) and Bill Lambert (Senior Health and Welfare Manager). COMMENT: The Kennel Club supplies comment on a wide range of issues, including:  Dangerous dogs and dog attacks  Puppy farming and responsible breeding  Microchipping  Access for dogs  Responsible dog ownership, including training, safety around dogs and choosing the right breed  Obesity in dogs and dog activities  Dog health and welfare including electric shock collars, dog meat trade, canine diseases. WE DO: REGISTRATION We register around 250,000 puppies a year on our registrations system. We register all dogs, pedigree (on our breed register) and crossbreed (on our activities register). The Kennel Club breed register is a record of birth and lineage, much like Somerset House for humans. There are also rules built into the registration system to protect the welfare of dogs, such as only registering four litters from a bitch in its lifetime (whereas the legal limit is six) and only registering pups from a bitch that was at least 12 months old when mated. MICROCHIPPING The Kennel Clubs runs Petlog, to help reunite lost pets and their owners. BREEDING The Kennel Club Assured Breeder Scheme was launched in 2004. It is the only scheme in the UK that sets standards for and inspects breeders. Assured Breeders agree to adhere to standards that ensure that the health and welfare of their pups and breeding bitches comes first and foremost. The Kennel Club has UKAS accreditation to certify breeders on the scheme, meaning it is a robust and impartial assessor. The scheme is much needed in a largely unregulated breeding market. The scheme was established to help puppy buyers have a reliable source of responsible breeders. Whilst volume breeders do require breeding licences from their local authorities, local authorities are frequently under-resourced to carry out these checks. Many people buy their puppies over internet, but don’t know what they should look for in a responsible breeder, and therefore end up unwittingly buying from somebody who doesn’t have the puppy’s health and welfare at heart. Each year the Kennel Club runs a Puppy Awareness Week about the importance of buying from a responsible breeder or rescue home. TRAINING The Kennel Club runs the UK’s largest dog training programme, the Good Citizen Dog Scheme (GCDS). The GCDS has training clubs throughout the country. People can find a local dog training club at www.thekennelclub.org.uk/findadogclub. The Kennel Club Accreditation Scheme for Instructors in Dog Training and Canine Behaviour (KCAI) recognises and promotes competent and qualified dog training instructors and canine behaviourists, working across a wide range of canine disciplines, for the benefit of the dog-owning public. It is the only scheme for dog training instructors in the UK which is externally verified by City & Guilds NPTC. CHARITY The Kennel Club Charitable Trust (KCCT) grants money to dog re-homing charities (such as Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, Wood Green and breed rescue