Ethical Breeding Guidelines

Ethical Guidelines for breeders using DNA tests listed under the RKC Health Standard for ESS: 

• Owners should ensure that all currently used Stud Dogs and Brood Bitches are DNA tested for or are the product of two DNA tested Clear parents (i.e. ‘Hereditary Clear') for the inherited genetic diseases listed under the RKC Health Standard for ESS.

• Owners of Stud Dogs should check that Brood Bitches brought to them have been DNA tested or are the product of two DNA tested Clear or DNA ‘Hereditary Clear’ parents.

• Owners of Brood Bitches should check that the Stud Dog they intend to use has been DNA tested or is the product of two DNA tested Clear or DNA ‘Hereditary Clear’ parents.

• Stud Dog and Brood Bitch owners should disclose to each other if either has been DNA tested as a Carrier for any of the inherited genetic diseases listed under the RKC Health Standard.

• A known Carrier for any disease should never be mated to another known Carrier for that disease, or to an untested ESS that could be a Carrier.

• In cases where a Carrier is mated to a Clear, all resulting progeny should be DNA tested prior to being re-homed.

• New owners should be informed of the genetic status of their dog for the inherited genetic diseases listed under the RKC Health Standard for ESS.

• Owners should have their dog(s) DNA tested by an RKC approved laboratory.  In doing so, they will also be giving their permission for the test results to be automatically passed on to the Royal Kennel Club, to be added to the registration database and published on the RKC website and in the Kennel Gazette, in accordance with existing official RKC/ESS DNA Testing Schemes.

Ethical Guidelines For Using Clinical Health Tests For Inherited Eye Diseases:

Currently, PRA (Cord1 mutation) is the only eye disease affecting English Springer Spaniels for which there is a DNA test available.  Other forms of PRA that may also exist in the Breed, and which are caused by a different genetic mutation, have yet to be genetically identified.

It therefore remains the case that clinical eye examination should continue to be used to identify dogs clinically affected by any form of PRA, as well as other eye diseases, in accordance with the RKC Health Standard for ESS.

• Any Dog or Bitch being bred from should have an up to date, clinically clear Eye Certificate (valid at the time of mating). ***

• Stud Dogs should continue to be screened until they are no longer used, or until at least the age of 8 years, whichever is the later.

• Brood Bitches should continue to be screened until at least 8 years of age (after which time their progeny are no longer permitted to be registered with the Royal Kennel Club).

• Stud Dog owners should disclose to owners of bitches who wish to use their dog that the dog is a known Carrier (by virtue of him being out of an affected parent or having himself sired affected offspring, or by virtue of him having been genetically identified as a Carrier for the Cord1 mutation), even though the Stud Dog may himself have a current clinically clear Eye Certificate.

• Owners of Brood Bitches should disclose to owners of Stud Dogs whether she is a known Carrier (by virtue of her being out of an affected parent or having herself produced affected offspring, or by virtue of her having been genetically identified as a Carrier for the Cord1 mutation) even though the Brood Bitch may herself have a current clinically clear Eye Certificate.

Note: ***

• A Standard Eye Test Certificate is deemed up to date if a dog has been passed clinically unaffected no more than one year prior to a mating taking place.   

• A Gonioscopy Eye Test Certificate is deemed up to date if a dog has been tested no more than three years prior to a mating taking place.  Dogs used for breeding should have a PLA Grade 0 or 1.  Dogs given a PLA Grade 2 should be bred from, with caution, to a Grade 1. It is not recommended to breed from dogs given a PLA Grade 3.  

• With effect from January 2026, Grade 0 will no longer be used and has been merged with Grade 1.  Retrospective Grade 0 results will not be updated.

Owners may wish to make use of the RKC Health Test Results Finder (Dog Look-Up), where all the recorded health test results of individual dogs can be found.