Can you and your vet help the Dog Advisory Council?

Post date: Sep 29, 2012 6:44:18 PM

Chris Laurence, a member of the Advisory Council on the Welfare Issues of Dog Breeding, has asked for the Breed Council's help with a pilot project the Council is conducting with veterinary surgeons and breeders...

I guess most breeders will at some time have been faced with the purchaser of a puppy claiming that there is something wrong with it that the breeder should have told them about. Often the complaint is completely unjustified but inevitably causes a huge amount of heartache to the responsible breeder.

One solution to this is to have the puppies checked by your vet before they go to their new homes, but vets have always been somewhat reluctant to sign health certificates for fear of being sued later by the puppy’s new owner. The Advisory Council on the Welfare Issues of Dog Breeding is well aware of the problem and has had long discussions with the veterinary profession’s governing and representative bodies (the RCVS, BVA and BSAVA) and the Veterinary Defence Society who provide the profession’s indemnity insurance.

The result of the discussions is a Puppy Health Check Form which everyone is happy for the vet to sign. However, before we launch the form to the big wide world we want to pilot it with a number of litters being checked by vets so that we know it is as easy to use as we think it is.

We can only do that if we can find breeders who are willing to help us with the pilot. All we need you to do is to take a litter to your vet for a check before the puppies go to their new homes. We will provide you with the forms and a letter for your vet to explain the pilot scheme. There will be a pre-paid envelope for your vet to return the forms and a feedback form to us.

If you would like to help us in this important pilot scheme please either e-mail Chris Laurence who is running the pilot on chrisandsheila.laurence@virgin.net or ring him on 07503 999289 at any time. The pilot pack will be in the post by return. We look forward to hearing from you.