Article on Breeding Recognition/Certification

A few weeks ago, I wrote about the demise of the AKC's planned Breeder Recognition Program. During the recent Petland discussion, many breeders were asking themselves and each other how they could distinguish themselves from commercial breeders. How can they help the public tell the difference between a mass-produced puppy and one bred by a serious hobby breeder? These are important considerations, and I think it would be good to look again at what the Breeder Recognition Program could offer. Can this program, or something like it, genuinely help breeders in the fancy?
First, to refresh your memory, the Breeder Recognition Program had five stated goals:

1. Differentiate AKC breeders from non-AKC breeders
2. Provide the pet-buying public with additional information about AKC breeders, enabling the breeder selection process
3. Provide benchmarks for excellent breeding practices
4. Raise the standards of AKC breeders, thus positively impacting the overall health and quality of breeding stock and puppies
5. Be the most respected and meaningful recognition program for breeders

The details of achieving these goals were still being formulated by AKC staff when the program was ended, but the AKC had already launched some efforts. The most successful of these programs, such as the AKC Breeders Newsletter, the AKC/CHF Breeders Symposia, the Full Litter Registration pilot program, and the Breeder-Exhibitor Coupon program, are continuing without the support of the Breeder Recognition Program.
Those initiatives are all very good, as far as they go. However, the breeders I talk to and correspond with need and want more. They are, in many cases, outstanding breeders with superior puppies, but they find themselves in competition with puppies often either commercially produced and sold in pet stores which may also have AKC papers; or produced by backyard breeders—also claiming to be AKC puppies. How is the public supposed to know that getting a puppy from a serious hobby breeder is a much better choice? If all of these puppies are AKC-registered, how is a buyer supposed to know if one puppy is better than another?
Many people say the answer is buyer education, and that's true. But it would help if we could tell the buyer what to look for in an AKC-registered puppy. For years our mantra has been “Buy From A Breeder,” but that formula seems to have had limited success. Most people won't listen very long before moving on to look for a puppy from someone else—from someone who won't preach at them or lecture them or make them feel inferior. Besides, even commercially-bred and backyard breeder puppies may boast champions in their pedigree just a generation or two back. That's good enough for many buyers. Most potential buyers may never have stopped to look at a breed standard. They may not notice things like differences of breed type or even obvious conformation problems with puppies. They don't know anything about genetic disease. They do, however, recognize the AKC brand name, no matter where the puppy comes from.
In addition, it seems that hobby breeders cannot supply all of the purebred puppies that people want to buy. Not only that, but many breeders would not sell a puppy to many homes seeking a puppy—breeders are picky and often turn people down, many times with good reason. So, if we want to compete for the best homes for our puppies, we have to find a way to attract those buyers and let them know that we have the puppies they really want.
How do we do that? How do we set ourselves apart and show the public not only that we have the most desirable puppies, but also that we exist? Many people aren't even aware that serious home breeders are an option when it comes to looking for a puppy, or they have a negative perception of us. One idea is to take a program like the Breeder Recognition Program and make it truly promote breeders in the fancy. Look for ways to reward serious home breeders and breeder-exhibitors. Go another step further and advertise hobby breeders. Feature us in AKC advertising, on the Web site, in the newsletters to pet owners. Show the public what we, as breeders, do to produce great dogs. Show us involved in our dog activities, including showing. Embrace what we do and what we love. We have a passion for dogs and for our sport. Let us show everyone else. But, promote us as hobby breeders and show the public that we take pride in what we do. Recognize us.
I am not suggesting that particular breeders be singled out or that the AKC “endorse” any breeders. I am suggesting that hobby breeders, in general, be favorably portrayed in advertising and announcements. Don't glorify breeding to encourage backyard breeding, but emphasize the dedication, work and study that serious hobby breeders bring to breeding.
In addition to genuine recognition for breeders, another way hobby breeders can set themselves apart from commercial and backyard breeders is by advocating voluntary breeder certification standards. Many breeders meet and surpass such standards already; and some parent clubs already have the equivalent of such standards in place. Offering voluntary certification to all breeders would be enormously effective for showing the public how hobby breeders and their puppies are different from commercial and backyard breeders.
Let me begin by saying that I am familiar with Dr. Carmen Battaglia's article “A Gathering Storm,” about the dangers of labeling and allowing AR groups to use our own efforts towards more health testing and setting breeding standards against us. As I understand his argument, if we set standards for ourselves to be “responsible” breeders (a loaded term, I agree), he predicts that AR groups will use those standards against us to find ways to limit breeding. I think this is an issue that we will have to deal with head on. We cannot sit back and do less testing, refuse to participate in DNA research, or camouflage ourselves to avoid attracting AR attention. We are almost invisible now and, in community after community, legislation is being promoted by AR groups against breeders and breeding. Instead, we can be proactive and set our own standards for the good of our breeds rather than allowing the AR groups to define us or label us. We need to do something because right now we are individual breeders, largely unknown to the general public, and no one is representing our collective interests as hobby breeders dedicated to breeding quality dogs. AR groups are defining us and usually lumping us in with backyard breeders or with commercial breeders—and that's not in our best interest.
A genuine breeder recognition program might be similar to the Accredited Breeders' Scheme in Britain. Under that scheme, launched in 2004, breeders who voluntarily join are required to make sure all breeding stock is Kennel Club registered; hand over the dog's registration certificate at time of sale and explain any limits on it; follow Kennel Club policy regarding breeding age and frequency of litters; permanently identify breeding stock by DNA, microchip, or tattoo; make use of breed-relevant health screening on all breeding stock; socialize puppies and provide information to new buyers about socialization; provide information to new buyers about feeding and worming; provide a written record of immunizations; provide “reasonable post-sales telephone advice”; inform buyers of the requirements of the Kennel Club Accredited Breeders Scheme and the complaints procedure; and provide a contract of sale for each puppy.
Furthermore, Accredited Breeders are “strongly encouraged” to:

1. Make sure that whelping facilities accord with good practice.
2. The contract of sale should clearly lay out to the buyer the nature and details of any guarantee given (e.g. time limit) and/or any provisions for refund or return and replacement of puppy. If endorsements are being used the contract should also explain why these have been placed and under what circumstances they would be removed (if any). The contract should be signed and dated by both breeder and purchaser, showing that both have agreed to these terms.
3. Commit to help, if necessary, with the re-homing of a dog, for whatever reason, throughout the dog's lifetime.
4. Follow relevant breed health screening recommendations.

Not only do Accredited Breeders benefit under this system, but the Kennel Club assists prospective new owners in finding Accredited Breeders for each breed in which they are interested. As the Kennel Club states: “The scheme… promotes good breeding practices, giving prospective owners the best opportunity to bring home a healthy well adjusted puppy. As a puppy buyer there is now some kind of benchmark to help you in your search to find a responsible breeder.” Accredited Breeders who use the Kennel Club Puppy Sales Register (similar to the AKC's Online Breeder Classifieds) to advertise their puppies are flagged to show that they are accredited. The Kennel Club will provide prospective owners, free of charge, with a list of all Accredited Breeders in the relevant breed as well as providing access to the Puppy Sales Register. Any breeder may pay to advertise their registered litters on the PSR, but Accredited Breeder litters will be flagged and will always appear at the top of the list.
The system is still being expanded with more benefits for Accredited Breeders, such as Breeder Accolades dependent on levels of experience. The Scheme joining fee is £15, and annual renewal is £10. These fees include a certificate and a pack of scheme leaflets and Puppy Sales Wallets (folders). Additional Puppy Sales Wallets, with ABS information packs, cost 50p each. Listings in the Puppy Sales Register are free for Accredited Breeders. The Accredited Breeder Scheme is overseen by the Kennel Club.
Canada has an admirable Code of Practice for CKC members which focuses on breeders. It covers proper maintenance, breeding, selling and overall protection of their chosen breed(s).
As it states in its introduction, “It shall be the aim of every breeder to breed dogs that are healthy and sound in both mind and body, to ensure that the dogs are true to their heritage and that they meet the requirements of the CKC Breed Standards.”
The Code of Practices also outlines breeding principles for breeders.
• Be prepared to make a serious commitment of both time and financial resources in order to ensure that a proper breeding program can be carried out.
• Be prepared to provide for the well being of the dogs, both while in your care as well as in the ultimate placement of the dogs.
• Be prepared to work hard to preserve and maintain the breed for future generations through the judicious selection of breeding stock.
• Be prepared to share knowledge that is gained through experience with fellow breeders, particularly those who are novices.

In addition to covering such things as ethical business practices regarding the selling of dogs and requiring breeders to be knowledgeable about CKC rules, the Code of Practice also mentions proper housing, nutrition, health care and necessary exercise for dogs. It forbids selling or donating dogs for the purposes of auctions or raffles.
The Code of Practice also requires breeders to reasonably screen potential purchasers of dogs for their suitability and capability to own and meet the needs of a particular breed. “The concept of a dog being a lifetime commitment should always be reinforced with the purchaser.”
It also requires breeders to commit themselves to assisting novice dog owners in understanding the breed and to encourage new dog owners to become involved in the activities of the sport of purebred dogs.
As breeders, it requires them to “make a conscientious effort to learn about structure, movement and behavior, understand and stay current with inherited traits, congenital and hereditary health problems related to their breed, and to have a basic knowledge of health care and first aid.” Breeders are also encouraged to regularly test for health and genetic problems and are encouraged to openly share the results of all such testing. They should also follow recommended protocols for the control of genetic disease.
They also ask breeders to select breeding stock that “conforms to the approved CKC Breed Standard to the highest possible degree”; “use dogs that are known to be of sound health and stable temperament”; and “choose both a sire and dam that have reached such maturity that they can produce and raise a healthy litter.”
I think those are impressive requirements for breeders and that it would be helpful to have similar requirements here for breeders who wished to achieve some kind of breeder certification to set themselves apart from commercial and backyard breeders.
Sample questions to ask for voluntary certification could also include: Do breeders belong to the parent club? Have they attended a certain number of breed and/or breeding seminars? Do they meet health-testing requirements? Do they meet ethics requirements? Perhaps the parent club (or the AKC or whatever body would handle breeder certification) could create general guidelines for certification. Some requirements for being recognized as a “quality” breeder could be standardized since general dog care and ethical behavior could be agreed upon.
One of the things that most obviously distinguishes hobby breeders from commercial and backyard breeders is a commitment to health testing and genetic screening. Of course, health tests vary from breed to breed, but a breeder certification program might reward breeders who meet the CHIC-required tests for their breed. That way the parent club would have a strong role in determining what health tests were important for a breed and encouraging breeders to follow those health guidelines.
Requirements for testing would be determined on a breed-by-breed basis instead of some “one size fits all” testing requirement that was perfectly pointless. After all, why should some certification program demand that a Yorkie breeder OFA hips in order for the breeder to be included? Clearly, the tests should fit the breed.
Health testing status could even be reflected in registration. The Netherlands offers two kinds of registration for purebred puppies: one is a “Certificate of Pedigree” if a puppy comes from a litter with registered, health-tested parents; the other is a “Certificate of Descent” for puppies from purebred, registered, but non-health-tested parents. This may be a way to distinguish puppies from hobby breeders (with health-tested breeding stock) from commercial and backyard-bred puppies.
Another thing that distinguishes hobby breeders is our commitment to performance and companion events, in addition to conformation. A breeder who does rally with her dogs or a breeder who puts an MH on her dog should certainly be given credit for those accomplishments. A commitment to and enjoyment of canine activities can certainly make someone a better breeder in my book.
Continuing breeder education is also important to hobby breeders. Breeders are constantly reading about breeding, attending seminars, discussing breeding online, and sharing knowledge with each other. They are obsessed with dog breeding. I think breeders who attend seminars or take courses related to dog breeding should be given breeder certification credit.
You may wonder why I haven't mentioned showing dogs as a requirement or as something that separates hobby breeders from commercial and backyard breeders. I haven't included it because I think more than participation in conformation events should be required. We all know good and bad show breeders. Merely showing your dogs is no guarantee of being a quality breeder or of being worthy of certification. Naturally, breeding a number of champions should count toward certification, but it's only one thing to be considered.
Under this kind of voluntary certification program, a breeder's experience and expertise are emphasized, as well as the quality and health of their dogs and the breeder's commitment to caring for them. Add a mentorship program for newcomers, and I think this would be the basis of a good program through the breed clubs.
Breeder Deborah King felt so strongly about the need for breeder certification that she drew up her own plans for a non-profit association of breeder-exhibitors with an education and certification process. I'm including excerpts here, with her permission:

“In my mind's eye, I can see something like this working well for exhibitor breeders. This isn't a comprehensive list and no doubt there are numerous things I've neglected to include, but here's a rough preliminary sketch (VERY ROUGH) of what it might be like and what might be included:

1. Affiliate - Non-voting membership for people interested in dog breeding or classes, but not interested in actually doing any breeding/co-breeding.

2. Entry/student (novice) - Newbies to the world of exhibiting who would like to breed in the future. No public identification with the organization. Preferably, no breeding until minimum two years exhibiting experience (unless under the mentorship of experienced breeder or has finished champion already)? At any rate, novices should be encouraged not to rush into breeding, especially when dog is young. Best for both to get some experience and maturity first. Discounts on courses and education materials? Personal reference from breeder and veterinarian.

3. Member - persons who have completed the association's basic core course in general canine management, genetics, conformation, care, health, housing, etc. (all the basic stuff every breeder should know) plus two to three years exhibiting experience. Member of breed club or local AKC kennel club. Demonstrate knowledge of AKC rules, Association's code of ethics and breeding guidelines (see below). Two personal references from breed or kennel club members/(officers?).

4. Accredited Member - (In addition to member-level requirements) Members who have completed breed specific course of study for breeds they intend to or actively breed - demonstrate thorough knowledge of breed standard, breed-specific health issues and genetic disorders, etc. Breed club member. Exhibits at specialties. Five years exhibiting experience. Attended at least two national breed specialties in each breed. Demonstrate knowledge of breed standard. Exhibit at one national specialty.

5. Certified Member - (In addition to member and accredited member level requirements) pass certification examination. Review and explanation of breeding program and records. Inspection of facilities/home. Bred and finished at least one champion. Exhibit in three national breed specialties (per breed). Participation in breed club activities and support of breed rescue.

6. Retired Member - members in good standing who no longer breed, but want to retain a non-voting membership.

Dues/fees - dues and fees would go primarily to cover the cost of developing educational material, online courses, publicity/advertising, and the other typical expenses.

Courses & Examination - the courses would be developed and offered by the Association through seminars and/or online courses. The course material and examinations would be developed by knowledgeable experts recruited for that purpose. National breed clubs would be asked to assist in developing the breed specific course material.

Periodic Inspections - All levels of membership would agree to periodic inspection of their facilities and review of their breeding program as deemed appropriate by the association membership.

Code of Ethics - We would need to formulate a code of ethics.

Recommended "Best practices for responsible breeders":

• Never sells puppies to a dealer or pet shop.
• Screens breeding stock for heritable diseases and removes affected animals from breeding program. Affected animals are altered; may be placed as pets as long as health issues are disclosed to buyers/adopters.
• Removes aggressive animals from breeding program.
• Keeps breeding stock healthy and well socialized.
• Never keeps more dogs than they can provide with the highest level of care, including quality food, clean water, proper shelter from heat or cold, exercise, socialization and professional veterinary care.
• Has working knowledge of genetics.
• Bases breeding frequency on mother's health, age, condition and recuperative abilities.
• Does not breed extremely young or old animals.
• Often breeds and rears dogs in the home, where they are considered part of the family.
• Ensures neonates are kept clean, warm, fed, vetted and with the mother until weaned.
• Screens potential buyers; discusses positive and negative aspects of animal/breed.
• Ensures animals are weaned before placement.
• Offers guidance and support to new owners.
• Provides a contract in plain English that spells out breeder's responsibilities, buyer's responsibilities, health guarantees and return policy.
• Provides accurate and reliable health, vaccination and pedigree information.
• Makes sure pet quality animals are sold on a limited registration, spay/neuter contract, or are altered before placement.
• Will take back any animal of their breeding, at any time and for any reason.”

Bear in mind that these guidelines were written with the breeder-exhibitor in mind-thus the emphasis on exhibiting at a national specialty and so forth.
(Please remember that all of the ideas discussed in this article are only ideas being tossed around. There's certainly room for constructive criticism and advice—but please be nice.)
I know there is no breeder certification right now, but there could be. None of these things have to be mandatory, but breeders could receive perks or benefits for achieving certification. They would be given some respect for their work and knowledge. Most importantly, they would be able to state on a Web site or in a club newsletter—even on the AKC site—that they are a certified breeder—something that no commercial breeder and no pet store would be able to say.
Ultimately, I think what separates hobby breeders from the others is our dedication to the welfare of our dogs-to our individual dogs and to our breeds. A program which recognizes this difference as our strength and helps us promote ourselves and our dogs would be very welcome. Perhaps that program could be a revamped Breeder Recognition Program—something like the British model or the Canadian model—or a voluntary breeder certification program through our parent clubs. Whatever it is, we home breeders do need it, so the public can understand that not all AKC puppies are the same. •