All Our Irish Wolfhound Veterans Deserve Respect.

In a breed which is vulnerable and having longevity issues, all our 7’s and over deserve respect. We should be welcoming and praising them, especially the ones who are active enough to make it into the show ring.

HERMINE VON DER SILLERQUELLE  - will be 10 years old in December 2016

In addition we need to be examining their pedigrees and be asking the breeders and owners questions about rearing, diet and exercise. Looking at siblings and progeny, because to have these veterans in our breeding is a positive step forward.

Irish Wolfhound Puppies From Heart Tested Parents Only

There is absolutely no excuse why a breeder should not share these certificates and the information they contain with you, other than to either hide the results, or they don't test in the first place.

Heart test certificates are filled out by the qualified Veterinary Cardiologist and given to the breeder/owners at the time of the examination and the results discussed. Please be aware that all three methods of examination are required and the Vet carrying out the examination needs to have specialist qualifications. If you truly love this breed and care about its future please only buy from responsible breeders who heart test and those who will share their hounds heart test results with you. You will need to see a valid certificate for both the Dam and the Sire.

All our Irish Wolfhound puppies are vet checked: heart, lungs, mouth, eyes, rear hind flection test and general health check, shunt tested, and their vaccination programme has been started.

Copies of our Irish Wolfhound Heart Test Certificates.

What you are looking for on the Heart Certificate are ticks in BOTH the NORMAL boxes on the lower half of the certificate.  This is the all clear of a healthy hound on the day and one which can be used for breeding for 12 months from the date of testing.  See below the certificates for both the Dam and the Sire of our litter and this will give you a good idea of what you are looking for.  To be on the safe side we heart test  all our hounds every 6 months. Do not accept an out of date certificate.

Canine Alliance 10 Point Action Plan for ABS

The meeting of the Canine Alliance came up with a 10 Point Action Plan for the Kennel Club to consider, based around a scheme that does what it is supposed to do and ASSURES the puppy purchasers that every step possible has been taken to ensure the stock is healthy:

More emphasis to be placed on the health of the breeding stock – suggestions for the inspectors to ask more rigorous questions regarding breeding plans etc

That the MyKC web pages add a function to allow breeders to identify which dogs they actually own, which are spayed or going to be bred from and so on

The addition of a puppy buyer based accolade – to be based on realistic feedback provided by the purchasers regarding their experience

KC to ensure a list of requirements on the day is clear and available for ABS members prior to inspection

Public education needs to improve – the KC need to ensure that the public have a far better understanding of the health issues and testing that is undertaken by responsible breeders

The KC must ensure that relevant breed tests are made mandatory – some breeds currently have no recommended or mandatory tests in place and this could be discussed with, for example, the breed clubs and other interested parties

Consider allowing ABS members to withhold registrations if they are implementing a spay/neuter endorsement/requirement as part of their sales contract. Registrations to be withheld until presented with the appropriate certification that this has been carried out

The KC require all breeding bitches and stud dogs – to have been micro-chipped/tattooed – to undergo a basic/rudimentary health test with a vet prior to being bred from. This will ensure that those breeds with no recommended health tests do, at the very least, meet with a demonstrable level of health prior to breeding

Placing a clause in the registration information given to new puppy owners- advising them to contact the KC if they experience a problem – this would complement the current process of inspections.

That the KC takes steps to properly recognise foreign health test results and to include these on the website/registration certificates

The Canine Alliance will be writing to the Kennel Club with these proposals and will be asking to meet up to discuss these in more depth and, in the meantime, we will be looking at a series of regional meetings.

To read more click here: Canine Alliance 10 Point Action Plan for ABS