RSPCA welcomes dog breeding assessment tool
The checklist acts as a visual guide for breeders and dog owners.
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) has supported the launch of a new tool designed to tackle extreme breeding practices.
The Innate Health Assessment (IHA), created by the Royal Veterinary College, acts as a visual checklist of 10 key conformational features which can cause suffering to affected dogs.
It is hoped that the new tool will tackle breeding practices which exaggerate the extreme features, often in so-called ‘designer dogs’. This includes flat faces, wrinkly skin, short or missing tails and protruding eyeballs.
Such features contribute to health and welfare issues for dogs, impacting their day-to-day life and causing spinal, skin and dental conditions.
The IHA is free to access online, and can be performed by dog breeders and prospective owners. The checklist acts as a visual guide, assessing the extent to which dogs display exaggerated physical features that could harm them or their future offspring.
Dogs which pass at least eight of the 10 criteria set out in the IHA would be considered as having suitable conformation for breeding.
Among the criteria that breeders and dog owners are advised to check for are skin folds, bowed legs and bulging eyes.
The tool is expected to help breeders make appropriate dog selections, as well as educating prospective owners on the conformational health of their new dog or its parents. Meanwhile, for current dog owners, the guide could raise awareness of their dog’s health risks and alert them of issues to monitor at veterinary appointments.
Its release comes as the RVC shares new research, revealing a significant increase in surgical interventions relating to extreme conformation breeds.
The study revealed a 2,075 per cent rise in soft-tissue surgical referrals for French bulldogs. There was also an 800 per cent increase in surgeries to manage breathing problems in flat-faced breeds.
However, in a separate study conducted earlier this year, RVC found that dog owners in the UK preferred less extreme body shapes in flat-faced dogs.
Ashleigh Brown, scientific and policy manager in the RSPCA’s Companion Animal Department, said: "The IHA is a valuable tool providing a means to empower owners and breeders to make well-informed decision-making on this issue.
“This initial launch is an important first step, and evolution of the tool and ultimately incorporation into breeding licensing protocol is what we are still working towards over the longer term to further improve the lives of our much-loved pets. “We commend the work of Dan O’Neill and APGAW in advancing the IHA concept to this stage, and the RSPCA remains committed to continuing to support this going forward.”
The Innate Health Assessment tool can be found here.
Image © RSPCA
Companies marketing medicines for small pets exempt from authorisation must submit their annual return to the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) by 30 November 2026.
