Overview
- The toolkit scores dogs against 10 traits including flat faces, bulging eyes, wrinkled skin, merle coloration, drooping eyelids, under or overbite, no tail, twisted legs, shortened legs, and stiff spines.
- Only dogs scoring at least 8 out of 10 qualify for licensed breeding at launch, with thresholds planned to rise to 9 in five years and 10 in ten years.
- Developers from APGAW and the Royal Veterinary College say the goal is to end licensed breeding of dogs with extreme conformations within a decade.
- The Kennel Club supports healthier body shapes but will not require participation in the IHA and is creating its own veterinary-based assessment.
- Backers intend to seek government adoption to enable enforcement of a 2018 law, though reach may be limited by unregistered breeders, with one estimate saying 70% of English bulldogs are bred outside the Kennel Club.