Some facts about Danish Cavalier Club (Dansk Kennel Klub, DKK):
All dogs in Denmark, with or without pedigrees, are all chipped.
There are annually bred around 350-400 cavalier puppies that are registered in the DKK.
In Denmark health results that are mandatory have to be shown at the DKK in "Hundeweb" (=Dogweb).
In Hundeweb you can also find all born litters; and many breeders / cavalier owners choose to publish other health results in “Hundeweb” too.
The Danish Kennel Club has around 33.000 members.
The Danish Cavalier Club has around 1.000 members.
Most of the Danish cavalier breeders are members of the Cavalier Club (Cavalierklubben).
How to get a valid FCI Pedigree in Denmark:
In the following we will try to give you an overview of the health efforts in the Danish breeding of Cavalier King Charles Spaniel:
In Denmark DKK (Dansk Kennel Klub) is the only way to get a valid FCI pedigree. To get a pedigree the breeder have to use dogs which already have a pedigree in DKK or in another FCI valid club. You can read a lot more on the homepage www.dkk.dk (there is a lot of information’s in the English version). Besides making pedigrees DKK has a lot of other information to help breeding. When you are a member in
DKK you can use their very comprehensive register – information on health, result from shows, information about the individual breeds ‘restrictions and a lot of other things. One of the most important things is the possibility to make a fictional pedigree spanning 8 generations – before you make the connection between
Male and Female.
Beside this there are some restrictions for every breed. For breeding Cavalier King Charles Spaniels there is a lot. Here we want to illustrate it for you – the first part is the rules for breeding in DKK, second part is what Cavalierklubben (the Danish club for Cavalier King Charles Spaniels) recommends.
Part 1:
Certificate for 2 testicles (for the males).
EFS: Episodic falling syndrome – DNA test is necessary (maybe the dog can be free because of free parents) – at least one of the parents must be free.
CCS: Curly Coat / Dry Eye Syndrome - DNA test is necessary (maybe the dog can be free because of free parents) – at least one of the parents must be free.
MMVD: Myxomatous Mistral Valve Disease – the test can be done when the dog is 18 month. The test consist of 2 different separate examinations: The vet is listening to the heart for heart murmur and ecco to record video of the way the blood streams through the heart. The video is then assessed in KU (the University of Copenhagen) where they measure different values. Before breeding the dogs must be examinated 18 month, 4 years and 6 years. Systematic examination of the hearts has been done since 2005 – the result of this program shows a huge improvement in the Cavaliers health in Denmark.
Syrengomyeli: The breeding dogs must be mri - scanned before breeding. Right now you can scan in Copenhagen, in Berlin or in Netherlands. Approved graduation can be done in Berlin (Dr. Martin Deutschland) - or in Holland (Dr. Paul Mandigers). First scan you can make, when your dog is 12 month – here you get a c-status. Next time when the dog is 3 years – gives a b-status. If you want to (it is not a condition), you can scan again when the dog is 5 years – gives an a-status. Approved for breeding is c0, b0, b1, a0 and a1. For b1 and a1 are the rules that only a partner who has a 0 status can be used.
Part 2:
Off cause we recommends everything in part 1. Besides part 1, we also recommend this:
MMDV: Use the young dogs carefully – especially if results are prolaps 2. Use an older mating partner. Don´t use dogs younger than 6 years if they have ecco.
Syrengomyeli: Use the c- dogs very carefully – a male max 4 litters before b-scanning. Don´t use 2 dogs having c0 – let one of the breeding dogs be older - with a b0 or an a scanning. If you use this schedule you have done the best: (Green is ok, yellow is possible, purple is wait until the dog is 3 years and scan again to see the status, red is no breeding)
- Green is ok
- Yellow is possible – but be careful
- Purple is wait until the dog is 3 years and scan again to see the status
- Red is no breeding
Eyes: We do recommend to test the eyes – we do follow the European ECVO – guide.
Patella: Very good idea to examine – the heredity is serious.
Show: We recommend that the breeding dogs can get at least “very good” on the dog show – just to be sure, the dog is typical compared to the standard for the breed.
Genetic variation: Take care of the genetic variation – don´t use the same combination unless there are is at least 2 years between the litters and the health results for the litter is excellent.
Ethical rules: Beside all these conditions for health, DKK has some rules for ethical rules. These rules are that the breeder has the responsibility that the dogs are physical and mental ok, that the dogs is expected to give birth on their own, max 5 litter pro female, adequate breaks between births, last litter before 8 years, limited inbreeding with an eye on the gene pool and similar restrictions in relation to the welfare of dogs.
Be aware that the above description is abbreviated in relation to the full version. We have made it to give the receivers a good overview of our Danish breeding work with a view to maximum health. If you want further explanations on the individual subjects, off cause we are ready – just ask for it.
