Breeding Regulations

BREEDING RULES OF THE SLOVAKIAN CLUB OF SWISS MOUNTAIN DOGS

I. General provisions

The Slovak Club of Swiss Mountain Dogs (hereinafter referred to as SKŠSP or the club) is governed by the breeding and registration rules of the International Kennel Club Federation FCI, Slovak Kennel Club Union SKJ, Union of Kennel Clubs UKK and the current law on animal protection. The provisions of the Breeders’ Rules shall be binding on all members. Breeder, holder and owner of a dog of breeds covered by SKŠSP, does not have to be a member of SKŠSP, the club provides them with breeding service, which is a condition for concluding a contract for the provision of breeding service and compliance with the breeding rules of SKŠSP and breeding and registration rules of SKJ and FCI.

II. Breeding

• Breeding in the club is controlled.
• Breeding means purposeful breeding respecting the principles of genetic health of dogs. Breeding must not be at the expense of their health.
• The management of the breeding is the responsibility of the entire club committee together with the respective breeding advisors.
• Close inbreeding is not recommended in principle, it is only permissible when using controlled line breeding.
• It is incompatible with breeding to produce puppies without PP and to trade or broker trade in dogs. It is forbidden to sell puppies to buyers, dealers and dog traders for the purpose of resale. In the event of a breach of this clause, the case will be referred to the club’s disciplinary body.
• Klub je oprávnený svojimi orgánmi sústavne kontrolovať a sledovať:
  1. whether the breeding animals are permanently kept by the owner
  2. the conditions under which they are kept (housing, handling, nutrition, etc.)
  3. what conditions the breeder has for raising puppies.
• The Club shall be entitled in justified cases to restrict temporarily or permanently the breeding either of a particular individual or of the whole kennel, on the basis of disciplinary proceedings, if non-compliance with obligations or other mandatory provisions is found.

III. Breeder, owner, holder

• The owner of the dog or bitch is the natural or legal person who legally acquired the animal and can prove it with its pedigree card.
• The keeper of a dog or bitch is either the owner or the person who is authorized in writing by the owner to use the dog for breeding and with whom the dog is physically present.
• The breeder is the owner of the breeding bitch at the time of the litter, whose kennel has been duly registered through the SKJ.
• Any change in the ownership of a breeding bitch must be notified in writing to the breeding advisor within 15 days, this also applies to the loan of a breeding bitch or stud dog abroad. The owner is also obliged to report the death of the dog or bitch to the breeding consultant within 15 days. It is also recommended to indicate the cause of death, if known.
• Transfer of mated bitches is possible. Unless otherwise agreed, the puppies will be registered in the kennel of the new owner or keeper of the bitch and, unless otherwise agreed, all obligations arising from the breeding dog cover will pass to him/her.
• Breeding to a foreign kennel (loaning a breeding bitch) is possible by mutual agreement between the owner of the breeding bitch and the owner of the registered kennel. The agreement must be in writing and be part of the application for an admission permit.
• If a breeding bird is co-owned by more than one person from different countries, it must meet the conditions for inclusion in the breeding of all the countries of the co-owners where it wishes to be bred. In this case, there is no foreign coverage.

IV. Breeding individuals

• Breeding dogs are purebred dogs and bitches that have fulfilled the conditions for inclusion in the breeding and are entered in the register of breeding dogs in the UKK studbook.
• Inclusion in the breeding is carried out by the SKŠSP on the bonitations. Entry in the register of breeding animals shall be made by the studbook. The dog must be re-registered before the first planned mating, the bitch is registered at the same time as the first litter.
• Conditions for inclusion in breeding:
  1. minimum age limit: male 18 months, female 15 months
  2. undergoing an X-ray examination for hip and elbow dysplasia. Individuals with X-ray findings in DBK of maximum grade 2 (DBK-A, B and C) and in DLK of maximum grade 1 (DLK-0 and 1) will be included in the breeding, with the proviso that an individual with DBK-C, included in the breeding, may only be used with an individual with DBK-A, and an individual with DLK-1 only with an individual with DLK-0. For the BSP and VŠSP breeds, OCD testing is also required, and only individuals with negative findings are included in the breeding program. In the BSP and VSSP breeds, the individual with DBK-C can only be used with an individual that has DBK-A, and the individual with DLK-1 can only be used with an individual that has DLK-0. For ASP and ESP, an individual with DBK-C can only be used with individuals with DBK-A or DBK-B, an individual with DLK-1 can only be used with DLK-0 or DLK-1.
  3. for ESP breed genetic testing of PRA is obligatory. Individuals with PRA-B and PRA-C results will only be allowed to be combined with individuals with PRA-A results. An individual with a PRA-C finding must undergo an ophthalmological examination once a year from the age of 4 years to verify the condition, in case of a negative finding it can continue to work in the breeding, in case of a positive finding it will be removed from the breeding.
  4. for the ESP breed it is obligatory to be examined for ectopic ureter. Only A and B grade individual will be included in the breeding.
     – this type of evaluation is valid in the case of examination at the Veterinary University of Vienna with evaluation at the Veterinary University of Zurich. If the examination is carried out in Slovakia and the result is either Positive or Negative, only the individual with a Negative result will be included in the breeding. If the individual is evaluated as Positive, the final decision on inclusion in the breeding will be determined by the examination at the Veterinary University in Vienna, otherwise the individual with the result Positive will not be kept.In the case of a breeding combination of two individuals, Negative with A or B is accepted, and vice versa, a combination of B with B is also allowed.
  5. completion of two compulsory exhibitions. Shows must be under the auspices of the FCI with CAC, one of which must be a club or special show (can be without CAJC and CAC), organized by SKŠSP, held in Junior, Medium, Open, Working, or Champion classes. At least one of the compulsory shows must be over 15 months of age. Junior, junior and non-competitive classes do not count towards the rating.
  6. successful completion of the rating.
• The place and date of the rating shall be determined by the SKŠSP Committee. If the dog has fulfilled all the conditions for breeding except age, it can participate in the evaluation earlier, but it will become a breeding dog only on the day of reaching the required age.
• A breeding dog whose owner fails to pay the membership fee is subject to the conditions applicable to non-members of the SKŠSP breeding Swiss Mountain Dogs.
• A bitch’s breeding life ends on the day she reaches eight years of age. That day shall be considered as the last possible date for mating. Breeding may be extended at the discretion of the Club Committee. The breeding of a dog is not limited by age.
• The breeding of a dog or bitch may be terminated in the event of a higher incidence of genetically determined diseases in the offspring or in the event of a health-threatening disease in the breeding individual. The proposal for termination of breeding shall be submitted with written reasons by the breeding advisor. The final decision to terminate breeding rests with the club committee.
• It is unacceptable for a breeding dog to be used to breed a non-breeding bitch, or to be used to breed before the conditions for breeding have been met. It is unacceptable for a bitch to be used for breeding before the conditions for breeding have been fulfilled.

V. Admission permit

• Prior to the planned mating of a breeding bitch, the owner shall request in writing from the breeding consultant an admission permit at least 3 weeks before the start of the bitch’s breeding with the possibility of indicating 1 to 3 dogs with which he plans to breed, or ask the breeding consultant to select a suitable dog. Together with the application, it shall send proof of payment of the fee for the issue of the permit. A non-member must enter into a breeding service agreement with the club prior to submitting an application for an admission permit. The admission permit may include Slovak breeding dogs or foreign dogs meeting the breeding conditions of the country in which they are registered.
• A release permit must be requested and completed even if both breeding animals belong to the same owner.
• If no mating has taken place, the owner of the bitch is obliged to return the admittance permit to the breeding consultant no later than 14 days after the end of the bitch’s heat.
• Without an admission permit being issued, the cover cannot take place.
• In justified and proven cases, the breeding advisor may refuse to issue an admission permit. (e.g. very poor condition of the bitch, serious deficiencies in the care of the bitch and puppies in the previous litter, etc.)

VI. Cover

• Mating can only take place between two breeding individuals on the basis of a valid breeding permit, where both individuals are listed and therefore approved by the breeding advisor.
• During one play session, a bitch may be covered by only one of the dogs listed in the permit. If the selected dog does not cover the bitch, another of the listed dogs can be used.
• If the owner of a breeding bitch requires repeated mating during the course of a single heat, the owner of the breeding dog is obliged to allow this.
• At least 24 hours must elapse between breedings of different bitches by the same breeding dog.
• Mating can be replaced by insemination. This act may only be carried out by a competent person and must be recorded in the permit.
• Artificial insemination is not allowed to be done with individuals that have not previously reproduced naturally. In rare cases (where only the dog or only the bitch has not bred naturally before), the JCI may allow exceptions.
• The number of matings per year for a stud dog is limited. A breeding dog may have no more than 12% of the total number of litters in the breed for the previous calendar year in Slovakia. If 12% is a number less than 5, the maximum number of litters is set at five litters per calendar year per breeding dog. This restriction also applies to foreign stud dogs whose litters have been registered in the SPKP. Foreign coverages of Slovak dogs are not limited. The owner of a stud dog is obliged to keep track of the number of matings so that the maximum number of litters is not exceeded. The restriction does not apply to dogs of the ESP breed that have DBK A or B and PRA examination A, and dogs of the ASP breed, due to the low number of breeding dogs in these two breeds. For the breed VŠSP for a breeding dog with the title Champion, age over 5 years, DBK-A, B, DLK-0, OCD-neg the number of matings can be increased to 8 litters per year.
• The owner of the stud dog is required to report the mating to the Chief Breeding Advisor within five days of the mating. The Chief Breeding Adviser keeps a record of the breedings and litters made by individual dogs and when the maximum number of litters allowed is reached, notifies the Breeding Advisers so that the individual is no longer proposed in the year in question.
• In case of borrowing a dog or a bitch from abroad, it is obligatory to have this individual bonitated before the first mating in Slovakia.
• A breeding bitch can have three litters in two years. After two consecutive litters or a multiple litter (i.e. 8 puppies born or more) there must be a reproductive break and therefore one heat must be missed. A breeding bitch can have a maximum of 5 litters in her lifetime.
• Payment for the cover is a matter of agreement between the owner of the breeding bitch and the owner of the breeding dog.
• When applying for an admission permit for a foreign dog, the owner of a breeding bitch shall submit with the application a copy of the dog’s certificate of origin and proof that the dog has been kept in the state.
• After the mating has been carried out, the owner of the breeding bitch fills in the admission permit and, together with the owner of the breeding dog, confirms the mating by signatures.

VII. Top

• The breeder is obliged to take care of the bitch during the gestation and nursing period, as well as the whole litter until the puppies are sold, to ensure their proper development.
• If the breeder cannot have the bitch in his/her own care at this time for serious reasons, he/she shall notify the breeding advisor of the address where the bitch with the litter is located. The bitch and her puppies must be in the territory of the Slovak Republic.
• If the puppies are placed with a suckler bitch, the breeder is obliged to report this fact to the breeding advisor together with the number and address where the puppies are placed within 3 days of their transfer.
• The number of puppies in a litter is not limited.
• The breeder has the right to keep all born puppies in the litter at his choice and discretion.
• In the event of death of a bitch at birth, artificial breeding shall be allowed. The breeder is obliged to notify the breeding advisor immediately.
• The breeder is obliged to notify the date of birth of the puppies in a certified manner within 5 days to the breeding advisor and the owner of the stud dog and at the same time agree with the breeding advisor on the date of the litter inspection. In the case of no puppies being born, the owner of the bitch is obliged to return the admittance permit to the breeding consultant within 14 days after the expected date of birth. One litter check by the breeding consultant is performed on the first two litters of the breeder’s Swiss Mountain Dogs. Inspection for subsequent litters in the sequence shall be made only at the request of the breeder or when ordered by the Committee. The litter inspection fee and travel reimbursement shall be paid by the breeder to the breeding consultant on site.
• Marking of puppies by chipping is compulsory. The chipping is carried out by a veterinarian who records this fact in the litter registration form. No later than 7 days after chipping, the breeder sends the completed form to the breeding advisor, who, after checking it, sends the documents for registration of puppies and issuance of pedigree cards to the studbook.
• Puppies must be at least 7 weeks old at the time of sale and must be properly wormed, vaccinated and chipped. If a puppy does not meet these requirements, the breeder may not give it to a new owner.
• In case of doubt about the origin of the puppies, the owner of the breeding bitch and the breeding dog is obliged to provide on request the individual for blood sampling for the purpose of DNA testing to determine the parentage. In case of confirmation of suspicion, all costs of the examination and other related costs (travel, cost of the procedure, materials) are fully covered by the owner of the bitch.

VIII. Rights and obligations of the breeding adviser

• Breeding advisors manage and evaluate the breeding of breeds under the club’s umbrella. They help and advise breeders in the selection of stud dogs, puppy rearing and in the handling of the necessary paperwork related to breeding.
• The Chief Breeding Advisor shall be a member of the Club Committee and shall be elected by the members of the Club. The Breeding Advisor shall be appointed by the Club Committee.
• The main breeding consultant prepares documents for rating, proposes members of the rating commission, participates in rating, processes rating results, prepares an up-to-date list of breeding dogs and bitches, issues admission permits, carries out litter inspections, maintains documentation related to breeding.
• The breeding consultant issues admission permits, carries out litter inspections.
• The breeding consultant has no right to negate the breeder’s request for the selection of breeding dogs for his bitches for mating without giving a serious reason.
• The breeding consultant is obliged to alert the breeder to substandard puppies, to give professional advice and to keep a record of it.
• The breeding consultant is required to do a litter check on the first two litters of the breeder’s Swiss Mountain Dogs.
• The breeding advisor is obliged to inform the club committee and the club membership about the results of the breeding.
• The Breeding Advisor shall bring to the attention of the Club Committee any unethical breeding infractions by breeders or gross violations of the Club’s Breeding Principles.
• A breeding advisor may be granted an allowance to cover expenses (travel, refreshment allowance, clothing, etc.) related to the performance of their volunteer activities.

IX. Final provisions

These breeding rules of the Slovakian Club of Swiss Mountain Dogs were approved by the membership meeting of the Slovakian Club of Swiss Mountain Dogs on 30.09.2017 and come into force on this day. It may be amended or supplemented by a decision of the club’s general meeting.

Updated 23.8.2019