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Breeding and Health Regulations
The Breeding and Health Regulations of the Club Federal Chinologic – Royal Association.
Adopted by the Board of Directors by Decision no. 181/13-08-2026.
Preamble
A genealogical registry says who descends from whom. That is all — and it is a great deal. But a certificate of origin acquires weight only when behind it stands a rule about how the litter was made: at what age the female was mated, how long she was given to rest between whelpings, whether the parents were tested for the diseases that are inherited, whether they are not, by chance, brother and sister.
Without such rules, the pedigree certifies descent, not breeding. With them, it certifies both.
These Regulations lay down those conditions. They do not lay them all down at once, nor do they lay them all down as obligations: some are thresholds below which one does not go, others are encouragements rewarded with a public mention. As befits a young federation that wishes to raise the bar without leaving behind the breeders of good faith who have not yet reached it.
The dog has no way of asking for any of this. That is why we ask it on his behalf.
Chapter I. General provisions
Art. 1. Object of the regulations
(1) These Regulations lay down the conditions under which reproduction takes place for dogs entered, or to be entered, in the Genealogical Registry of the Association, as well as the regime of health tests for breeding dogs.
(2) They supplement the Regulations of the Genealogical Registry and the Regulations on the registration of kennels and the reservation of the affix, without replacing them. Where these Regulations are silent, those regulations apply.
(3) These Regulations are adopted pursuant to Art. 12 para. (2) of the Internal Operating Regulations and Art. 12 of the Articles of Association.
Art. 2. Scope of application
(1) These Regulations apply to:
a) breeders with an affix registered with the Association, for all declared litters;
b) members of the Association who own dogs used for reproduction;
c) dogs for which entry in the Genealogical Registry of the Association is requested.
(2) For a mating with a male dog that does not belong to a member of the Association, the conditions concerning the male are proved by the documents issued by the organisation with which he is registered.
Art. 3. Meaning of certain terms
In these Regulations:
a) breeding dog — the dog used, or intended to be used, for mating;
b) MWD — the mating and whelping declaration, the document provided for by the Regulations of the Genealogical Registry;
c) health test — the examination provided for in Art. 15, carried out by a veterinary surgeon and recorded in a verifiable document;
d) recommendation for breeding — the public mention provided for in Art. 19, granted to dogs with verified tests and favourable results;
e) registry office — the structure of the Association that receives and verifies documents, in accordance with Art. 12 para. (1) of the Internal Operating Regulations.
Art. 4. Principles
(1) Welfare before results. No show attribute and no title justifies a mating that endangers the health of the female or of the puppies.
(2) The truth of the documents. A litter declared with untrue data entails the annulment of the certificates, in accordance with the Regulations of the Genealogical Registry.
(3) Gradual transition. Requirements concerning health are introduced gradually, breed by breed, in accordance with Art. 18, so as not to strike the breeder who had no way of knowing them in advance.
(4) What can be verified. The Association does not require from the breeder evidence it cannot verify, and does not publish health data without a basis in the documents filed.
Chapter II. Conditions for breeding dogs
Art. 5. Conditions of identification and documentation
(1) A dog used for reproduction must:
a) be identified by microchip, in accordance with the Regulations of the Genealogical Registry;
b) hold a certificate of origin issued by the Association or by an organisation whose documents are recognised by the Association;
c) not be subject to a measure of exclusion from reproduction ordered under Art. 25.
(2) A dog holding a breed typicality certificate (Type C) may be used for reproduction. The resulting puppies are registered in the class to which they are entitled, in accordance with the Regulations of the Genealogical Registry.
Art. 6. Age of the female
(1) A female may be mated only after reaching the age of 18 months on the date of the mating.
(2) A female may no longer be mated after reaching the age of 8 years on the date of the mating.
(3) By way of exception to para. (2), the mating of a female between 8 and 9 years of age may take place once only, with the written opinion of a veterinary surgeon attesting to a suitable state of health, communicated to the registry office before the mating.
Why 18 months. Below this age the female herself is not fully developed; an early pregnancy costs both her and the puppies. Why 8 years: after this age the risks of whelping rise markedly, and the size and vitality of litters decline.
Art. 7. Age of the male
(1) A male may be used for mating after reaching the age of 12 months.
(2) For a male used for mating before reaching the age of 15 months, the filing of a DNA profile is mandatory before the filing of the MWD.
Art. 8. Rest of the female
(1) At least 10 months must pass between two whelpings.
(2) A female may not have more than 3 litters in 24 months.
(3) The period referred to in para. (1) is reckoned from the date of the previous whelping to the date of the following whelping.
Art. 9. Whelping by caesarean section
(1) A female that has whelped twice by caesarean section may no longer be used for reproduction.
(2) The breeder is under an obligation to inform the registry office, together with the MWD, whether the whelping took place by caesarean section.
(3) Failure to declare a caesarean section constitutes a disciplinary offence, in accordance with Art. 25.
The rule does not punish the breeder; it protects the female: a third caesarean is, for most breeds, an intervention carrying a risk that no litter deserves.
Art. 10. Number of declared puppies
The number of puppies in a declared litter is that provided for by the Regulations of the Genealogical Registry.
Chapter III. Inbreeding
Art. 11. Prohibited pairings
(1) The following are prohibited, and litters resulting from pairings between first-degree relatives shall not be registered:
a) sire × daughter;
b) dam × son;
c) brother × sister with both parents in common.
(2) An MWD showing such a pairing shall be rejected, and the puppies shall not receive certificates of origin from the Association.
Art. 12. Pairings permitted subject to declaration
(1) Pairings between second-degree relatives — grandsire × granddaughter, granddam × grandson, siblings with a single parent in common, uncle × niece — may be registered, provided the breeder states in the MWD the selection reason.
(2) The registry office records the note in the file. The note is not published on the dog’s public record.
Art. 13. Guidance on inbreeding
(1) The Association recommends that breeders keep the litter’s inbreeding coefficient below 6.25%, calculated over at least five known generations.
(2) The recommendation does not prevent the registration of the litter. It is brought to the breeder’s attention upon the filing of the MWD, where the known ancestry permits the calculation.
Art. 14. The frequently used male
(1) A male should not be the sire of more than 5% of the puppies of a breed registered with the Association in a calendar year.
(2) Exceeding this figure does not prevent registration. The registry office reports it to the Board of Directors in the annual report, as an element for monitoring genetic diversity.
This is not a punishment but a measure for the health of the breed: when a single male leaves too many puppies, his hidden defects spread through the entire population.
Chapter IV. Health of breeding dogs
Art. 15. Recognised tests
(1) The Association recognises the following types of health test, with the results shown:
| Test | Accepted results |
|---|---|
| Hip dysplasia (HD) | A, B, C, D, E |
| Elbow dysplasia (ED) | 0, 1, 2, 3 |
| Ophthalmological examination | clear, affected |
| DNA profile | filed |
| Breed-specific genetic test | the result issued by the laboratory |
(2) Tests are carried out by a veterinary surgeon and are proved by the document issued by the surgeon or by the testing laboratory, which must include the identification of the dog by microchip.
(3) The Board of Directors may add types of test by decision, with this article being updated accordingly.
Art. 16. Filing and verification
(1) Tests are filed by the dog’s owner in the breeder’s area on the Association’s website.
(2) The registry office verifies the match between the filed document and the dog, in particular the microchip, and marks the test as verified.
(3) A test not marked as verified produces no effect: it is not taken into account for the recommendation and is not shown publicly.
(4) The acts of filing and verification are recorded in the registry journal, in accordance with the Regulations of the Genealogical Registry.
Art. 17. Favourable results
(1) The following results are deemed favourable:
a) HD: A, B, C;
b) ED: 0, 1;
c) ophthalmological examination: clear;
d) DNA profile: filed.
(2) The result of a breed-specific genetic test is not judged automatically; it is taken into account by the registry office only in connection with a breed requirement established under Art. 18.
Art. 18. Mandatory tests by breed
(1) The Board of Directors may establish, by decision, the tests mandatory before mating for a particular breed, stating the results that bar reproduction.
(2) The decision is published on the Association’s website and enters into force no earlier than 12 months after publication, so that owners have time to carry out the tests.
(3) Until such a decision is taken, health tests remain optional for the breed concerned and produce the effect set out in Art. 19.
(4) Decisions taken under this article are gathered in an annex to these Regulations, kept up to date by the registry office.
Here lies the balance of the entire chapter: we do not impose today tests the community has not yet carried out, but we put in place the mechanism by which they become mandatory, breed by breed, with a year’s notice.
Art. 19. Recommendation for breeding
(1) A dog receives the public mention “Recommended for breeding — CFC-Royal” if it has at least one verified test with a favourable result and no verified test with an unfavourable result.
(2) The mention is shown on the dog’s public record and in the public registry, alongside the test badges.
(3) The mention is not a guarantee of health and does not take the place of the advice of a veterinary surgeon. It shows only that the dog has verified tests with good results.
(4) The mention is withdrawn as soon as a verified test with an unfavourable result appears.
Art. 20. Health data
(1) The health documents filed are kept in the dog’s file and are not published.
(2) Only the test badge — the type and the result — is shown publicly and, where applicable, the recommendation for breeding.
(3) The owner may at any time request the withdrawal from publication of the badges of their own dogs; the test remains in the file for the registry office’s verifications.
(4) The processing of these data is carried out in accordance with the privacy policy published by the Association.
Chapter V. The mating, the litter and the puppies
Art. 21. Confirmation of the mating
(1) The mating is confirmed by the owner of the male, in accordance with the Regulations of the Genealogical Registry.
(2) Together with the confirmation, the owner of the male states whether the dog satisfies the age conditions provided for in Art. 7.
Art. 22. Verification of the conditions upon filing of the MWD
(1) Upon receipt of the MWD, the registry office verifies:
a) the age of the female on the date of the mating (Art. 6);
b) the age of the male on the date of the mating (Art. 7);
c) the time elapsed since the previous whelping and the number of litters in the last 24 months (Art. 8);
d) the number of caesarean sections declared (Art. 9);
e) the degree of kinship between the parents (Art. 11 and Art. 12);
f) the tests mandatory for the breed, where established under Art. 18.
(2) Failure to satisfy a condition under points a)–e) entails the rejection of the MWD, with the reason stated in writing.
(3) The breeder may ask the Board of Directors to re-examine the rejection, within 30 days of its communication.
Art. 23. Age at which puppies may be transferred
(1) Puppies shall not be transferred before reaching the age of 8 weeks.
(2) Upon transfer, the puppy must be identified by microchip, dewormed and vaccinated according to its age, with a health record completed by the veterinary surgeon.
(3) The breeder is under an obligation to hand the acquirer the dog’s documents and to show them the kennel’s affix.
Art. 24. Raising of the puppies
(1) Puppies are raised in conditions that allow movement, cleanliness and contact with people.
(2) A female with puppies is entitled to suitable food, water and shelter, and to the possibility of withdrawing from her puppies.
(3) Failure to observe these conditions constitutes a breach of the Code of Ethics and is investigated in accordance with the Disciplinary Procedure.
Chapter VI. Consequences of non-compliance
Art. 25. Measures
(1) A breach of these Regulations is investigated in accordance with the Disciplinary Procedure (Annex 2 to the Internal Operating Regulations).
(2) According to the gravity of the offence, the Board of Directors may order:
a) a written warning to the breeder;
b) the rejection of the MWD for the litter in question;
c) the suspension of the right to declare litters, for a period of 3 months to 2 years;
d) the exclusion of a dog from reproduction, where its continued use would endanger its health or that of its descendants;
e) the suspension or striking off of the affix, in accordance with the Regulations on the registration of kennels.
(3) The measure is taken only after the breeder has been notified in writing of the established offence and given a period of at least 10 days to respond.
Art. 26. Certificates already issued
(1) Certificates issued on the basis of untrue data are annulled in accordance with the Regulations of the Genealogical Registry.
(2) The dog’s descendants do not lose their documents; their ancestry is corrected in accordance with the same regulations.
Chapter VII. Transitional and final provisions
Art. 27. Application in time
(1) These Regulations apply to matings carried out after the date of their entry into force.
(2) Litters resulting from earlier matings are registered under the rules in force on the date of the mating.
(3) Dogs in reproduction on the date of entry into force that do not satisfy the condition in Art. 9 para. (1) may continue to be used only with the opinion of a veterinary surgeon, communicated to the registry office.
Art. 28. Amendment
(1) These Regulations are amended by decision of the Board of Directors.
(2) Amendments introducing new health requirements enter into force under the conditions of Art. 18 para. (2).
Art. 29. Entry into force
These Regulations were adopted by the Board of Directors by Decision no. 181/13-08-2026 of 13 August 2026 and enter into force on the date of adoption.