The Schipperke Club

Code of Ethics

This code of ethics has been prepared to comply with a Kennel Club request to all Breed Clubs, and in accordance with Schipperke Club Rule 1 which states that ‘The Club.....shall promote the general interests of the breed....by publishing a Code of Ethics for the guidance of breeders and exhibitors’.

  1. Members will properly house, feed, water and exercise all dogs under their care, and arrange for appropriate veterinary attention when required including such preventative measures as vaccinations, annual boosters and worming.
  2. All breeding should be aimed at the improvement of the breed. Each litter should be conscientiously planned, taking into account the parents suitability in accordance with the Kennel Club Breed Standard. Members should do everything in their power to discourage breeding from clearly inferior specimens, from animals with nervous or aggressive temperaments, or from stock with known hereditary disorders except for the purpose of test mating within a planned programme.
  3. No bitch should be bred from until she is mature, and certainly not before she is at least one year old, nor should any bitch be bred from after the age of eight years.
  4. No bitch should be required to have an excessive numbers of litters, nor should a bitch have litters in successive seasons unless this is approved by a veterinary surgeon.
  5. No Member should breed a litter unless s/he has the time, the finances and the facilities to devote proper care and attention to the rearing of the puppies and the well-being of the dam. Nor should any Member offer stud services unless s/he is satisfied that the owner of the bitch has such time, finances and facilities.
  6. Before embarking on a litter Members should ensure that suitable homes are available for the puppies, or should be able and willing to keep unbooked puppies until such homes are found, bearing in mind that not all puppies will be placed by the time they are eight weeks old.
  7. Members should ideally register and name all puppies bred, but in any event should keep an accurate record of matings and pedigrees. Purchasers should be given their documentation as soon as possible after purchase, including pedigree forms and, where appropriate, Kennel Club registration and transfer certificates. In addition, purchasers of puppies sold after innoculation should be given the vaccination record for their puppy.
  8. No puppy should be sold before it is seven weeks old. All purchasers should be provided with written information on the care of their puppy including advice on feeding, worming, training, vaccination and insurance.
  9. Prospective buyers should be screened for suitability and should be advised of the idiosyncratic nature of the Schipperke, particularly the fact that they are a very long lived breed and the commitment undertaken at the time of purchase could well last for fifteen or more years.
  10. No puppies should be sold to laboratories or pet shops, or to dealers in puppies, puppy farmers, or to anyone known to sell stock to any of the foregoing, nor should stud services or provided for such persons. No puppy should ever be offered or sold as a prize in a competition or raffle.
  11. Members should be prepared to take back, or to assist in rehoming, stock of their breeding should the need arise no matter how long after the original sale this should occur.
  12. Advertising of stock should be as factual as possible. Misleading, exaggerated or unfounded claims of quality or potential show-worthiness should not be used and Members should acquaint themselves with their responsibilities under the law, particularly with regard to the Sale of Goods Act, and the Trade Descriptions Act.
  13. Members are encouraged to use a Conditions of Sale form for puppy sales, and if they enter into breeding-terms or stud-dog arrangements with purchasers, all the implications of such agreements should be clearly explained and a written contract obtained, signed by all parties.
  14. Members should offer a continuing advice and after-sales service to all purchasers, but particularly to those who have never owned a Schipperke before.
  15. Members should refrain from making unfair, untrue or derogatory statements about the breeding or practices of other Members, in all circumstances behaving as they would wish to be treated themselves.
  16. Members should remember that the good name of the Schipperke Club depends on the conduct of its Members in all their dealings in dogs, whether as owner, breeders, exhibitors or judges. Existing and prospective Members, therefore, should read this Code of Ethics carefully and only renew their membership or submit their application if they are prepared to honour its spirit.