Dogs living outside the Netherlands and Health research programs
Registrations by the Raad
The Raad van Beheer coordinates the screening of individual dogs and registers the results in health research programmes for
- Hip dysplasia
- Elbow dysplasia
- Eye diseases
- Deafness.
The Raad has also suggested the need to coordinate and register a health programme for patella luxation.
Registrations of health scores from dogs living abroad
The international rules of the FCI govern the registration of health programme scores of dogs who are exported or imported. This means the Raad van Beheer coordinates only dogs registered by the Raad van Beheer and who have a NHSB number.
The Raad van Beheer department of Behaviour, Health and Wellbeing (‘Gedrag, Gezondheid & Welzijn’, abbreviated as GGW) coordinates, among other things, various health programmes for hereditary diseases. In these programmess the dogs are examined and classified for certain conditions according to a standard procedure. These GGW-research programs are coordinated for pedigree dogs registered by the Raad van Beheer and who have a NHSB number.
FCI regulations
In 1991 the Scientific Committee of the FCI agreed that dogs can obtain their official hip score only in the country of residence where they are registered in the pedigree book.
Scores from other countries will not be registered and confirmed by the member countries.
From time to time the GGW department is asked to coordinate the health check for a Dutch dog sold abroad or for a Dutch dog that has moved abroad with his owner. When the dog lives outside the Netherlands, the basic rules of cynology dictate that it should be registered at the kennel club in the country of residence. An Export Pedigree should be applied for from the department of Identification and Registration (‘Identificatie & Registratie’) of the Raad van Beheer.
After the removal and the compulsory issue of an Export Pedigree connected with this removal, the dog is no longer registered at the Raad van Beheer. The reason: it is impossible for a dog to be registered in two countries. Registration and health checks are connected, and therefore the coordination of the health programmes is reserved exclusively to the kennel club of the country of residence, where the dog should be registered.
The FCI does not, as an option, permit health checks in the country of origin, as has been rumoured. Only in some very specific cases have some FCI-countries agreed to allow an exception to this rule for specific breeds.
The staff of the GGW department hopes that these explanations will avoid misunderstandings.
Owners who apply for renewal of registration because they move abroad or because they sold the dog abroad and breeders who have sold a puppy to a person living abroad will automatically be invoiced for an export pedigree. The pedigree and the export pedigree should be presented for registration at the kennel club of the country where the dog will reside. Breeders who sell a dog abroad are kindly requested to inform the new owners about the existing regulations.
