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Welcome to the APGAW Innate Health Assessment (IHA): The 10-point checklist for healthier dogs

Take the IHA

Our Purpose

The purpose of this site is to raise awareness of the significant welfare issues affecting animals resulting from people breeding them to look a certain way and exaggerating the normal physical characteristics (‘conformation’) for their species to such an extent that their health and welfare is compromised.

The IHA is endorsed and supported by the following organisations:

Row of various animal welfare and veterinary organization logos, including The Kennel Club, LAGCDogs, Animal Welfare, Petplan, pet proof, PDSA, RSPCA, Royal Veterinary College, UFAW, and Woodgreen.

  • The IHA will be a valuable tool to help ensure better selection of animals for breeding and breeder compliance with animal welfare legislation, especially in breeds with extreme conformation. It complements tests for genetic traits, such as the BVA and Kennel Club Canine Health Schemes.

    BVA

  • BSAVA is supportive of the principles underpinning the IHA Tool which builds on the ‘CFSG Guidance on Dog Confirmation and Breeding’ for which BSAVA took the lead to conceive and develop.’ As the preliminary results of pilots appear promising, we will be interested to see the outcomes resulting from the new Tool as it is used more widely

    BSAVA

  • The IHA represents a pivotal shift for animal welfare. By powering its digital development, PetProov is helping breeders, authorities and buyers identify and prevent extreme conformation, building a more transparent, accountable future for dogs in the UK.

    PetProov

  • The deliberate breeding of dogs with extreme conformations causes significant health and welfare issues for dogs in the UK. By using APGAW’s Innate Health Assessment tool, breeders can assess the innate health of any breeding dog and make the right breeding choices to ensure that the puppies they breed have the foundations for a good life and that they comply with their legal requirements as breeders.

    Vanessa Barnes, Animal Welfare Lawyer and APGAW’s Legal Advisor

  • Dogs are much loved members of our families but sadly many suffer shortened and miserable lives due to severe health and welfare problems linked to their extreme body shape. APGAW’s Innate Health Assessment tool helps breeders to avoid breeding from animals who have poor innate health and therefore acts to reduce the suffering of future generations of dogs caused by having extreme body shapes.

    Prof Dan O’Neill, Professor in Companion Animal Epidemiology at the RVC

  • APGAW, via the Innate Health Assessment tool, is putting the power into the hands of the general public to end the century of suffering caused to dogs by irresponsible extreme conformation breeding practices and is raising awareness of the entirely avoidable welfare harms that extreme body conformations cause.

    Marisa Heath, Director of APGAW

  • The Innate Health Assessment (IHA) is an innovative and valuable assessment tool that will enable breeders, local authority inspectors and prospective dog buyers to easily assess visible aspects of a dog’s health. This will help ensure better selection of animals for breeding and breeder compliance with animal welfare legislation, especially in those breeds with extreme conformation such as flat faces, wrinkled skin and floppy eye lids. The IHA Tool will be valuable alongside tests for genetic traits, such as the BVA and Kennel Club Canine Health Schemes, that also help select animals for breeding for better health and welfare.

    British Veterinary Association President Dr. Elizabeth Mullineaux

  • The RSPCA strongly supports measures that reduce the significant harms caused from breeding for exaggerated physical features.  The IHA has the potential to help avoid worst-affected animals being bred from, to prevent future suffering.  

    RSPCA

  • CVS supports the APGAW Innate Health Assessment Tool as an initiative to reduce the welfare harms caused by extreme conformation in dogs. As a veterinary-led organisation, we recognise the importance of promoting responsible breeding practices that prioritise innate health and comply with existing legislation. This evidence-based tool empowers breeders, inspectors, and dog owners to make informed decisions that protect canine wellbeing, and we commend APGAW’s leadership in driving this important change.

    CVS

  • The IHA tool addresses a significant market failure in the dog breeding sector by targeting the welfare and health risks caused by extreme conformation – risks that likely impose material and avoidable costs on pet owners, veterinary professionals, and society.... By helping to shift societal norms towards healthier, ethically bred dogs, the IHA could serve as a low cost but high impact regulatory lever

    Frontier Economics

  • Breeding of dogs with extreme characteristics is one of the biggest welfare issues affecting our pets and thousands of dogs struggle to perform their basic daily functions owing to this problem. Within the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Animal Welfare we are keen to address this and to bring the pet sector together to stop bad breeding practice. We hope the Government will support this initiative and show that the UK will be a leading nation on animal welfare and will protect the public from owning pets that live in pain and discomfort.

    Professor The Lord Trees and Dr Neil Hudson MP co-chairs of the APGAW 

  • We are deeply grateful to the IHA Tool team for making the foundations of a happy, healthier pet more accessible to owners. Supporting this ground-breaking project has been a privilege, and we are excited to see the meaningful impact it will have on animals’ lives.

    Agria

  • We’re extremely proud to support the APGAW Innate Health Assessment (IHA) at Naturewatch Foundation. This practical tool will help people make kinder, more informed choices when choosing a dog, and give enforcement officers the confidence to step in and prevent breeding that causes lifelong suffering. The IHA is great news for dogs!

    Naturewatch Foundation

  • The Association of Lawyers for Animal Welfare (ALAW) enthusiastically supports the adoption of the Innate Health Assessment, which provides a tested, objective, appropriate, and straightforward means for breeders and enforcement officers to assess the suitability of dogs intended for breeding.

    ALAW

  • The Legal Advisory Group on Extreme Conformation in Dogs (LAGECDogs) is delighted to endorse the APGAW Innate Health Assessment (IHA). The clear guidance provided by this tool will help breeders to meet their legal obligations to avoid breeding from dogs with extreme body shapes and support effective enforcement of those rules.

    LAGECDogs

  • Woodgreen is proud to support the IHA’s launch, a vital step for dog welfare. We see many dogs suffer physical and psychological consequences from extreme conformation, often losing their homes as owners struggle with their care. By tackling these root causes, the IHA will prevent suffering and allow more dogs to have happy, healthy lives with their families.

    Woodgreen

  • Dogs Trust is proud to support APGAW with this important new tool for innate health that aligns with our mission to create a world where all dogs can lead a happy, healthy life. This is an exciting opportunity for dog owners and breeders to have a positive impact, so we encourage all dog lovers to learn more about this tool to help develop a future that focuses on welfare rather than debilitating extreme conformations.

    Karen Reed, Veterinary and Welfare Director at Dogs Trust

  • PDSA sees this tool as important in aiding breeders and local authority inspectors to ensure breeding for innate good health, it will also help potential pet owners to find and choose pets with innate good health. We believe the development of the Innate Health Assessment is a real step forward in improving the welfare of this nations pets.

    PDSA

With special thanks to the following organisations for their additional support in the development of the IHA

Logo of Agria, featuring the word in blue text with a red square in the letter 'a'.
Frontier Economics logo with black text and a red swoosh above the word 'frontier', and gray 'economics' below.
A logo with a blue watercolor dog face and a blue watercolor cat face, drawn with black outlines, with the word "BATTERSEA" written below in bold black letters.
Logo with a stylized pet icon and the words 'pet proov' in dark gray letters.
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Text on a white background reading 'RSPCA' in bold blue letters.

Our Vision

We believe that no animal should have a life of suffering just so that they look “cute” or meet whatever humans have decided is the current fashionable body shape, colour or type.

What is innate health?
A fluffy, light brown dog with a happy expression, sticking out its tongue, against a blue background.

Our Mission

To provide the blueprint for healthy breeding and eliminate the suffering caused to animals from poor breeding practices.

A brown Labrador Retriever puppy sitting against a light purple background.
About the team

The IHA Tool

The result of this work was the development of APGAW’s Innate Health Assessment (IHA) tool for Dogs. The IHA is a straightforward and easy to use 10-point checklist which allows dog breeders, stud dog owners, licensing officers and members of the public in general to quickly and reliably carry out a visual check of any dog to assess their innate health characteristics and their suitability to breed.The IHA does not discriminate between breeds - it applies to all dogs regardless of breed or type and seeks to deliver good innate health to all dogs.

Take the IHA
A black dog with a white patch on its chest, smiling with its mouth slightly open, against a light blue background.
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Please note that the IHA interactive tool, including related information and articles on this site, are provided as general information, advice and guidance only and is not intended to diagnose, treat or cure your pet.  It is not a substitute for any of the recommended health screening tests relevant to specific breeds or types of dogs and advice should always be sought from your veterinarian concerning any additional health screening, medical care and treatment that may be relevant to your pet. We recommend you consult the British Veterinary Association (BVA) website for specific information on breed related health issues and guidance on how to choose the right veterinarian support for your pet.