Our Journey
APGAW first became concerned about poor welfare in dogs as a result of extreme conformation (EC) breeding in 2009
This resulted in their publication A Healthier Future for Pedigree Dogs which contained key recommendations for how dog breeding in the UK needed to be changed to ensure dogs are protected from extreme conformation breeding practices. Other key organisations in the sector have also made significant contributions in this field to try to affect change such as the Canine and Feline Sector Group’s (CFSG) guidance on dog conformation.
Unfortunately, despite the work carried out by many organisations across the industry, little progress has been achieved.
In 2022 APGAW, recognising this as the most significant welfare problem for companion animals, decided to pick up on this previous work and set up our own working group to look at ways of tackling this issue. Our aim was to find a practical solution to help improve the lives of future generations of dogs and other pets.
The science behind the IHA
The ‘Innate health’ concept was developed at the Royal Veterinary College (RVC) by Professor Dan O’Neill, based heavily on 15 years research from VetCompass, and with over 180 research papers published. Innate health describes the capacity to which an animal can perform all the natural functions of that species, such as being able to blink, breathe, communicate, exercise, eat, hear, reproduce, sleep and even to flex their spine. Extreme conformation describes abnormal body shapes that inhibit natural body functions and lead to suffering from frustration or disease.
From a longer list of extreme conformations, 10 criteria were selected for the APGAW IHA that aimed to capture the most common and serious extreme conformations in dogs today. This list will change over time in response to new evidence. More detailed information on the science behind the IHA is available on the link below.
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 tool which allows dog breeders, licensing officers and members of the public in general to quickly and reliably carry out a visual check of a dog to assess their innate health characteristics and their suitability to breed.
As well as providing free access to our IHA tool, this site also provides useful advice and information about the issues associated with extreme conformation (EC) breeding and the importance of animals having good innate health. We have consulted with leading veterinary professional bodies and animal welfare organisations to help us provide users with information and guidance on the importance of breeding animals responsibly and our IHA tool is endorsed by multiple organisations from across this sector.
We also engaged with a world leading economics consultancy, Frontier Economics, to obtain an economic appraisal of the likely benefits and costs of implementing the IHA and their report (found below) concluded that the IHA could serve as a low-cost but high-impact regulatory lever.
