Advice & Information
for Breeders
Responsible breeders will consider the health of their puppies to be a priority, increasing the probability that healthy puppies will go on to live long and happy lives. This page includes sections on factors to consider when breeding dogs for health, including breeding from DNA tested dogs and inbreeding.
Breeding advice
This section gives guidance on important factors to consider when breeding dogs and how to use results from health tests and screening schemes appropriately.
Understanding canine genetics
If you would like to understand more about DNA, mutations, and inheritance then the articles in this section will help you gain a basic understanding of canine genetics.
Breeding Resources
Nutrition advice for breeders
Discover from Purina PRO Plan, our partners in pet nutrition, all about puppy development needs and how nutrition can help.
Weaning advice for breeders
Purina PRO Plan, our partners in pet nutrition, explain more about the journey from birth to weaning, and how you can help your puppies develop good eating habits.
Visit the KC health breeding resource Mate Select
An online resource offering a range of health services to help you select appropriate mates for their dogs.
Use inbreeding Co-efficient calculators
This resource helps you check the degree of inbreeding for puppies that could be produced from a hypothetical mating.
Find a dog’s health test / screening results
This resource allows you to find any available health records of any KC registered dog, including BVA/KC and DNA tests from official KC testing schemes.
Estimate genetic risk for hip or elbow dysplasia
This resource determines the genetic risk of dogs passing on genes for hip and elbow dysplasia. Estimated Breeding Values are a more accurate indicator of genetic risk than using an individual dog’s hip or elbow score alone.
Know which health tests and schemes apply to your breed
The health information section of the Breed Information Centre allows you to check which is tests are appropriate for your breed.
Find a DNA test and which laboratory carries it out
This list helps you find out which DNA tests are available for your breed and which laboratories carry them out.
Discover the conformational issues in your breed
This highlights any breed specific conformational issues which may lead to health problems.
Find out more about BVA/KC Health Schemes
The British Veterinary Association, in conjunction with the Kennel Club, run clinical veterinary screening schemes, which aim to detect signs of a number of inherited diseases to help breeders identify and choose breeding stock.
Glossary of health tests and screening schemes
This glossary provides you with a brief dictionary of DNA tests, health screening schemes and health programmes.
Note: The above information has been obtained online from the UK Kennel Club (KC) website.