Great Swiss Mountain Dog Club of Great Britain Code of Ethics May 2009

The Great Swiss Mountain Dog Club of Great Britain, in keeping with its aims of breeding the best possible dogs while preserving their unique beauty and character and of promoting the best possible care and training of these dogs, adopts the following:

1. Members shall strive for perfection of the Great Swiss Mountain Dog and only breed for the specific purpose of improving the breed in accordance with the official standard set forth by the FCI and Kennel Club. In this regard they shall:
   • (a) Maintain a high standard of health and care for their dogs, only keeping such numbers that can be socialised and cared for.
   • (b) Ensure that all stock to be bred from shall be free from contagious disease. Breeding shall be carefully planned and must be carried out selectively in an attempt to reduce as much as possible hereditary defects such as Hip Dysplacia, Osteochondrosis of the shoulder and elbow, ectropian/entropian, trembler (hypomyelinigenesis), Epilepsy and elongated soft palate.
   • (c) Ensure that nervous or aggressive Great Swiss shall not be bred from.
   • (d) Refrain from whelping a bitch until she is 22 months - 2 years of age, ensure that no bitch shall be bred from in any way that is deleterious to the bitch or the breed and that the last litter shall be whelped before the bitch’s 7th birthday except in exceptional circumstances and with veterinary approval and to be considered and agreed by the quorum (quorum = 2/3 of Committee) of the Committee. Only 3 litters maximum in a bitch’s lifetime (extenuating circumstance will be considered) and no back to back matings (extenuating circumstances to be considered and agreed by the quorum of the Committee. The breed being so early in it’s introduction to the UK at the present time.
   • (e) Ensure that stud dogs are over 16 months of age before being used at stud and not used excessively. The use of a stud dog shall be refused on any bitch considered to have poor health, temperament or quality.
   • (f) Ensure that puppies are only bred from Kennel Club registered Greater Swiss Mountain Dog parents.
2. • (a) It is recommended that all breeding stock shall be x-rayed for evidence of
     Hip Dysplacia from 14 months of age and the X-ray plates are submitted to
     the KC/BVA scoring scheme. Breeders shall treat mild cases as they would
     any other fault and exclude from their breeding programme, dogs with
     more severe evidence of hip dysplacia. The same applies for Elbow
     Dysplacia, only breeding from ED Free or 1 scored only.
   • (b) It is recommended that all breeding stock shall be X-rayed to screen for
     OCD of the shoulder at the same time as they are x-rayed for
     Hips and elbows and the plates be submitted to the Zurich in
     Switzerland for scoring. Only OCD Free is acceptable for breeding.
   • (c) It is also recommended to Eye test under the KC/BVA scheme for PRA,
     Detatched Retina and Distichiasis. Eyes to be tested yearly to 7 years. It
     is also recommended to Heart test.
3. Members will not sell stock without true representation to the purchaser and
   not use misleading or untruthful statements in selling or advertising. All official
   Papers i.e. BVA score sheets etc will be shown to all Purchasers.
4. No member shall sell adults or puppies to any known retailor, wholesale outlet or laboratory, nor to any country not covered by club constitution paragraph 23. Puppies shall not be sold for export nor exported unless the recipient is personally known to the breeder or is approved by a local veterinary surgeon or local Greater Swiss Mountain Dog club.
5. Ideally no puppy shall go to its new home before 8 weeks of age.
6. A buyer shall be supplied with a 5 generation pedigree with information on innoculations and other veterinary care that the dog has had and with instructions on the care, feeding, exercise and training of Great Swiss. Comprehensive Puppy packs are thoroughly recommended and a Contract.
7. A breeder shall guarantee the health of his or her stock subject to a veterinary examination within 48 hours of the sale or transfer and shall insure puppies for a minimum of 4 weeks against illness, loss or sudden death.
8. A breeder shall keep in touch with the progress of the dogs of his or her breeding.
9. A breeder or stud dog owner must be prepared to take back any dog of his or her breeding, or to be instrumental in re-homing the dog at any time throughout the dog’s life.
10. A breeder will donate £15 per puppy from each litter to the GSMD Welfare Society.
11. Members shall, at all times, exhibit good sportsmanship at all events relating to the club and to dog shows.
12. Members shall not denigrate any other member or kennel.