What is a purebred dog standard?
The standard is a reference, it is an official text that the f.c.i. (fédération cynologique Internationale), overseeing the canine societies which are affiliated to it by country (80 in total throughout the world – the Central Canine Society for France ), which must validate and approve.
The standard of a breed is all the details of morphology, coat, and also skills (look, temperament).
The guidelines of a breed standard are used to determine which animals will be accepted into the breed, and which will be rejected. Each breed’s standards are designed to protect the integrity of purebred animals and their heritage by ensuring that only the best representatives of the breed are identified as members of the breed.
Breeders who work with purebred dogs usually try to reproduce and breed dogs that meet the breed standard as much as possible by doing selection work in order to improve the characteristics of the breed.
Of course the perfect dog does not exist! But many are those who approach it and this is what makes the quality of a breeding line, whether in France or abroad.
A standard may change over time such as size, weight, coat color…
What is lof and what is it used for?
This is the Book of French Origins (Livre des Origines Français), created in 1885, it lists all the origins of French dog breeds,
It was the Société Centrale Canine which, in 1885, founded the LOF
To date, it lists more than 300 breeds of French dogs whose pedigree is established with certainty. The reproduction of dogs registered with the lof also makes it possible to obtain puppies not resulting from inbreeding since we know the origin of their parents.
A dog born to lof parents, for example, benefits from a simple provisional registration in addition to being awarded a birth certificate.
The puppy can be provisionally registered, but once an adult (at 10, 12 or 15 months depending on the breed), it must be confirmed. To benefit from a definitive registration, it will go through what is called confirmation, the purebred dog must pass before a judge of the breed or a confirming expert. His coat, his color, his teeth, its morphology, but also its behaviour. All its characteristics will be examined to verify that they correspond to the standard of the breed to which it belongs.
The conditions to be able to present a dog for confirmation:
- The parentage of the dog is known
- The breeding dog is confirmed (this means that it has been certified: the criteria of the breed, the right to reproduction)
- The entire litter must be registered with the SCC (Société Centrale Canine)
- The number of puppies in a litter must be declared.
Breed groups:
In France, the breeds of dogs are divided into ten groups, and their name allows us to know the function for which they are intended, sometimes informing us about their morphology or their type.
The 10 groups are:
– Group 1: sheepdogs and cattle dogs (except Swiss cattle dogs)
– Group 2: dogs of the pinscher and schnauzer type, molossoids, Swiss cattle dogs
– Group 3: burrows
– Group 4: dachshunds
– Group 5: dogs of spitz type and primitive type
– Group 6: hounds and blood search dogs
– Group 7: pointing dogs
– Group 8: game dogs, retrievers and water dogs
– Group 9: pleasure or companion dogs
– Group 10: greyhounds
What is the difference between a group and a category?
As above, today there are 10 groups of dog breeds, recognized by the fci. of which France is a part, each breed listed in the lof is therefore included in a group.
The dog categories signify their “dangerousness”. This therefore has nothing to do directly with breed or pedigree but rather with the type of dog and its traditional use which has potentially introduced “dangerous” character traits. You can consult the list of the different categories called “dangerous”, existing on the site of the scc.
What is a breed club for?
A breed club is there to maintain and improve the breed or breeds it governs, as defined by the standards.
A breed club is a group of enthusiasts and breeders, generally organised in the form of an association, whose activities, in particular the establishment of the standard, are centered on a specific breed of dog. The clubs are generally federated at different levels in association with the central canine society and the fci for canine breeds.
Breed clubs may have different objectives depending on the country, even if it is the same race
