France

Reported by Denise Mangold (Formans)
Photo for this section of: Ch. Forman's Happening (left)
winning BOB and his daughter (right) Forman's Lil Michael
winning BOS at the Amsterdam Show.
Breeder/Owner: Denise Mangold and Jean-Louis Forrier

The Société Centrale Canine (SCC or French Kennel Club) is headquarters for the 300 recognized breeds of dogs in France. The SCC is in charge of the stud book (the LOF, or Livre des Origines Françaises) and governed by the French Ministry of Agriculture. The SCC delivers registration certificates (148,514 in 1999), pedigrees (48,000 in 1999) and kennel affixes (966 in 1999). It is the ruling body for all matters involving registrations, judges, judges' qualifications, dogs shows, field trials, agility competitions, and breed clubs. In France, there can be only one single club recognized by the SCC for each breed.

The SCC has a section called the Fichier Central, or Central File, that delivers and registers the tattoo cards (688,610 in 1999) which are mandatory in France. All cats and dogs -- whether purebreds or crossbreeds, and all house pets (such as rabbits) have to be tattooed in France.

When a purebred litter is born, each puppy is assigned a registration certificate showing its origins after it has been tattooed. If an owner wants to breed a purebred dog or bitch, they have to present their dogs at a confirmation exam when the dog reaches adulthood (at least 12 months of age for most breeds, but 15 months for several large breeds). This is an exam to make sure that the individual dog conforms to its breed standards. If they pass this exam, the dogs are given a final pedigree by the SCC, and their offspring will be purebred puppies.

The SCC is a member of the FCI (Fédération Cynologique Internationale), the main governing body for purebred dogs in several countries around the world.

The club in charge of the 8 spaniels breeds in France (American cocker, English cocker, English springer, Welsh springer, Clumber, field spaniel, Irish water spaniel, and Sussex spaniel) is the Spaniel Club Français, or SCF. It organizes a spaniel championship show and several specialty shows each year, as well as field trials for working spaniels. The SCF does not deliver pedigrees, which is the responsibility of the SCC. Each breed in the SCF has a specific commission which is supposed to work in the bests interests of its breed. The commissions meet once a year to discuss the future and the evolution of spaniels.

There are different types of shows in France:

- international shows where CACIBs (Certificat d'Aptitude au Championnat International de Beauté) are awarded, along with CACs;

- national shows where only CACs (Certificat d'Aptitude au Championnat National de Beauté) are awarded.

For working spaniels who win in field trials, there are CACITs (Certificat d'Aptitude au Championnat International de Travail) and CACTs (Certificat d'Aptitude au Championnat de Travail) (T means travail = working).

There will be 36 CACIB shows and 52 CAC shows in France in 2001. The largest show held in France is the French Championship Show which has been held in Paris in June for many years. This is a 3-day show. In 2000, 6,774 dogs were entered.

Cockers are separated into 3 varieties: (Black, black and tan, chocolate, chocolate and tan / golden and blond / parti-colors)

Age of Dogs	Entry Class	CAC	CACIB
6 to 9 months	Minor puppy	no	no
9 to 12 months	Puppy	no	no
12 to 18 months	Junior	no	no
12 months and +	Open	yes	Not under 15 mos.
15 months and +	Open	yes	yes
15 months and +	Champion	no	yes
7 years and +	Veteran	no	no

National Champion
To become a French champion, an American cocker has to have been awarded 3 CACs under 3 different judges -- 2 in national shows and at least one at an international show (over age 15 months). One of the required three CACs has to have been won at the Spaniel Club Championship Show or the big French Championship Show. In addition, to earn its title, the dog has to pass a hunting aptitude test, an eye exam, and a hip X-ray. After the dog has won its CAC at the Club or National Championship, the owner has to two years to file an application for the title of champion with the SCC, but the last award has to be obtained 6 months before the application is filed.

CACs are awarded for each color and each sex. That means there are 12 CACs (National champions) a year. If the same dog is awarded the CAC at both championship shows, the owner of the Reserve dog can apply for the championship CAC.

If the owner of a dog which has been awarded one of the two championship CACs fails to apply for the title within 2 years, it can go to the Reserve dog so long as it meets all the other requirements.

There are no open shows and no sweepstakes in France, just some fun shows for beginners held during club meetings every year at the same time as the hunting aptitude tests.

The American cocker hunting aptitude test is not a field trial. Based on 30 points, the dog passes it if the dog earns 16 points.

Table of points

General aspect off leash, active, gay	5
Relationship with handler or owner, obedience, coming when called	3
Attitude towards gunshots (fear eliminates the dog)	3
Seeking and flushing game	4
Predisposition to retrieve (refusal to retrieve does not eliminate the dog)	4
Behavior with the judge (ease of approach, gay)	8
General impression	3
Total	30

International Champion
4 CACIBs under 3 different judges in 3 different countries for dogs over 15 months of age - with a minimum of 12 months between the first and the last one. One CACIB has to be obtained in the country of the dog's registration. For example: A dog registered in France gets 1 CACIB in Belgium, one in Netherlands, one in Italy and one in Luxembourg, but it cannot become an international champion unless it is awarded one in France also.

Breeding regulations
A breeder with a registered affix can only produce registered dogs. There is no limited registration. The entire litter has to be registered. Breeding unregistered dogs when you have a kennel affix is illegal. Since 1999, each breeder who breeds more than one litter a year has to declare its activity as a business, is then assigned a tax number, and pays taxes on puppies sold. This also means that the breeder has to satisfy health regulations in its kennel. In any advertisement the breeder publishes, the breeder's tax number must be provided. This law was enforced in 2000.

Pet shops can sell puppies, and they get most of them from puppy farms which are usually located in foreign countries.