Germany

reported by Hans Uhlenfeldt

The following article is an overall picture of the dog scene in Germany. I may have left out some details, but it covers the main issues and concerns and offers you an impression of how purebred dogs are managed here. Hans Uhlenfeldt, January 2000

Organizational Structure

Every country in Europe has a Kennel Club that alone is decisive in all breed questions, and who are responsible for maintaining and publishing the country’s pedigree. Each bred has its own Club that represents a single, or several breeds.

Germany has a different structure. Here the Kennel Club (VDH) is an umbrella organization. They are charged with minimum regulative functions, with Breed Clubs responsible for regulating breed specifics, regulations, and are in charge of and publisher of Breed Pedigrees.

Another unique feature of Germany is more than one Club can represent any given breed. The reason is Germany has the largest legislation in Europe when it comes to clubs, association, leagues and other groups. It has its roots in the New Constitution following World War II. So, Germany has three Breed Clubs that cover all Spaniels except King Charles, Tibetan, and some others.

Jagdspaniel Club
There is the Jagdspaniel Club, the oldest and largest group. It includes the largest membership and registry of English Cockers, English being the most common spaniel in Europe.

Spaniel-Club Deutschland
The most prominent spaniel Club in Germany is the Spaniel-Club Deutschland. This Club includes cockers and Springers.

Cocker Club Deutschland
This is the smallest of the groups.

Each Club manages their own Pedigree so that there are three different cockers with optically different looking pedigrees. Their commonalties are the Sign of the German Kennel Club (VDH) and FCI, the International organization. Each Club has its own regulations that govern their legislation as basic rules. Each Club publishes their own magazine and these are different in quality. The Jagdspaniel Club publication is more a listing of the Club’s organizational directions, executive action outcomes, and show results. The most prominent magazine is the Spaniel Revue that features Club news, articles and reports focused on the entire dog, their human interests as well as scientific, civil legislation and court decisions articles.

We have two categories of shows here in Germany; the Internationals, coordinated by the Kennel Club but with each Breed Club responsible for coordinating the Breed Show including judge selection. There are 12 to 14 International Shows each year with the All State Winner Show highlighted in October.

In breeds like ours, where there are three Clubs, the number of litters within the breed determine how many Internationals our Club will be in charge of the breed. A sad and disturbing fact is that unlike the Spaniel Club Deutschland, who recognizes the CC’s (competition certificates) from other Clubs, the Jagdspaniel Club refuses to recognize any other Club’s CCs. One gets the impression of a hard-liner and a reduced willingness to collaborate in all aspects.

In addition to each Club’s International show, they also coordinate a number of Specialty shows. The show rules are completely different from those in the United States. Varieties are judged separately. The classes are as follow:

Puppy class	6 to 9 months
Youth class	9 to 18 months
Open class	15 months and older
Champion class	15 months and older with a National Champion title
Veteran class	7 years and older
Achievable awards are:
Puppy Class	promising/very promising
All other classes	Vorzuglig (V) Excellent Sehr Gut (SG) Very Good Gut (G) Good Genugend (just acceptable) Nicht Genugend (not acceptable)
In Germany you cannot win anything in the Puppy Classes towards the championship. The Puppy Class is where you socialize your dog and let it get used to show activity. In the Youth Class, you can achieve the Youth CC, if the dog earns four in the limited time between the 9th and 18th months. They then become a Youth Champion.

The three Variety Winners, (V1) compete against each other to earn the Youth CC.

By the age of 15 months, it starts to be serious. From this age on you can achieve a Kennel Club CC and an International CC AND the Club CC. The procedure on how to win it is similar to the Youth CC. The difference is that there is only on CC to the Adult Dogs and one to the Bitches and the Winner of the Variety Winners, competes against the Winner of the Champion Classes. The fact that there is only one Club CC to win makes it more difficult to get the Club title.

The Kennel Club CC is given to every Variety and Class Winner.

German Titles

To earn a German Championship title and German Champion Club title, the dog must win four CC awarded by three different judges. This must be done over a minimum of one year and one day from the earning of the first CC and the fourth. You cannot run into a German Championship dog younger than 27 months.

Kennel Club and Breed Club Titles

For the Kennel Club title, two of the CCs must be won at shows (usually International shows) where the Kennel Club is the coordinating organization. The Breed Club title doesn’t have this restriction but you can win the Club Title in Spaniel Club Deutschland with different Club CCs, with again the Jagdspaniel Club recognizing only CCs earned I their own Club shows. Ridiculous but the reality.

FCI Titles

To win the International Champion title, awarded by the FCI (the European umbrella organization) considered to be the most valued title achievable, the dog must earn four CACIB’s (International CCs) from at least three countries and under a minimum of three different judges. One of the CACIBs must be won in the dog’s owner’s home country, or in the country of origin of the dog. Dogs which originate in countries not recognized by the FCI, the FCI home origin, Belgium, factors as the dog’s country of origin.
The title requires a time spread of a year and a day between the first CACIB and the fourth, which is the minimum to be awarded.

Additional Titles Available

Beyond the various national titles, there are also "day titles" such as "All State Winner", European Winner, World Winner (when held in Germany). I find these titles less interesting because opposite to the champion titles you have to win over a period of time, day titles are based on one day and one judge’s decision.

Every dog receives the Judge’s Critique in writing so the owner sees where the judge determines the dog’s advantages and disadvantages. This is good information, especially for new people in the breed.

We do not have professional handlers or agents in Germany. The dogs are owner handled and there are many fine handlers among them.

The Non Dock Legislation and Dog Shows

The German Parliament passed a new legislation concerning animals. This includes a "Non-Dock Law" resulting in it being illegal to dock puppies’ tails born after July 11, 1998.

We live close to the Danish border, and the Danes have had such a law since June 1996. We began to see the undocked dogs and grew accustomed to it, so when the German law was put in place, we didn’t feel quite the shock others did.

According to my understanding, it will be decided in February 2000, whether docked cockers only will be allowed to be shown until the end of this year without regards from where the dog originates. That includes foreign dogs, if docked, had to be whelped before July 1998.

We will still be able to pass a breed approval, but the numbers of imported stud dogs will be significantly reduced because the owners will not be allowed to show them (docked tails after July 1998). I believe we will have an international no dock law in Europe in ten years.

Breeding Cockers in Germany

Each Club has its own breed approval arrangements, plus rules for passing that approval process. Again, the Jagdspaniel Club I feel is arrogant. Their members cannot stud with one of my dogs if my dog is approved only by my Club. The reverse is acceptable.

The Demands in Spaniel Club Deutschland are you must pass the approval. It is similar to show, but the dog considered for approval, is alone in the ring. The Judge has more time to go over the dog in every Detail and check the temperament of the dog. The owner then receives a form with the judge’s written comments on it and their health demands.

Germans love to measure, weigh and count, so every Detail is written down. Among those is yet another unique characteristic in Germany, that is the counting of the teeth. Apart from the bite, the number of teeth is essential to passing for approval or not. The number of teeth allowed to be missing depends on the regulations of each Club. In my Club a Cocker is allowed to miss "a number of not important teeth" P1 and P2. Our rule on teeth makes sense when one considers that there is no control in the country of origin.

The two other Clubs require a Cocker can miss only one P1, tooth. The dog passes approval, but must be stud with a dog who has a complete set of teeth (42).

Imagine you own a triple plus Champion, the dog is healthy, has an optimal temperament, but misses two teeth. The dog is excluded from breeding.

It is more important to have all your teeth than whether or not your dog has eye disease. We have no demands for eye examinations before breeding. I miss the logic. I’m sure everyone would prefer to have a sighted dog, with some teeth missing, instead of a blind one with all its teeth!

Health Tests The majority of ethical breeders have their dogs’ eyes tested routinely on a volunteer basis. Hips have to be x-rayed and be free of hip dysplasia or at least, receive the +status (light). Categories for hip dysplasia are:
Free
-+	Affected
+	Light
++	Medium
+++	Severe

The minimum age for bitches to be bred is 18 months. Dogs are 12 months. The maximum age for bitches to be bred is 8 years old. How often you breed a bitch depends on the number of puppies in a litter, but as a rule, the bitch can have one litter a year.

When the puppies are 8 weeks old, the breeder is visited by a Zuchtwart, (Breed Controller) who tattoos the puppies and checks them for faults at this stage. We are responsible for vaccinations in all of our dogs, and present these records to the controller who does a written report about the dogs and conditions.

The executive in the Club then decides whether a breeder needs to be checked out and then sends the Controller. The breeder must let the Breed Controller access to their house and kennel. If the breeder refuses, they will be excluded. And excluded in one, means excluded in all three. All Clubs use the Breed Controller system with differences for approval as a breeder defined by the Clubs.