The Kennel Club is enhancing its Breed Watch system from January 2025, including changes to how it monitors health at dog shows, strengthened guidance for vet health checks, and reclassification of three breeds. This comes following a review of the system since its inception in 2013 by the organisation’s Breed Standards and Conformation Group, made up of experienced veterinary professionals, breeders, exhibitors and judges.
Breed Watch – which forms part of every breed standard – serves as an 'early warning system' and enables anyone involved in the world of dog showing to develop their knowledge and identify, monitor and report any visible breed-specific conformational issues which may impact on health and welfare. Each breed is monitored via mandatory health monitoring forms completed by judges.
The Kennel Club has updated the judges' health monitoring form, making it applicable to all breeds and improving the format, accessibility, and communications to better support judges in monitoring and reporting concerns, while helping them understand the value and importance of this process. From October 2024, this updated form will be mandatory for judges of all breeds at championship shows, regardless of the breed’s category. This change strengthens the form as an early warning system, ensuring consistency in monitoring and helping The Kennel Club better track and safeguard the health and welfare of all dogs at shows.
The veterinary health check guidelines have also been strengthened and updated to be non-breed specific, and The Kennel Club is establishing a communication channel with all show vets to improve accessibility, ongoing training, and support.
As a system which continuously monitors health and welfare at dog shows, Breed Watch is a fluid system, with breeds moving between categories depending on the published criteria. Factors considered include conformation features related to health and welfare issues, health screening uptake, and concerns noted in judges' health monitoring forms, among others. As part of this review, from 1 January 2025, the French Bulldog and Basset Hound will be reclassified to category 3, while the Bloodhound will be moved to category 2 on the Breed Watch system.
The three classifications in the Breed Watch system are:
- Category 1: breeds with no current Breed Watch points of concern;
- Category 2: breeds with Breed Watch points of concern, by reason of visible condition(s) which may have potential to cause health or welfare concern;
- Category 3: breeds with Breed Watch points of concern, by reason of visible condition(s) which may have potential to cause health or welfare concern, requiring increased support and proactive measures. Best of breed veterinary health checks are required at general and group championship shows and to confirm champion title.
The reclassifications of the three breeds mean that French Bulldog and Basset Hound best of breeds at general and group championship shows, including Crufts, and potential champions of these breeds, will be required to undergo veterinary health checks before awards are confirmed. Bloodhounds as a category 2 breed will no longer be required to undergo veterinary health checks from 1 January 2025.
The Kennel Club will continue to work closely with all three breeds to offer support and advice with health and welfare initiatives. Although the Bloodhound will be reclassified to category 2, the Bloodhound Breed Health Co-ordinator will continue to work in collaboration with The Kennel Club on the Breed’s Health and Conservation Plan, which includes monitoring health conditions that cannot be visibly seen in the showring. Further, The Kennel Club Breed Standards and Conformation Group will continue to monitor mandatory judges’ health reports for Bloodhounds to ensure that progress is upheld in regard to visible conformational concerns and/or exaggeration.
Ian Seath, Chairman of The Kennel’s Club’s Breed Standards and Conformation Health Group, commented: “Breed Watch enables us to work with our communities to safeguard the health and welfare of dogs at dog shows and supports this aim through health monitoring, reporting and educational materials.
“Breed Watch is also a fluid system and there are different reasons why breeds may be reclassified, for instance a dramatic growth in popularity and rise in the number of people breeding and potentially showing their dogs, and the presence of conformational concerns within a breed. We urge those involved with any breed to follow guidance on recommended health tests – which is easily accessible on The Kennel Club’s online ‘Breed A-Z’ – and a more detailed overview of the health of each breed, available via its Health and Conservation Plan, should also be considered.
“We encourage judges and exhibitors to re-familiarise themselves with Breed Watch points of concern, guidance on completing health monitoring forms and all information relating to Breed Watch ahead of the changes coming in from 1 January 2025. This can be accessed on The Kennel Club website.
“The changes should help not only judges, but also breeders, exhibitors and owners to ensure the best health ambassadors for each breed are exhibited and awarded top prizes at dog shows. This is part of The Kennel Club’s continued commitment to championing the wellbeing of dogs, and we would like to extend our immense gratitude to our Breed Health Co-ordinators and wider breed communities, who continue to work with us to protect and improve the health of the breeds they love.”
The reclassifications follow the announcement made in March by the organisation that it was expanding Breed Watch and introducing a new digital judges’ health monitoring form, updated guidance for veterinary health checks at dog shows and updated points of concern wording for all breeds to ensure consistency and clarity, as well as the requirement for all eligible Bulldogs, French Bulldogs and Pugs to have a Respiratory Function Grading scheme assessment result to enter Crufts from 2025.
More information about Breed Watch and veterinary health checks for judges, exhibitors and owners can be found on our website or by emailing
Health (The Kennel Club)