AMCUK Code of Ethics

All members of the A.M.C.U.K undertake to abide by the Code of Ethics.
Club members:

1 Will properly house, feed, water and exercise all dogs under their care and arrange for appropriate veterinary attention if and when required.

2 Will agree without reservation that any veterinary surgeon who performs an operation on any of their dogs which alters the natural conformation of the animal, or who carries out a caesarean section on a bitch, may report such operation to the Kennel Club.

3 Will agree that no healthy puppy will be culled. Puppies which may not conform to the Breed Standard should be placed in suitable homes.

4 Will abide by all aspects of the Animal Welfare Act.

5 Will not create demand for, nor supply, puppies that have been docked illegally.

6 Will agree not to breed from a dog or bitch which could be in any way harmful to the dog or to the breed.

7 Will not allow any of their dogs to roam at large or to cause a nuisance to neighbours or those carrying out official duties.

8 Will ensure that their dogs wear properly tagged collars and will be kept leashed or under effective control when away from home.

9 Will clean up after their dogs in public places or anywhere their dogs are being exhibited.

10 Will only sell dogs where there is a reasonable expectation of a happy and healthy life and will help with the re-homing of a dog if the initial circumstances change.

11 Will supply written details of all dietary requirements and give guidance concerning responsible ownership when placing dogs in a new home.

12 Will ensure that all relevant Kennel Club documents are provided to the new owner when selling or transferring a dog, and will agree, in writing, to forward any relevant documents at the earliest opportunity, if not immediately available.

13 Will not sell any dog to commercial dog wholesalers, retail pet dealers or directly or indirectly allow dogs to be given as a prize or donation in a competition of any kind. Will not sell by sale or auction Kennel Club registration certificates as stand alone items (not accompanying a dog).

14 Will not knowingly misrepresent the characteristics of the breed nor falsely advertise dogs nor mislead any person regarding the health or quality of a dog. ( KC/GJ September 2008)

15 BREED STANDARD All breeding stock should closely follow the official Kennel Club Breed Standard in all aspects and it is important that all members familiarise themselves with the Breed Standard, with particular attention being paid to the conformation and temperament of the dogs. Dogs, which manifestly depart from the Breed Standard, are not suitable for breeding.

16 BREEDING PURPOSES All breeding should include the overriding objective of improving the overall standard of Malamutes. Equal weight should be given to type, temperament, health and soundness. Nervous or aggressive dogs are not satisfactory as breeding stock or pets. Litters should be conscientiously planned using both healthy mature bitches and stud dogs, of sound temperament and conformation. Members will be honest in dealing with prospective buyers and fellow breeders and will endeavour to co-operate towards a programme of improvement for the breed.

17 REGISTRATION & ENDORSEMENTS All dogs used for breeding should be registered with the Kennel Club and full details of their pedigree should be known. All puppies should have their registration endorsed by the breeder “Progeny not for Registration” and, in addition (unless being exported by the breeder) “Not for Export”. The purchaser of a puppy must be advised of these endorsements in writing before the purchase has been completed. The purchaser of a puppy and the breeder must sign an agreement which may include a clause as to the conditions to be satisfied for lifting these restrictions.

18 PLANNING OF LITTERS No one should breed a litter unless he/she has the right facilities for dam and litter, and the time to devote proper care and attention to rearing the puppies and the well being of the dam. There should be some demand for the puppies before the bitches are mated.

19 BREEDING AGE LIMITS Bitches will not be mated before her third season, and will not under any circumstances be mated before her second birthday. If a bitch is to be bred from, she must whelp for the first time before her 6th birthday. A bitch must not whelp after her 8th birthday, unless KC permission is granted.

20 WELFARE OF THE BITCH No bitch will be bred from twice within a 12 month period. No bitch should have more than 4 litters in her lifetime

21 STUD DOGS Only entire dogs with two fully descended testicles should be used at stud and not before eighteen months of age. Members who own stud dogs should be aware of the need to improve the breed and enhance the reputation of the sires. They should refuse stud services to inferior specimens of the breed. A stud dog owner must be satisfied as to the conditions under which the litter will be reared and acknowledge their own responsibility for the resultant litter. It is considered prudent to restrict the use of a stud dog services until the health and quality of progeny is proven.

22 PUPPY SALES Prospective buyers of puppies should be screened for suitability and ability to provide long term homes. They should be advised of the characteristics and problems of the breed. These include the need for grooming, exercise, family contact and the need to socialize ass soon as possible, as the breed has a tendency to dislike other dogs.

23 PUPPY INFORMATION Ideally no puppy should leave the breeder before 8 weeks of age and in any event never before 7 weeks of age. Each purchaser of a Malamute puppy should be provided, at the time of sale, with an accurate pedigree, a Kennel Club transfer form and a registration certificate. He/she should also receive a diet sheet and information about training, worming and vaccination. Advice should be given about suitable books and membership of the breed club. It is strongly recommended that breeders identify their litters by a permanent form of ID (microchip or tattoo) before sale. It is further recommended that breeders provide a DNA profile for any puppies they have bred.

24 PUPPY VARIATIONS No puppy, which has a physical defect or shows a clear departure from the Breed Standard, should be sold without the buyer being made fully aware of the defect or departure from the Breed Standard. Breeders should replace any puppy, which develops a defect to such a degree, that, on the advice of two independent veterinary surgeons, the puppy has to be put down, or they should refund the purchase price. The breeder is to be properly notified before any such action is taken. It is advisable for breeders to take out insurance cover on any puppy.

25 HEREDITARY DISEASES It is recommended that breeders in their breeding programmes have an awareness and a reasonable understanding of basic genetics. When planning a litter, breeders must avoid using any dog that is known to be affected by an undesirable inherited condition, and must also avoid mating a known carrier of an undesirable inherited condition to another carrier of that condition. If a carrier of any condition is used in a mating, then the progeny from that mating must also be tested for that condition:-

A) Must have a permanent form of ID (microchip or tattoo) before any of the tests in B, C and D take place and these numbers recorded on all paperwork relating to these tests.

B) Must be x-rayed for hip dysplasia and the x-ray plates submitted to the BVA for scoring under the KC/BVA Hip Dysplasia (HD) scheme. The breeder must be in possession of the hip score certificate of the bitch and have received a copy of the stud dog’s hip score certificate prior to any mating taking place.

a) The x-ray should be carried out by a suitably qualified veterinary surgeon after the dog has attained the age of twelve months.
b) Consideration is to be given to the score of each hip (the lower the score the less the degree of HD) and will influence the decision to breed and the choice of stud dog. It is highly recommended that breeding stock with an unacceptably higher score than the prevailing breed average or significantly uneven scores should not be used for breeding purposes. To this end, consideration should be given to the BVA guidance: “If the scores of the two hips are markedly different, the worse of the two hips should be considered to be more representative of the dog’s hip status, and doubling that single hip score will give a more realistic overall score for the purposes of selection for breeding.
c) It is recommended that the combined hip scores for both sire and dam should not exceed 200% of the prevailing breed average score. For example, if the breed average score is 13, the combined hip scores for both sire and dam should not exceed a total of 26. Scores over 20 are to be considered high and a score of 12/1 although breed average is unbalanced and highly undesirable.
d) It is strongly advised that all x-ray plates are submitted to the BVA for scoring, even if on general veterinary surgeon’s advice the hips are considered poor, so that a true picture of HD in the breed can be assessed.

C) Must be eye tested under the joint KC/BVA/ISDS eye scheme for hereditary cataract (HC) before a mating takes place. Tests for HC carried out under the ECVO (European College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists) and AHT (Animal Health Trust) schemes are also acceptable. It should be noted, however, that tests carried out under the ECVO and AHT schemes, whilst recorded in the Kennel Club Breed Records Supplement, may not be recorded on the Kennel Club database and, as such, the registration certificates. Therefore, if these schemes are used, appropriate action should be taken by the breeder to ensure that all parties are aware that these tests have been carried out in accordance with KC and AMCUK requirements.

a) For the avoidance of doubt, a current valid eye certificate, within the last 12 months, unaffected by HC, must be held by the dam’s owner prior to any mating taking place and the stud dog owner must have furnished the breeder with a similarly current valid eye certificate. In cases where frozen sperm is used a valid eye certificate must be held at the time of collection and/or, if the donor is still available, a current valid eye certificate unaffected by HC must be held at the time of insemination.
b) The eye examination should be carried out by a suitably qualified eye specialist under the above mentioned scheme after the dog has attained the age of 12 months.
c) Breeders must test for HC annually and only dogs which are unaffected are to be bred from/to.

D) Must be tested for Alaskan Malamute Polyneuropathy (AMPN) and the breeder must be in possession of a certificate confirming the clinical status of both the sire and dam prior to any mating taking place. It is accepted that the progeny from a mating where both sire and dam are certified as ‘clear’ will be considered to be ‘clear by parentage’. Any dog to be bred from that is ‘clear by parentage’ will not need to be tested for AMPN, but the breeder must be in possession of copies of both the parents certificates. Note: This ‘clear by parentage’ exemption currently only applies to the first generation. In cases where frozen sperm is used, a valid AMPN test certificate must be held at the time of collection. If this is not available and an AMPN test cannot be carried out, breeders must assume carrier status for the sire and it may only be used with a bitch certified as clear.

E) If a foreign dog is used in any breeding it must meet the breeding requirements of its country of its origin or the country where it resides and this must include hip scoring and eye testing. The exception to this is an imported foreign dog/bitch of less than 24 month of age who is too young to qualify for an OFA (Orthopaedic Foundation for Animals) number and has only an OFA preliminary report or equivalent. A preliminary report is not acceptable to the AMCUK in respect of testing for HD. Any breeder wishing to breed imported foreign dog/bitch with only an OFA Preliminary Report or equivalent must have such dog or bitch re-tested for HD under the KC/BVA (HD) scheme. Similarly, an imported foreign dog/bitch only being in possession of a preliminary eye test report will be required to be re-tested for HC under either the KC/BVA/ISDS (HC) schemes or the ECVO and AHT schemes.
It is recommended that all breeding stock should have a DNA profile prior to a mating taking place.
Should breeders find hereditary problems occurring in their bloodlines, they should be honest and open about it to ensure that it is not unknowingly perpetuated in the breed.
Breeders shall keep accurate records of all their breeding stock.

26 CONDUCT Officers and Committee of the Breed Club are always ready to help with members' problems, whenever possible. Members should conduct themselves at all times to reflect credit on the ownership of dogs. Members should not allow dogs to roam and cause a nuisance to other people. They should accept responsibility for cleaning up after their dogs in public places

Breach of these provisions may result in expulsion from club membership, and/or disciplinary action by the Kennel Club and/or reporting to the relevant authorities for legal action, as appropriate.

Amended April 2016