How to Comply With the ARC Mandatory Practices

by Jane Wiedel, Code of Ethics Committee Chairman

If you keep the following two points in mind you will always be in compliance with the ARC's new Mandatory Practices.

First: Treat others the way you would want to be treated.

Second: The welfare of the Rottweiler is foremost. Especially the welfare of those Rottweilers you are responsible for bringing into this world, either through your stud dog or brood bitch.

These two principles may sound naive, simplistic and perhaps unrealistic. But if everyone followed them, there would not be any problems.

Get a copy of the Mandatory Practices and let's look at it section by section.

1. We need to produce the soundest, healthiest Rottweilers with stable temperaments, since that is what we would want to live with.
    

2. We are an AKC club sponsoring AKC events. It follows that the dogs we produce should be able to participate in such events.
   
   It is generally accepted that Rottweilers, as well as other breeds, can have problems with hip development. It is generally accepted that this is at least partially genetic in cause. It is also generally accepted that we must screen for those Rottweilers who have HD. Most breeders feel that dogs or bitches affected with HD should be eliminated from breeding. The ARC has, through the MP taken this stand. Further, the ARC has identified the OFA as the screening program through which they will operate, so that requirements can be standardized. Other screening programs are being developed, but at this time the OFA is the one recognized by the ARC.
   
   One of the requirements of the OFA is that the Rottweiler being screened is at least two years of age. Because many foreign screening programs radiograph Rottweilers before they are two, foreign born Rottweilers who have been imported to the US after being screened in their country of origin, must be screened again after they reach two years of age.
   
   To breed better Rottweilers they must conform to the Standard and not have faults considered disqualifying.
    

3. Using a written contract allows both parties to know, in advance, their rights and responsibilities. It is incumbent upon both parties to include in the contract those conditions which are important to them. Do not sign any contract with which you are unwilling to comply.
    

4. To breed a bitch too often may impair her health. The resulting overpopulation of the breed does not do the Rottweiler any good either, as we are seeing now.
    

5. Obviously if we put our dogs' welfare first, we will keep them fully inoculated, parasite free and confined safely.
    

6. We would not want someone using our kennel name without our permission, so obviously we will not use someone else's without their permission.
    

7. The written contract issue has been covered above. In order to promote the welfare of the Rottweiler, those Rottweilers not of genetic or physical or temperamental quality to be bred should be rendered incapable of reproducing. This can be accomplished by spaying a bitch or by castration or vasectomy of a dog.
    

8. All of us want to be treated honestly. A member of the ARC who does less injures the club, the breed and themselves.
   
   Not including prices in advertising is for the protection of the breed. Advertising prices which are high can lead to exploitation, and advertising prices which are low can lead to people trying to get the lowest price they can get. It puts undo importance on price alone. This area is controversial, but it was felt best by the committee to use the sentence about not using prices in advertising.
    

9. The welfare of individual Rottweilers and of the breed rests with each individual breeder when they place their puppies or older dogs. Rottweilers must not get into the "wrong" hands.
    

10. Again, the welfare of the breed requires that we be responsible for every Rottweiler that we have bred. Stud dog owners also share in this responsibility. No Rottweiler produced by an ARC member should ever need to be rescued. If it were not for the breeder and stud dog owner, the individual Rottweiler needing help would not have been born. It is the breeder's responsibility to screen their puppy buyers. If the breeder has made a mistake in this screening, then the breeder bears the responsibility.

Again, treat others the way you would want to be treated.

The section on recommended practices will also be easy to comply with as long as the two basic principles listed at the beginning of this article are kept foremost.

1. Working Rottweilers are happy Rottweilers. Those Rottweilers used for breeding should epitomize all that is correct in the breed. Earning conformation, obedience, tracking, herding, agility, Schutzhund and other titles gives objective confirmation that the bitch or dog you are breeding has the qualities of a good Rottweiler.
    

2. Screening for hereditary diseases helps both the breed and the puppy purchaser. While every Rottweiler should have a happy home, every Rottweiler home should have a healthy dog. That's what you would want, isn't it? Positively identifying each Rottweiler protects it somewhat from falling into the wrong hands and makes it easier to reunite the dog with its owner if it should get lost or stolen.

So at the risk of becoming repetitive, please remember you will always be in compliance with the American Rottweiler Club's Mandatory Practices if you follow the Golden Rule. That is, treat others the way you would want to be treated. The second rule is to keep the welfare of the Rottweiler breed foremost in your actions. If everyone followed these two principles, the Rottweiler would be in excellent shape and the Grievance Committee would have as much time on their hands as the Maytag repairman.