Code of Ethics of the Spinone Club of America Approved: April 1994 Amended: May 1996 & 2001 and April 2002, 2003 & 2005

Membership in the Spinone Club of America carries with it certain responsibilities. The Club has been formed for the purposes of preserving and protecting the welfare of the Italian Spinone. It falls to its members to see to it that these responsibilities are upheld. To that end, the Spinone Club of America puts forth the following standards of behavior and practice for its members.

1. All members will put the well being of their dogs and the breed as a whole before any personal gain.
2. All members will conduct themselves honorably and exhibit good sportsmanship at all times. Members will never knowingly make unfair or untrue statements regarding the dogs or practices of others.
3. All breeding will be aimed at improvement of the breed. Members/breeders will be familiar with the standard of the breed; stay informed of medical, behavioral, and genetic developments which will influence breeding; and will do everything in their power to discourage irresponsible breeding.
4. The breeder will be familiar with AKC rules governing record keeping, registrations, sales and transfers of dogs, and shall abide by these rules.
5. No dog exhibiting unsound temperament, a disqualifying hereditary defect, or poor health will be used for breeding.
6. If a dog or bitch produces offspring with the same serious defect detrimental to the animal's well-being, such as blindness, deafness, lameness, or impairment of bodily functions, from the litters by two (amended 4/2001 from three) different mating partners, the member owning that dog or bitch will no longer use that animal for breeding.
7. Members will not produce a litter from any dog or bitch that has not been certified clear of hip dysplasia by the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals and/or received a Penn Hip score of .70 or better with no evidence of degenerative joint disease (done after the dog or bitch is 2 years of age or older) (amended 4/2005).  Breeders using Penn Hip scores are required to provide a copy of the score to the club secretary before any litter is produced. (amended 4/2002)
8. Members will not produce litters from their bitches before the age of two or breed bitches on or after their eight birthday and will have the option to produce litters from two breedings back to back but will not produce more that two litters without resting the bitch for one cycle.  In no event may a bitch produce more than 6 litters in her lifetime. (amended 4/2005).
9. No member shall knowingly be involved in the sale of dog(s) through pet shops or any other wholesale outlets or sell to institutions involved in research.
10. All advertising shall be factual. It should not be worded so as to attract undesirable buyers or encourage raising and selling dogs for profit.
11. Breeders will take care to evaluate prospective buyers for suitability of the home being provided. All prospective owners will be told of both advantages as well as disadvantages of the breed. New owners will be given full and accurate pedigrees with general feeding and maintenance instructions for the dog.
12. Breeders will take full responsibility for all dogs they have bred. If need be, they will take back any puppy and provide for it until a new home can be found.
13. Members will not produce litters from any (amended 4/2003) dog or bitch that does not have a current CERF number (CERF registration) from the Canine Eye Registration Foundation. (amended 4/2005)
14. Members will not produce litters from any dog or bitch that is known to carry the lethal recessive gene for Cerebellar Ataxia (CA), or any dog or bitch from known CA lines.  (amended 4/2001- added)
15. Members are required to provide proof of OFA and/or Penn Hip and CERF certification (as required in the code of ethics) to the secretary of SCOA before any breedings take place.  It is the responsibility of the bitch owner to make sure that the stud dog's information has been received before any breeding takes place.  It is the stud owners responsibility to make sure the information has been received on non SCOA bitches before any breeding takes place.  The club will not retain this information.  The information must be supplied for every breeding.

To address these ethical considerations see the SCOA Ethics Committee

The Code of Ethics page was last modified on 01/01/06

Member Signature: ____________________________________________________ Date: ____________
 

The Application for Membership page was last modified on 11/11/07