The Kennel Club

The Kennel Club is the UK’s largest organisation dedicated to the health and welfare of dogs.

At the heart of the Kennel Club are programmes and investments in education and health initiatives to help dog owners across the UK to have healthy, happy dogs living long lives with responsible owners.

We believe that together, working with breeders, owners, the government, other dog organisations and the veterinary profession, we can give all dogs the opportunity to lead healthy, happy lives.

The Kennel Club is a voluntary register for all dogs, whether crossbreed or pedigree, and we run an Assured Breeder Scheme whose members have agreed to follow our high standards for breeding puppies. The Kennel Club runs Crufts, the world’s largest dog show and licenses over 4,500 dog shows and other events each year. It is also at the forefront of the development of many canine health initiatives and invests in education programmes and other campaigns to protect and promote the general wellbeing of dogs.

The Kennel Club is concerned with anti-dog legislation, promotes the positive place of dogs in society and actively represents the interests of responsible dog owners, whether their dogs are Kennel Club registered or not.

The Kennel Club also owns Petlog, the UK’s largest database for microchipped pets. Petlog is on hand 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, for pet owners to contact if their pet goes missing. It is also open to animal wardens, welfare and rescue centres, veterinary practices and local authorities, who can all scan for microchips in pets which come into their care and trace the owners through the Petlog database.

The Kennel Club’s objective is to ‘promote in every way the general improvement of dogs’. This means that we:

• Lobby the government on dog welfare issues including banning electric shock collars and campaigning for amendments to the current dangerous dogs legislation.
• Give grants to dog welfare charities and to scientific research to aid the development of health testing for canine diseases, through the Kennel Club Charitable Trust. So far almost £6 million has been donated by the Kennel Club Charitable Trust.
• Are at the forefront of pioneering research into dog diseases through the Kennel Club Genetics Centre at the Animal Health Trust.
• Work with the British Veterinary Association on eye testing schemes and screening programmes for hip and elbow dysplasia. 
• Run the UK’s largest dog training programme, the Good Citizen Dog Training Scheme, and educational initiatives, such as Safe and Sound for children, to help them to stay safe around dogs.
• License clubs and run competitions for fun dog sports such as agility, which helps to keep both dog and owner healthy.
• Run educational events such as Discover Dogs, which helps people to make responsible dog buying choices.
• Established the Young Kennel Club in 1985, to encourage young people to take an interest in caring, training and activities with dogs.
• Run a Dog Health Group, which includes independent vets and scientific advisors, who work with the Kennel Club to improve breed health.

For more information about the Kennel Club visit www.thekennelclub.org.uk

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