Associate membership $15.00 (enjoys all membership privileges but cannot
vote).
Family membership $25.00 (voting membership for 2 people of the same
household).
36895 View Ridge Dr.
If you have been a member since
January 2005, the RMIWA will recognize titles attained by your IW with a
certificate presented at the June Fun Day Meeting. Title info deadline is January
15, 2008.
All members of the RMIWA must abide by the following Code of
Ethics.
RMIWA
CODE OF ETHICS
(Revised 12-2-79)
This code is designed to
establish a standard of conduct to be followed by all members of the Rocky
Mountain Irish Wolfhound Association in the course of breeding, selling,
exhibiting, care and advertising of Irish Wolfhounds. The difficulty of
covering all situations is recognized and for this reason, any failure to
comply with the intent of this code will be handled in the same manner as a
specific violation.
1. GENERAL. Each member
of the Association will consider the welfare of the breed uppermost when
engaged in any activities involving the breeding, exhibiting, care and selling
of Irish Wolfhounds, and will refrain from any actions which would be
prejudicial to the best interest of the breed and the Association. Every dog
should be provided with humane living quarters and personal care as well as
adequate veterinarian supervised health care.
2. BREEDING.
a) All breeding stock shall be
in good health and free from communicable disease.
b) While X-raying of breeding
stock is not mandatory, it is highly recommended. Individuals whose dog or
bitch is to be bred to another's are urged to furnish and request such X-rays
for the stud and bitch. These X-rays should meet the established Orthopedic
Foundation for Animals standards.
c) A bitch shall be bred only
to one stud dog any one estrus cycle.
d) Normally no bitch shall be
bred in the heat season following a whelping. A bitch should have reached a
minimum age of 24 months, and it is recommended that she be 30 months old, and
at least be in her third season. A bitch should be bred only if in good
health.
e) Full disclosure by either
party of a proposed breeding of what the dog or bitch has previously produced
and the background details as known should be provided when requested.
f) To breed carefully and with
discrimination for the purpose of improving the breed, and to kindly
discourage owners from breeding unless they have the facilities, time, and
resources to adequately care for a litter. Breed only after a careful study of
the breed standard, the basic principles of genetics, and the pedigrees of the
pair in question.
3. SALES.
a) No member of the Association
shall engage in wholesaling of Irish Wolfhound litters or individual sales of
puppies, or adults to pet shops, pet dealers, catalog houses or other
commercial establishments, nor shall they be given as prizes in contests nor
exploited to the detriment of the breed or of pure-bred dogs.
b) All Irish Wolfhounds shall
be in good health and condition, free from communicable disease and/or
cosmetic alteration. No adult or puppy shall be sold without adequate
immunization against disease in terms of its age.
c) Prices of puppies and adults
shall be based on individual quality. Pet quality stock shall not be
misrepresented as Show. It is recommended the breeder retain breeding control
of all puppies sold that are not sterilized.
d) Any puppy sold as a show
prospect which subsequently develops a congenital or disqualifying defect
attributable to the breeding shall be:
-
replaced by the
breeder with another show prospect puppy; or
-
the money refunded
and the dog returned to the breeder; or
-
the buyer's money
refunded to the extent of the difference between the price paid and the
price of pet puppies sold from the same or similar litters, the buyer
retaining the dog. Refund to be paid when proof of sterilization of the
puppy in question is provided the breeder.
e) A puppy or adult showing
serious deviation from the standard, rendering it unsuitable for breeding,
shall be sold only with a statement to that effect signed by both breeder and
buyer. Papers may or may not be withheld, bearing in mind that the buyer may
wish to use the dog for obedience, exhibition and lure coursing (withholding
AKC registration requires a written agreement between the seller and buyer).
It is recommended that if papers are given under such circumstances that a
breeder require sterilization of the puppy. All other puppies or adults shall
be registered, or shall be eligible for registration with the AKC and the
buyer shall be provided with accurate and valid papers.
f) Any puppy which is deformed
or irreversibly ill shall be humanely destroyed.
g) All potential new owners
shall be screened in order to determine their suitability as Irish Wolfhound
owners. Special attention shall be paid to matters such as adequate physical
facilities and the financial responsibility for proper care.
h) Every puppy, upon being
turned over to its new owner, shall be accompanied by the following items:
-
feeding instructions
-
medical records, which
shall include immunizations, types of vaccine used, dates of inoculations
and date of wormings.
-
a four generation pedigree
-
AKC registration papers for
those puppies sold for showing or breeding purposes.
-
information on available
literature about Irish Wolfhounds.
i) All new owners shall be
encouraged to have their puppies checked by a veterinarian within 48 hours of
taking delivery.
j) The new owner shall be
advised to keep the breeder informed about the development of the puppy, and
of any problems which may occur during the life of the dog.
k) The breeder shall make it
clear that he is prepared to take back the dog at any age in the event that
the new owner is unable to keep it or find a good home for it.
l) Any conditions to a sale
should be clearly spelled out in a written agreement so that there be no
misunderstandings. This includes co-ownership agreements.
m) The seller of a pet animal,
or a quality animal which will not be shown or bred, should recommend
sterilization for the comfort and convenience of both the animal and the
owner.
n) The breeder shall not
release any puppies to a new home until at least 12 weeks of age. Puppies
under 12 weeks of age shall never be exported or imported.
4. EXHIBITING.
a) All members of the
Association shall conduct themselves at all times in a manner which will
reflect credit upon themselves and upon the breed, regardless of the location
or circumstances, but especially when attending a dog club meeting or show,
whether as an exhibitor or as a spectator, and generally practice good
sportsmanship.
b) Members shall never exhibit
an animal which has had cosmetic surgery or alteration.
5. GENERAL CONDUCT.
a) The members of the
Association shall:
-
make every effort to
educate any new owner or interested person, and to be both instructive and
constructive in their comments;
-
demonstrate good
sportsmanship both inside and outside the show ring at all times;
-
always behave in a manner
that will be conducive to the advancement of our breed and our
Association;
-
maintain sanitary
conditions for their dogs, and provide adequate exercise, the proper diet,
and necessary health care;
-
conform to all the items
regarding placement and sales listed above, should it become necessary to
sell, give away, or otherwise place their animal(s);
-
in all questions of ethics
not covered by this Code, act in the best interest of the breed.
b) The members of the
Association shall not surgically or otherwise unethically alter the appearance
of their hound for showing, breeding or selling. The following are examples of
surgical procedures that are considered unethical if done for the purpose of
deceptively enhancing the dog:
-
removal of congenital skin
blemish
-
changing set or carriage of
ears -
-
alteration of the location
of the testes
-
increasing or decreasing
dewlap
-
setting or altering
carriage of the tail
-
altering the natural dental
arcade
-
correcting
entropion or ectropion
-
correction of stenotic
nares, elongated soft palate, and other congenital impediments to air-flow
-
correction of harelip
-
correction of cleft palate
-
correction of orthopedic
deformities
-
removing excessive skin
folds in any body area
-
correction of preputial
deformities
-
correction of umbilical or
other hernias of genetic origin
-
alteration of body
conformation or coloration.
It is unethical for a
veterinarian to perform any surgical procedure on a purebred dog for
the purpose of concealing a congenital or hereditary abnormality which
causes the dog to not conform to its breed standard. It should be pointed out
that such surgical operations may be done when the dog's health and welfare
are at stake; however, the veterinarian performing these procedures should
advise the owner that the dog should be sterilized.
In the "Rules Applying to
Registration and Dog Shows" by the AKC, Chapter 16 Section 8 states
"A dog which is blind, deaf, castrated, spayed, or which has been changed
in appearance by artificial means except as specified in the standard for its
breed, or a male which does not have two normal testicles normally located in
the scrotum, may not compete at any show and will be disqualified except that
a castrated male may be entered as Stud Dog in the Stud Dog Class and a spayed
bitch may be entered as Brood Bitch in the Brood Bitch Class. A dog will not
be considered to have been changed by artificial means because of removal of
dew claws or docking of tail if it is of a breed in which such removal or
docking is a regularly approved practice which is not contrary to the
standard. Neutered dogs and spayed bitches would be allowed to compete in
Veterans Classes only at independent specialties and/or those all-breed shows
which do not offer any competitive classes beyond Best of Breed."
c) Complete and accurate
breeding records shall be maintained as follows as required by the AKC:
1) For the Sire and Dam:
-
AKC registered name,
number, and date of whelp.
-
Names and addresses of
registered owners.
-
Dates of actual breeding.
2) For the Resulting Litter:
-
Date of whelp and AKC
Litter number.
-
Number and sex of puppies
whelped alive.
-
Number and sex of puppies
dead at birth.
-
Name, sex and registration
date for each live puppy.
-
Name and address of owner
of each live puppy.
3) All records should be made
available to the Irish Wolfhound Club of America for incorporation into
statistical data. All records of this nature are for information purposes only
and are kept confidential.
6. ADVERTISING. All
advertising shall be truthful and ethical. Any claims made must be provable.
Fraudulent advertising, misrepresentations or misleading statements shall
constitute prima facie evidence of violations of the intents of the Code.
7. INFRACTIONS. It is
the responsibility of each member to make an inquiry concerning suspected
violations of this Code. Violations or infractions of the Code are to be
brought to the Board's attention and dealt with in the manner prescribed by
the Association's Constitution and By-Laws.
Board members may not take an
active part in decisions which personally affect them.
Any member with a possible
ethical problem may, at this request, have that problem reviewed by the Board
for its recommendations. Furthermore, the Board of Directors may, upon
sufficient evidence and under certain conditions where the good of the breed
is protected, waive any of the foregoing provisions.
