In This Issue:
- News & Highlights
2024 Year-End Review
...and a Look Ahead at 2025
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Get Involved
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Make a Donation
- Stay Informed!
Our Consulting Team will be on holidays from the 21st of December until the 2nd of January.
6th International Dog Health Workshop - Summer 2026*
We're excited to announce that IPFD Contributing Partner Ente Nazionale della Cinofilia Italiana (ENCI) - The Italian Kennel Club - will be hosting the 6th International Dog Health Workshop (IDHW) in Bologna, Italy!
The 6th IDHW will take place in conjunction with the 2026 World Dog Show and FCI’s International Judge’s Congress. 
In addition to being the centre of the dog universe for the week, Bologna is widely considered one of the world's top food cities. Buon appetito!
Stay tuned for more information, coming soon!
*Details subject to change
News & Highlights
IPFD News
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Hundreds of veterinarians, breeders, and other stakeholders in dog health from around the world joined us in October for "Breeding Healthy, Quality Dogs: The Veterinarian, Breeder, and Public Roles", with Jerold S Bell DVM.
Webinar Video
A recording of the webinar is available below or presented with additional details of the session here. Please feel free to share the link with your friends and colleagues.
Summary of Q&As
We're still working with Dr. Bell to ensure thorough, informative responses to all of the excellent questions we received during the webinar, but we're confident it will be well worth the wait! The document will posted soon on DogWellNet, and we'll let you know when it's available.
A big thank you to Dr. Bell and WSAVA for making this event possible!
Blog Posts
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IPFD's Business and Project Coordinator, Katariina Mäki, recently posted an entry offering an overview of new breeding tools from Wisdom Panel and Embark that may be of interest to dog breeders and owners.
- In Finnish Kennel Club webinar: Breed bans or breed rebuilding - what is the future of dog breeding?, Katariina summarizes a recent online event that focused on some of today's key challenges in dog breeding from the Finnish perspective.
Breeds Resources
★ This month, we feature the German Shepherd Dog ★
Brief Description:
The German Shepherd Dog is medium-size, slightly elongated, powerful and well-muscled, with dry bone and firm overall structure. The German Shepherd Dog must be well-balanced (with strong nerves) in terms of character, self-assured, absolutely natural and (except for a stimulated situation) good-natured as well as attentive and willing to please. He must possess instinctive behaviour, resilience and self-assurance in order to be suitable as a companion, guard, protection, service and herding dog.
Source: FCI
IPFD has published a NEW Globally Relevant Integrated Health Profile (GRIHP) for the German Shepherd Dog. This article is part of a unique series highlighting the 'Big Picture' of health, welfare, and breeding for selected breeds. Learn more about IPFD's Get a GRIHP! on Breed Health Initiative.
Quick Links to IPFD/DogWellNet Resources for the German Shepherd Dog:
- Information on the breed: Pedigree Breeds Database - German Shepherd Dog
- Genetic testing - Harmonization of Genetic Testing for Dogs (HGTD) Database: German Shepherd Dog/ double coat | German Shepherd Dog/ long and harsch outer coat
- Health Strategies Database for Dogs (HSSD): German Shepherd Dog/ double coat | German Shepherd Dog/ long and harsch outer coat (please share breed info for your country with us!)
- Get a GRIHP! on German Shepherds
Harmonization of Genetic Testing for Dogs (HGTD)
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O
ur HGTD Project Director, Aimée Llewellyn-Zaidi, was a presenter at the recent Embark Canine Health Summit. Her presentation covered the value/benefits of health testing, simple tools for understanding/interpreting health results, and tips for sharing health test information with new puppy owners. Watch Aimée's presentation
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Aimée recently joined Laura Reeves for four episodes of her highly-acclaimed Pure Dog Talk Podcast.
With more than 600+ episodes, 2 million downloads, and 300+ five-star ratings on iTunes, the Pure Dog Talk show is the leading purebred podcast in the world. Every week, Laura talks to the legends of the sport and gives you the tips and tools to create an awesome life with your purebred dog.
We've compiled descriptions and links to all four episodes here, which include:Episode #651 - Bridging the Gap Between Art and Science of Dog Breeding
Episode #652 - Breeding Dogs Around Diseases that Don’t Have a “Test
Episode #656 - How Breeds Have Managed Population-wide Health Crises
Episode #659 - When Sh*t Happens in Your Breeding Program
IPFD Partners in Action
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On November 27, IPFD Contributing Partner, The Canadian Kennel Club hosted a CKC member-exclusive webinar in which they dove into the insights from the 5th International Dog Health Workshop (hosted by IPFD and The Finnish Kennel Club in June).
CKC representatives - including IPFD CEO and CKC Board Member Marc Ralsky - shared their first-hand reflections on the IDHW, which addressed many of the latest topics in dog health, trends in breeding, and more.
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The University of Copenhagen recently published an article on a presentation by Peter Sandøe, Professor, Centre for Companion Animal Welfare, Denmark, delivered at the Finnish Kennel Club's breeders day (held in conjunction with the 5th IDHW). Peter was also a speaker at the 5th IDHW as part of the workshop theme, Supply and Demand – Every Dog Counts.
Entitled, 'Will dog breeds as we know them today soon be a thing of the past?', the presentation aimed to describe the current trends in the demand and supply of dogs in the Global North and to discuss the major changes that are taking place.
University of Copenhagen article | Watch the presentation | More articles on the 5th IDHW
2024 Year-End Review
...and a Look Ahead at 2025
2024 was a busy, exciting year...and a fitting way to close out the first decade of the International Partnership for Dogs. Below, we present some highlights from 2024 and a preview of big things to come in 2025!
JANUARY 2024
- The International Partnership for Dogs enters its 10th year of leading a global, multi-stakeholder effort to enhance dog health, well-being, and welfare.
- Planning for 5th International Dog Health Workshop continues
FEBRUARY 2024
- Registration opens for the 5th International Dog Health Workshop; planning for the workshop continues
- February issue of DogWellNet Digest
MARCH 2024
- IPFD publishes Get a GRIHP! on American Staffordshire Terriers
- Planning for 5th International Dog Health Workshop continues
- Work on redesigned DogWellNet.com website begins
APRIL 2024
- Planning for 5th International Dog Health Workshop continues
- Work continues on redesigned DogWellNet.com
MAY 2024
- May issue of DogWellNet Digest
- Planning for 5th International Dog Health Workshop continues
- Work continues on redesigned DogWellNet.com
JUNE 2024
- More than 100 leaders and decision makers from 17 countries – representing over 50 key organizations from across our global dog community – came together in June for the long-awaited 5th International Dog Health Workshop in Helsinki. IPFD is leading ongoing discussions with our stakeholders to evaluate recommendations, establish priorities, determine resource requirements/availability, and formulate plans for collaborative actions for the months and years to come.
- IPFD publishes its 2023 Annual Report: A Decade of Collaboration
- Work continues on redesigned DogWellNet.com
JULY 2024
- Work begins on outcomes from the 5th International Dog Health Workshop
- Work continues on redesigned DogWellNet.com
AUGUST 2024
- IPFD publishes Get a GRIHP! on Cavalier King Charles Spaniels
- Work continues on outcomes from the 5th International Dog Health Workshop
- Work continues on redesigned DogWellNet.com
SEPTEMBER 2024
- HGTD Project Director, Aimée Llewellyn-Zaidi, is among the presenters at the Embark Canine Health Summit
- Aimée joins Laura Reeves for the first of four episodes of her highly-acclaimed Pure Dog Talk Podcast
- IPFD CEO Marc Ralsky offers insights on how better information-sharing can help keep dogs in happy homes and tackle the issue of pet homelessness as part of Mars Petcare's State of Pet Homelessness Project ‘Fur-Ever Home’ expert advisor series
- September issue of DogWellNet Digest
- Work continues on outcomes from the 5th International Dog Health Workshop
- Work continues on redesigned DogWellNet.com
OCTOBER 2024
- IPFD and WSAVA present webinar, "Breeding Healthy, Quality Dogs: The Veterinarian, Breeder, and Public Roles", with Jerold S Bell DVM
- Work continues on outcomes from the 5th International Dog Health Workshop
- Work continues on redesigned DogWellNet.com
NOVEMBER 2024
- The Canadian Kennel Club hosts member-exclusive webinar offering insights from the 5th International Dog Health Workshop
- IPFD submits "Moving from information and collaboration to action: Report from the 5th International Dog Health Workshop in Helsinki, June 2024" to Canine Medicine and Genetics, an open access journal publishing research relating to canine health; peer review of the paper is ongoing
- IPFD publishes Get a GRIHP! on German Shepherds
- Work continues on outcomes from the 5th International Dog Health Workshop
- Work continues on redesigned DogWellNet.com
DECEMBER 2024
- Work continues on outcomes from the 5th International Dog Health Workshop
- Work continues on redesigned DogWellNet.com
WHAT TO WATCH FOR IN 2025:
- Launch of fully redesigned DogWellNet.com website, new IPFD "organization-focused" website, and new IPFD branding
- Updates on plans for 6th International Dog Health Workshop, co-hosted by ENCI (Italy 2026)
- Interactive IPFD webinars addressing key issues in dog health and well-being
- Launch of IPFD podcasts
- IPFD breakout session at the AKC-CHF National Parent Club Canine Health Conference in August and participation in other key events in the global canine community
Join IPFD in our global, multi-stakeholder effort to enhance dog health, well-being, and welfare!
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Individual Contributors: Are you a breed expert and/or involved in a dog club for your breed? Would you like to share information from your kennel club, breed club, or country on DogWellNet.com?
- Canine Organizations: Stand shoulder-to-shoulder with other key stakeholders in the global dog community by formally supporting IPFD and our important work.
Learn More About Opportunities
for Collaboration with IPFD
Make a Donation
IPFD is truly a "people driven" service organization. We allocate the bulk of our financial resources to maintain a small but dedicated team of consultants to manage our modest resources and facilitate the activities of our stakeholders, with the aim of achieving our collective goals.
You can specify how your donation is used (support IPFD and its programs and activities OR support the Harmonization of Genetic Testing for Dogs). All donations are handled securely via PayPal.
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