Responsible Pet Ownership

Championing the Responsible Breeding & Well-Being of All Dogs

At Pets Canada, we stand for responsible breeding practices and the nurturing care that allows every dog to live a full and joyful life. Our stance is clear: we do not support breeding practices that exacerbate or encourage extreme conformations—physical appearances significantly altered from their natural, ancestral form—that detrimentally impact a dog’s health or impede their ability to engage in normal behaviors.

Advocacy for Health-Centric Breeding Practices

Pets Canada recognizes the inherent risks associated with extreme conformations, which can lead to compromised health and a diminished quality of life. Thus, we advocate for breeding practices that prioritize the well-being of dogs, ensuring they are free from physical or genetic conditions that negatively affect their health or lifespan.

Educating for Informed Decisions

Education remains a cornerstone of our approach. We aim to empower the community with knowledge about the consequences of extreme conformations and the importance of responsible breeding. By providing resources and engaging in dialogue, we encourage all potential dog owners and breeders to make informed decisions that consider the health, welfare, and natural behaviors of dogs.

Promoting Responsible Ownership

Pets Canada promotes responsible ownership practices that ensure dogs not only receive love and care but also live lives that are as free from health complications as possible. Our initiatives highlight the joys of dog ownership, underscored by a commitment to the well-being of our canine companions through responsible choices and care.

Collaboration for the Future of Canine Welfare

Understanding the complexities of canine health and welfare, especially concerning extreme conformations, Pets Canada is dedicated to collaborative efforts. We work alongside veterinarians, breeders, animal welfare organizations, and the wider community to advocate for guidelines and practices that prioritize the health and happiness of dogs. Our goal is to align efforts towards breeding and care standards that respect the natural form and needs of dogs.

The Role of Pets Canada

Our industry plays an important role in the well-being of Canada’s pets. As the association representing the industry we believe in promoting responsible sourcing of pets and we expect our members to do the same. We believe in treating all establishments fairly by holding them to the same high standards regardless of their role in the pet industry and advocate for fair regulations across Canada that benefit pets, pet families and pet businesses.

WHAT YOU SHOULD EXPECT FROM A RELIABLE SOURCE

Reliable sources are accountable. They operate at a fixed address, provide medical records, offer expert advice, provide comprehensive written warranties and an after-sale support.

  • Reliable sources are answerable to the public and their municipality for all the animals they sell. They comply with all the requirements stipulated under existing provincial and federal animal protection legislation.
  • Reliable sources promote the benefits of responsible pet ownership. Reliable sources play an important role in promoting responsible pet ownership and the human animal bond.
  • A reliable source’s success depends on positive relationships with their customers. For a reliable source to stay in business today, they must develop strong client trust. They achieve this by offering quality pets, pertinent advice on their care and husbandry and by providing good after-sale support. Offering poor quality animals is bad for business.
  • Reliable sources are part of the solution. Municipalities and pet providers need strong partnerships to help them address pet related issues. Reliable pet sources depends on all parties working together to address the wellbeing of pets in their communities.

 

AVOID PURCHASING FROM A SUB-STANDARD SOURCE

A substandard source can be defined as a as a high-volume, sub-standard operation, which sells to unsuspecting buyers. Some of the characteristics common to substandard sources are:

  1. a) Sub-standard health and/or environmental issues;
  2. b) Sub-standard animal care, treatment, and/or socialization;
  3. c) Sub-standard breeding practices which lead to genetic defects or hereditary disorders;
  4. d) Erroneous or falsified certificates of registration, pedigrees, and/or genetic background or medical records.

These conditions may also exist in small volume establishments.

Pets Canada is a not for profit, national organization dedicated to promoting the highest level of pet care attainable and equitable representation for all sectors of the Canadian pet industry. The association offers education and guidance to pet industry businesses.

NCAC Statement on RFID Products

 The National Companion Animal Coalition (NCAC) is aware of circumstances where an animal may be previously implanted with a microchip (transponder) that is not recognized by the NCAC. Some of these non-recognized microchips can be non-ISO or encrypted and may not be read by some readers, which can result in unsuccessful lost pet recovery.

A review process has been established by the National Companion Animal Coalition (NCAC) to assess the conformity of radio frequency identification (RFID) products and processes with the revised Canadian standard for electronic (microchip) identification of companion animals. The revised Canadian standard came into effect December 1, 2004 and is based on ISO microchips, accompanying databases and compatible readers to promote maximum long-term recovery potential of companion animals. Only those RFID products that have been submitted for review and have been deemed in conformity with the Canadian standard will be recognized as suitable for companion animal identification. Only ISO microchips are acceptable under the Canadian standard. However, the NCAC requests companies to ensure backwards compatibility of readers and database capability to accept the older standard until the year 2020. In addition, the NCAC permits users to apply non-Canadian standard microchips only if required and specially requested for export purposes.

List – Recognized RFID Products