Moving from information and collaboration to action: report from the 5th International Dog Health Workshop in Helsinki, June 2024

Background: International Dog Health Workshops
The International Dog Health Workshops (IDHWs) provide a forum to identify specific needs and actions aimed at improving the health and well-being of dogs. IPFD oversees the IDHWs and partners with co-hosting organizations that support our mission to improve the health and well-being of all dogs. 

There have been five IDHWs to date, with a 6^th planned for 2026:

• 1^st IDHW (June 2012, Stockholm) - organized by the Swedish Kennel Club (SKK)
• 2^nd IDHW (February 2015, Dortmund) - co-hosted by the German Kennel Club (VDH)
• 3^rd IDHW (Spring 2017, Paris) - co-hosted by the French Kennel Club (SCC)
• 4^th IDHW (Spring 2019, Windsor) - co-hosted by The Kennel Club
• 5^th IDHW (June 2024, Helsinki) - co-hosted by the Finnish Kennel Club
• 6th IDHW (May/June 2026, Bologna) - co hosted by the Italian Kennel Club (ENCI)

Attendees of the 5^th IDHW included 106 key decision makers from the international dog community – representing a broad range of organisations, expertise, and perspectives from 16 countries. The workshop program was structured around four key themes and included presentations by dog health experts, breakout sessions, and plenary discussions.

“The enthusiasm and collaborative spirit displayed in Helsinki underscore the importance of IPFD’s mission and the impact we can achieve together. I’m excited to work with all our partners and stakeholders as we turn these well-informed recommendations into tangible international actions.”

— Marc Ralsky, Chief Executive Officer, International Partnership for Dogs

The Report: Key Findings
Authored by IPFD staff and workshop theme leaders and facilitators, the report summarises key discussion points for each of the four workshop themes and identifies priorities and planned actions. These include:

Supply and Demand

• Illegal activities such as illegal importation need to be addressed through more effective legislation and enforcement.
• Explore new opportunities for better collaboration between researchers and other interested parties with greater access to consumers and breeders to provide the data and information on dog buyers needed to guide action.
• Meet virtually on a regular basis, to ensure continued collaboration and exchange of ideas.

Breeding for Health and Well-Being

• It is imperative that the welfare and lives of dogs are prioritised in all canine activities. Discussions need to continue, but the solutions improving canine health and welfare need to be found urgently.
• Kennel clubs need to communicate better and more forcefully with their judges to make them understand their role and responsibility in protecting the health and welfare of all breeds.
• More effective education and understanding within puppy buyers, breeders, and show judges is needed to ensure research and evidence are put at the heart of the action.
• All stakeholders who care about dogs should strive to be champions of canine health and welfare first and then to consider how this relates to maintaining existing breed concepts.

Big Data

• Launch a pilot project to test data collection and analysis.
• Set up a working group to identify which traits have currently Estimated Breeding Values (EBVs) in different countries and how these EBVs can be used more effectively.
• Create an online resource on DogWellNet.com to list key datasets held by different organisations for research purposes.

Does the Colour Matter? Defining Breed vs Variety

• Routine crossbreeding between varieties of the same breed should be allowed and even promoted.
• Move towards harmonisation of rules and terminology regarding breed varieties and crossbreeding.
• Gather information about the rules on crossbreeding in different countries.
• Make a series of webinars available globally through DogWellNet.com covering the history of breeding and experiences with crossbreeding, including best practices and common pitfalls.
• All stakeholders should give more attention to work to increase genetic diversity in dog breeds.

All Themes

• Compile a list of studies related to the four workshop themes to be shared on DogWellNet.com.
• Educate puppy buyers, breeders, show judges, and other interested parties on issues that affect canine health and welfare.

On a broader level, key agreements arising from discussions were that organisations must comply fully with relevant national animal welfare legislation; that organisations must work to eliminate extreme conformations from all dogs and to improve and maintain genetic diversity within subpopulations of dogs; and that organisations should recognise and support crossbreeding as an accepted and valuable tool for modern dog breeding.

Click the image on the right to view an infographic provided courtesy of IPFD Collaborating Partner VetCompass or click below to download as a PDF :250414 5th International Dog Health Workshop - Infographic.pdf

We wish to thank Companion Animal Health and Genetics for their ongoing support as an IPFD Collaborating Partner
and for waiving the publishing fee for this report.

Next Steps
Progress made on action items will be presented and reviewed at the 6^th IDHW (co-hosted by IPFD Contributing Partner, Ente Nazionale della Cinofilia Italiana ‒ the Italian Kennel Club). The workshop is tentatively scheduled to take place in conjunction with the 2026 World Dog Show and FCI’s International Judge’s Congress in Bologna, Italy. In the interim, IPFD is hosting its first-ever Virtual Dog Health Forum in June 2025 – the midway point between the 5^th and 6^th IDHWs – to continue discussions on key issues in dog health and well-being and identify new opportunities for international collaboration.

About Companion Animal Health and Genetics
Companion Animal Health and Genetics (formerly Canine Medicine and Genetics) is an open access journal focused on advancing the health and welfare of domesticated animals/pets by providing new clinical, genetic, and epidemiological insights. ISSN: 3059-3255

About the International Partnership for Dogs
The International Partnership for Dogs (IPFD) is a non-profit organization leading a global, multi-stakeholder effort to address issues affecting dog health and well-being. Our people include a Board comprised of individuals with respected international reputations, and a small but committed team of consultants in several countries. Volunteers from our partner and collaborator organizations and a network of experts are integral to what we do. Our contributors, partners, and sponsors include national kennel clubs, international cynological organizations, groups with breed specific interests, educational/academic and professional organizations, and key players in the pet industry. Together with other participating organizations, companies, and individuals, we foster collaborative action to achieve our shared goals, support human-animal interactions, and benefit all dogs worldwide.

Author Details
¹ (Corresponding author), International Partnership for Dogs, Finland
² International Partnership for Dogs, USA
³ International Partnership for Dogs, Canada
⁴ International Partnership for Dogs, Canada
⁵ Pathobiology and Population Sciences, The Royal Veterinary College, Hatfield, Herts, UK
⁶ Department of Clinical Sciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden
⁷ Clinical Science and Services, The Royal Veterinary College, Hatfield, Herts, UK
⁸ Department of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, USA
⁹ Department of Clinical Sciences, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, N. Grafton, MA, USA
¹⁰ TCI Veterinary Services, Feilding, New Zealand
¹¹ Dachshund Health UK, Kencot, UK
¹² Health and Genetic Resources Department, Société Centrale Canine, Aubervilliers, France
¹³ Finnish Retriever Association; Curly Coated Retriever Club of Finland, Finland
¹⁴ Showlink Oy, Espoo, Finland
¹⁵ Department of Equine and Small Animal Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Helsinki, Finland

Contacts

• Corresponding Author: Katariina Mäki, Business and Project Coordinator, International Partnership for Dogs 
• Marc Ralsky, Chief Executive Officer, International Partnership for Dogs