I had a lovely lady come on Friday to do my inspection (Yes I have decided to stick with the scheme at the moment) It was very easy going. She was sensible and very chatty. We spent an interesting couple of hours talking dogs !! I am  a very small breeder and I felt she tailored the inspection to suit. Nothing at all to be worried about. She checked the things I would have expected, paperwork including litter records, puppy pack (Diet/exercise/breed traits/health matters/introduction to new home), contract, Dogs registrations including microchip (and she had a scanner to read them)She looked at where they sleep ( Two plastic dog beds and the whole floor of the conservatory as they usually sleep on the floors !) The outside space, how much of the house they are allowed into. She looked at where the whelping box goes and the follow on larger space for older pups. Asked about exercise, how much and what sort i.e. on or off lead, roads or free running. Asked about a first aid kit (My dog cupboard with everything in was fine) asked what we would do in a fire and was happy with the "Get out and call the fire brigade out" answer (Obviously different if you have kennels or large amounts of dogs) Wanted to know how I assessed new puppy owners. Asked why I bred and questioned me a little on the breed traits. (testing my knowledge of my breed a little ) All in all it was very pleasant. If anyone has any questions while it is still fresh in my mind feel free to ask.
Aileen

Glad your inspection went well. I've been I inspected. There were one or two things we were at odds with but all in all OK and I have my certificate for a couple of years. I don't have a whelping box in plac e very often so she accepted my word about that.
What I wondered is I have heard people say they come and take photos ( like an Estate Agent would do ). You did not mention it so perhaps it is not true.
I would have found that a little intrusive.

Yes like you my whelping box is not out all the time. She took a couple of pictures of the area it goes in and of the area in the dog room/conservatory that the pups move onto. I did not feel she took any pictures not directly involved with the dogs at all. She took one of the dog freezer in the shed and one of the garden. That was about all.
Aileen

Your inspection sounded just like mine Aileen, very relaxed and no problems thrown up....yet STILL I had to take the decision to resign.

I get inundated with anxious buyers seeking out breeders who can help them avoid falling into the MVD /SM minefield out there.... in MY breed.
Despite giving them several years now to tailor AB requirements in my breed to fulfil this....sadly they have not and for that reason I cannot recommend ABs to these puppy searchers. ABS status in my breed is not the gold standard.... Sad but true.

mine too. As health tests are only requirements most of the AB's do nothing at all. They give out tons of paperwork but no health tests. How are they better than a non AB who does? I just didn't want to be grouped in with them, a lot of whom I have never heard of, never show and advertise on epupz and similar. We were one of the original members of the scheme but it has changed so much and is a long way removed from what it set out to be. A shame.

I was one of the original AB on the scheme, I resigned just before Christmas and they still wanted to visit. I am fed up with people that have never bred a litter becoming AB and double standards within the AB scheme. IE a woman I know had never owned a dog before, bought a bitch, did health tests and is an AB, she has a very basic knowledge of dogs and I mean basic. A breeder has a website dedicated to his health tested dogs and how fantastic they are, pups etcc but he allows bitches that have high hips or no hip scores done, MRD and HC failures use his stud dog and he is an AB.

I had my report back today and it was fine. The only recommendation was to give some info in the diet sheet on the quantity a fully grown dog of my breed may need. (Reasonable request, I am forever giving out advice on to fat or to thin dogs so it could help) and to add a little more to the training tips I give out. (again reasonable as although I do suggest joining a puppy training class I am happy to accept that some folk don't and a little more from me may help them).
Apart from that all was satisfactory.
I never felt picked on for being a small breeder or was expected to have the sort of safety procedures a kennels may need in place. The visit was enjoyable and the report is in my opinion fair. At no point did I feel my home was under scrutiny or made to feel intimidated. Nothing was done to upset me or make me feel violated within my home. Photos were taken of some key points all to do with the dogs welfare and nothing was intrusive at all.
I will soon be sporting a green Tick !!
Aileen

Well done Aileen and thank you for the update!

That sounds so much better than either of my friends experiences.

Unless I get my visit before my membership expires at the end of May, for me to make up my mind, then I won't be re-joining.

The problem is, and I have had my inspection and got the green tick that the sort of people I sell my puppies too = and I have the luxury of being able to turn many people down, do not really need a text book from me. Yes I do it in my notes but I could never replicate the number of books out there all with differing opinions of what and what not to do.
Feeding well you can give a guideline but they are all different as well.
This is just one of the things that I think over simplifies what a new owner needs into a set of guidelines, one size fits all. No two dogs are the same and no 2 situations are the same. That is the nature of dogs. I was told I needed more about exercise. I give enough advice about not exercising in the early part of their life that they probably think I'm a bit barmy about it.
I just think we can give guidelines in a set of notes but it has to be done with verbal discussion as well and perhaps recommended reading.
Rearing a dog is not things you put on a list and tick them off. This would be my down side of the scheme and the assessors.

I also tailor a lot of my extra training and advice notes to the new home.

Homes with children, older couples, experienced breed owners, long time dog owners but first time breed owners, etc etc.

All this is on-going too.

Many f my couples ve5ry quickly go on to have children and will receive appropriate information and  reminders.

So I do hate the one size fits all approach, really annoys me, and I feel we are in danger of giving them too much at once.  I have often found even the info I have given in sound bite form  is unread and I have to repeat advice over and over.

In the past I used to give all the BVA leaflets on the health schemes only to find it ignored, so now send them links to follow, if they are really interested.

So the on-going relationship is what matters to me.

This is just one of the things that I think over simplifies what a new owner needs into a set of guidelines, one size fits all. No two dogs are the same and no 2 situations are the same.

I do agree with this, and I have found myself actually apologising this time when selling puppies to people who have been in the breed for decades longer than myself and awarding CCs in the breed, handing them info on how to get their puppy housetrained etc!! But at the same time, what else can the KC do? I think there would be a bigger outcry if they demanded we wrote instructions tailored to each puppy and each buyer. Rather superfluous info than none at all.

Surely though a breeders job is to breed well, and a new owners job to bring a dog up well, where is the owner responsibility in all this, seems to all be on the breeders shoulders.

Of course I want the new homing to go well, fair bit of self interest here even, as a smooth homing will hopefully reduce the number of re-homing situations, which as a responsible breeder I would be morally bound to do.and

Giving new owners loads of info at the time of purchase is often a waste of time.   I tried to keep all info to one side of an A4page,  no more than 10/11 words to a line and plenty of white space.   Otherwise it won't be read.   And info that is not read, might as well not be provided.

I also talked families through the information before they left.    Links to books and useful websites were provided and much appreciated as these can be accessed at leisure as and when needed.

Having seen how a friend's Daughter has been, around the search and purchase of her new pup, it's clear to me that much of the info provided is wasted.   The young woman is a teacher, head of faculty no less, but has read none of the info provided.    Shocking to me, but true!  She doesn't even know what vaccinations she has paid for at the vets and thought the drops up the nose might be rabies !   She also paid for the purchase of the official KC pedigree and hasn't even opened the large envelope to find out what it is!

She does however keep in touch with the breeder, on a weekly basis so far.

Surely it's best for breeders to tailor the information to the specific family and pup?

My experience too. 

Seems to be the more educated the worse they are for it.

I looked after one of my former pups and he came with his folder.  it was quite obvious that none of the documents I had included in the Purple folder except the worming certificate had been looked at.

The fact that they needed advice re the puppy biting etc and seemed unaware that I had included the Article was a give away.

I spend hours with people, before they are born double checking they were OK with the breed if they have not had one before. Then when they come to visit the puppies and then again and especially when they leave with their puppy going through paperwork and any other info/questions etc.
Proving that no matter what you do written or not this happened with an owner on my recent litter.
I go through each section of my notes and pull in relevant documents.
One section is worming. I give a worming certificate and a reference article on worms. I say clearly - take this certificate with you to your vet so he can see the program so far (I last worm at 7 weeks). Panic phone call from owner at vet - vet is asking when last wormed as planning to give combined flea/wormer.
Proving that most info is probably wasted, ( these were previous breed owners) despite my clear instructions they had not remembered that all.
OK I give in - how could I have made it clearer.

(Just tagging on to end)
My question is still: what else do we think the KC should ask for though?
1. No written info given out at all.
2. Written info to be tailored to each individual pup and buyer (meaning perhaps 10 different sets, to be re-written for each litter)
3. Requiring all info no matter how basic to be given to every buyer, as now.

?

Glodmali, I think we are in a minority, Most people are anti ABS and anything it does. I prefer to support a scheme that at the very least tries to address some of the UK's puppy farming practices. Nothing is perfect but better to try than to walk away muttering "It's not enough" Its easy to knock something  without looking into alternatives.
Aileen

I agree whole heartedly with the KC ABS scheme, what I don't agree with is increasing the cost for ABS membership and not increasing registrations of puppies etc for non ABS members.

I understand inspections cost the KC and these have been increased because of the new rules from January, I think ABS membership should have increased to £20 per year or even £30 but the rest of the inspection cost should be subsidised by non members.

At the moment ABS members are being financially penalised for being members, to me it makes no sense at all.

If in the future, registrations etc for non members are to increase then the KC needs to make it known.

In the meantime I'm going to decline to renew my ABS membership.

I support the ABS scheme, just wish there were more mandatory points for health on most breeds. It will change I'm sure of that, I do more than is required and would do whether part of the ABS or not.

I also support the scheme although think there are some tweaks needed which I have put forward. All I am saying is that criticising a set of notes as needing more on exercise was a bit pedantic as I felt they were fine and to be honest still am not sure how much more I could say.
I even felt the KC were after selling more of their puppy books as I say loads about exercise and in particular how little is needed in the first year.

I'm anything BUT anti ABS and have been a member since its inception.

I've set up talks for my club with Bill L and fended off many a criticism...but....
In my breed ABS membership does NOT help puppy buyers search and identify those breeders who are conforming to breed health protocols...
and I was so disillusioned by the large number of puppy seekers being terribly disappointed when they discovered this, I had no option but to bail out.

As a member of the general public, as opposed to a breeder, I feel some-what disappointed in the KC Assured Breeder Scheme. After owning a long suffering dog due to Elbow Dysplasia it was very important to me to find a reputable breeder. My first port of call was therefore an Assured Breeder, however, after contacting them (and explaining about our previous problem) I was surprised to find out later that they did not Elbow Score their Dog. When I contacted the breeder to decline our planned visit she informed me that "as the Sire was Scored, there was no need to Score the mother". I note on the KC Site and others that it advises you should only breed from a zero score, (both parents) more so with Giant Breeds so surely an Assured Breeder should do everything possible in health matters that can be done. I felt quite strongly about this and contacted the KC but feel that I was just palmed off by their comments. (basically they are attempting to alter things but require to do this slowly) Surely if it is recognised that there is a need to only breed Giant Breeds from zero scores, then this should be applied.

Sounds reasonable.
We only have hip scoring but it is true there is no instruction for example to breed only from below average parents but then you are into that subject again where scoring and scores are not the only fact, I can understand your position though.
I just think that everyone knows that there is more to it than that. Until it is proven that the results are evidence of what you should or should not breed from then it will not change although I personally do not understand not scoring at all.

Quite agree Charlie Brown.

In future ABS/Serious breeders will be paying £60 year ABS fee, £20 a year Affix maintenance £80 before they even register a litter. 

Then of course the health testing costs which for some breeds are getting seriously expensive.

Hips and elbows around here would cost me well over £400, I choose to travel and pay around £300, tehn eye testing, and a battery of DNA test in some breeds.

Your casual, or high volume breeder who does no health testing and only pays for registrations.

Yet the conscientious breeder still ahs to compete for puppy sales with such people, and few potential buyers really believe that a well bred puppy is worth paying more for.

Now I don't need the ABS to find homes for my puppies as in my numerically small breed being a member fo our breed club and abiding by it's code of ethics (tailored to the breed concerned) is assurance enough, and few enough litters are registered and advertised that being at the top of a list is unimportant.

On the other hand in popular breeds like Labradors being near the top of the KC puppy list may be important, and the new but conscientious breeder may feel bullied into the scheme by the hope of appearing near the top of a puppy list.

Why not have that extra cost borne by the non ABS breeder paying an extra £5 a puppy registration fee?  Why because even more of them would opt for the alternative as Jo Public believes the mickey mouse registries are equivalent.

Great as it would be to only use 0 scores for breeding there is a lot more involved. We should never breed just by numbers, temperament longevity and breed type are all important. It would never be right to breed from a perfect hip/elbow scoring dog if it had a bad temperament. To tick all the boxes is not easy. Hips, elbows, temp, breed-type and longevity all need to be taken into account along with any other problem the breed may have such as eyes, etc.. A working knowledge of genetics is needed to ensure that the dogs used for breeding are as far as possible free from hereditory faults. the perfect dog does not exist and sometimes a rogue high score can crop up in an otherwise excellent background. Better to use a 2 scoring elbow that comes form stock who have for generations not only scored well them selves but who have siblings/progeny/close relatives who also have scored well. To use a 0 elbow that has a background of poor scores and problems is worse in my opinion that a rougue 2 from excellent stock. Breed type is often talked about and there are those who say that as a family pet it is not so important. This is only true to a point. If you are paying your £1000 for a pup from good healthy parents who only bear a passing resemblance to your chosen breed and grow up to be a poor immitation of said breed you would be understandable annoyed. We all fall for a particular "type" of dog and choose our breed with that in mind. If we ignored breed type and just bred for health no matter what we would begin to loose the wide diversity of breeds we have, We would also start to loose the breed traits if we sacrificed them for perfect hip/elbow scores. No one would want to find that the lovely Goldie pup they spent so much on turned out to look like a doodle and had the temperament and breed traits that say a malamute posseses. It is a juggling act to get as many boxes ticked as possible without sacrificing the breeds traits. This is what makes breeding so complicated and really shows why only those with a good idea of genectics should breed. Ask a BYB or puppy farmer who has had scores done how to interpret those results in the context of the blood lines and they will look blank at you...as long as they are good or average they care not one jot about the rest of the boxes... after all temperamnet does not matter if thier puppy byers never see the parents and as long as the pup has a passing resemblence to its breed by the time it grows up and changes into a monseter they have long since cashed the cheque and spent the money ! The fact that the parents come from a line of dogs who died early of cancer is of no concern to them as they could not care less.
Aileen