Facta non verba ... the IFR is livelier than ever ... .
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Dear Rottweiler Friends,
Our Federation is livelier than ever before. We receive many responses and all are strongly positive.
Dear Rottweiler Friends,
Our Federation is livelier than ever before. We receive many responses and all are strongly positive.
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Dear Rottweiler Friends,
On the evening before the IFR World Championship IPO 2018, so on the eve before we will celebrate the breed as a healthy utility breed, I was contacted by several Rottweiler lovers concerning photo’s that were recently published on social media.
Some of these again show dogs with such extreme features that they can honestly no longer be judged under the FCI-standard. There was even a video of a pup whose physical and genetic health may be questioned at first sight !
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The IFR booklet "A layman's walk through basic canine genetics. Genetic diseases and the correlation with a reduced genetic diversity of the breed" is an edition by the IFR and meant for all amateurs, especially all breeders.
It explains basic genetics in an easy to understand manner, goes into some of the genetic diseases that exist in the Rottweiler-breed and explains how the prevalency rate of these diseases is influenced by in- and linebreeding. The booklet holds a strong warning against the ever more reduced genetic diversity of our breed.
The booklet is available in PDF-format in English and in Spanish. A printed version is available in English.
The following link leads to the text in an online magazine format : http://www.genetics.rottweilerclub.be
We look back on a very important and constructive meeting. Discussions ranged from the definition of the breed to the regulations and breed suitability tests that are meant and are even essential to worldwide preserve the breed's physical and mental traits and its physical and genetic health. I cannot imagine a more important agenda for the Rottweiler !!!
I sincerely thank all persons who were present at the Meeting, proving their concern and passion for the breed and its future. You've shown a high unanimity and a firm and determined will to bring the IFR - in the interest of us all - to full emancipation and to ensure the breed's future. Participating member clubs were : Belgium, China, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the Netherlands (the Italian club gave a proxy to vote) and the following clubs attended although not a member of the IFR : RKNA, NBRC, Croatia.
I must underline that the conclusions of the meeting are not just a result of a free discussion, they are both the interpretation and completion by the IFR-Member clubs who were present at the meeting of the constitutional conditions for Membership or in other words, the conditions that all Member clubs must respect and carry into effect so to achieve the IFR’s goals. This is the context and meaning of the meeting as was announced since 2017 and a draft of regulations, based on the results of the meeting, will be presented to the Meeting of Delegates in 2019 for confirmation and application.
I've said it before : facta ... non verba ! Click HERE for the REPORT on the meeting.
On behalf of the Board,
D. Vandecasteele
IFR-President.
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Controversy has broken out among Rottweiler fans. Differences of opinion between breeders across the world are becoming increasingly evident. Preferences are drifting apart when it comes to selecting stud dogs and bitches to breed from and judging dogs at shows, and it seems that two camps have emerged. A second type of Rottweiler has appeared alongside the type reflecting the traditional breed standard which has existed for decades. While the new type is prized by quite a few people,
it must nevertheless, on closer inspection, be deemed problematic. The new Rottweilers have striking features – especially in the head area, but also in relation to their physique more generally – which have developed due to exaggerated interpretations of the breed standard. The animals in question are not only poor exponents of the traditional breed standard – no, they are also susceptible to health risks which are both serious and avoidable. The next three sections of this text will describe the problematic traits alluded to above and sketch out a proposal for practicable counter-measures. But before moving on to look at specific issues in detail, let us first contemplate the difference between a healthy breed population and one which must already be considered threatened; this is a distinction which could become relevant for Rottweilers more quickly than any of us would likely care to acknowledge.