World Congress Summary

TTCA Home

In order to encourage breeding from tested parents, The Tibetan Terrier Association and The Tibetan Terrier Breeder and Owners Club both make Eye Testing & Hip Scoring a condition of being on their Breeders list. They require that only stock with a clear eye certificate, obtained within the previous 12 months, and with a hip score from the KC/BVA scheme are bred from. We are working towards encouraging breeding only from stock that have achieved around the breed average score of 15.

The Tibetan Terrier Association keeps up to date records of all eye certificates and hip scores and these are openly published in their in house magazine TT Talk. In 2001 there were 897 TT's registered at The KC, of which 353 dogs were eye tested and 135 hip scored (with a range between 3-82). In 2002 there were 966 TT's registered, of which 360 dogs were eye tested and 160 hip scored (with a range between 0-37). At present we have hip scores for 1000 dogs. This puts the Tibetan Terrier into the category of Breeds with the highest number of dogs tested. We are very proud of this as a percentage of the number of registrations. It means that we are very pro-active at trying to improve our hip status. Our breed average score has improved over the last few years but we are not altogether sure that this is a true indication of the progress being made because we are aware that some breeders do not submit poor hips for scoring.

1.Championship Shows - These normally attract an entry of some 180-200 TT’s and they are important to evaluate the breed for breed type, structure, movement and temperament. Eye testing sessions are held at these shows and money is raised for health issues. The club stand also raises money and recently the TTA donated £2,500

To the British Veterinary Association to help with purchasing much needed equipment relevant to research into Eye anomalies, we hope to make a further contribution this year from money raised by our Vice-President Mrs Irene Chamberlain with her Tombola table at all TTA events. Shows are also the place to watch and learn and exchange ideas with other exhibitors. This has become more relevant as we do see exhibitors from Europe at our shows, now that we have the Pet Passport scheme and if you comply with all the requirements of the scheme you can travel throughout Europe and the USA without putting your TT’s into quarantine.

Kennel Club Challenge Certificates are on offer at these shows and you require three from three different judges to become a Champion in the UK

 2. Open Shows - These show are more relaxed and are important for the training of up and coming judges Challenge certificates are not on offer at these shows. Our Shows help to develop the Harmony of the Breed.

3. Seminars / Judges Exams - Both the UK breed clubs run seminars and judge’s exams each year. At the seminars we regularly have speakers on health issues such as HD or eye problems etc and the judges exams are important to develop our judges so they understand our breed and are able to asses it correctly.

4. Yearbooks / Newsletters - These are important to the clubs as they are the only contact with many of our member’s .Hip and eye test results are published and articles on Health issues such as Cushing’s disease and Perthes Disease are printed. It is also means of communication with our members and we often ask them to give us any information regarding health issues they may have experienced with their TTs for example is there a above average occurrence of Cruciate Ligament problems occurring in our breed?

5. Fun – Day - What has this to do with the health/welfare of the breed you may ask! Well this day is run mainly for our non-showing members and this year we had over 100 TT’s that we would not normally see. It gives a chance in a very informal way to assess them for type and soundness and there temperament. We run the Kennel Club Good Citizen scheme, which is making the dog and owner responsible and well behaved. We also do some agility and have TT racing which is a lot of fun.

6. Rescue and Welfare - This is a very important to both clubs as we re-home some 20/30 TT’s each year for many different reasons, temperament is often one of them and these dogs are always assessed before being re- homed .The rescue officers spend many a long evening on the phone offering help and advice and trying to avoid re-homing.

7. Discover Dogs - The Kennel club has set this up and we are always glad to take part. It gives the public a chance twice a year to see all breeds together and most breeds have a stand. It gives us the opportunity to promote our breed and again offer help and advice.

8. Good Citizen Dog Scheme - The Kennel Club Good Citizen Dog Scheme is the largest national Training Programme in the UK, Which promotes socially acceptable dogs by way of creating responsible dog owners. Whether you have a domestic pet or a show winner. There are three levels Bronze, Silver and Gold, and many TT's have passed all three.

Mark James, Pat Tempest, Lyn Purslow, Krista Guziolek, Glenn Davies
THE TIBETAN TERRIER ASSOCIATION
Contact: thechairman@the-tta.org
THE TIBETAN TERRIER BREEDER AND OWNERS CLUB
Contact: thechairman@ttboc.co.uk