UK Innate Health Assessment (IHA)

– Why Dandie owners should be aware

The All Parliamentary Group for Animal Welfare (APGAW) in collaboration with the Royal Veterinary College (RVC), launched an Innate Health Assessment (IHA) tool https://www.innatehealthassessment.org/ in November 2025 which looks at potential welfare risks across dog breeds based on visible physical characteristics.

One area the tool flags strongly is short legs / dwarfism-type traits.

For breeds like the Dandie Dinmont Terrier, this is a concern. Short legs are a defining, historic breed characteristic, not a recent exaggeration and most Dandies live active, happy lives when responsibly bred and managed.

There is a real risk that small native breeds with limited data could be misunderstood or unfairly categorised if assessments rely on broad physical markers rather than breed-specific evidence and real-world health data.

What helps protect the breed:

• Supporting health testing and surveys

• Sharing accurate breed health information

• Engaging calmly and constructively when concerns arise

If you’re worried about how tools like this could affect rare native breeds, you can also contact your MP to ask how fairness, proportionality and breed expertise are being built into these assessments.

This isn’t about opposing health and welfare, it’s about making sure the Dandie is properly understood and fairly assessed.

Please find a letter below which, if you wish, you could send/e-mail to your MP.

Laura Noble
Hon. Secretary
SDDTC

Various matters concerning our breed:

• Glaucoma investigations
• Pet travel
• Breeding regulations
  (New regulations from 1 October 2018 for those breeding three or more litters per year)
• New conformation & movement resource for dog show judges
• Updated definition of mid-limit and limit classes
• Microchipping of puppies