A message from Sarah Downes – Breed Health Coordinator for Skye Terriers
You may have seen posts and discussions in recent weeks on the Innate Health Assessment (IHA) tool, published in November 2025 by the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Animal Welfare (APGAW). The tool is a 10-point visual assessment of a dog’s ‘health’ based on 10 physical features – the dog must ‘pass’ 8 out of the 10 to pass the tool. The features are:
The IHA tool is purely a visual assessment and does not take into consideration genetics, health tests or results or underlying indicators of health.
What this means for Skye Terriers
Currently, Skye Terriers would fail the IHA on ground clearance. The IHA states that the distance between the ground and the bottom of the dog’s ribcage should be at least one third the height of the dog at the bottom of the neck. Many short-legged breeds would fail on this element. The rationale within the tool states that short legs impede movement and are associated with spinal issues. The IHA does not differentiate between the different causes of ‘short legs’, or the different impacts of different genes.
Why this matters
The IHA is being marketed as a tool for breeders, puppy buyers and breeder licencing authorities to make health assessments on dogs. It is suggested that any dog that fails the IHA assessment should not be bred from. While the pass mark is currently set at 80% the intention is to raise the pass mark to 100% within 10 years. The IHA website states that: Failure by a breeder to carry out the IHA or breeding from a dog who has failed to pass the IHA, could be taken into consideration by licensing officers when deciding whether or not to issue or renew a commercial breeding licence to a breeder and also whether to prosecute a breeder for breaching their licence conditions. While there is no legislative basis for enforcing the IHA at the moment, the APGAW intend for it to become legislative. If this happens and the tool remains in its current state, it is likely that breeding licences may not be issued for Skye Terriers beyond 2035.
What is being done about the IHA
The Royal Kennel Club is aware of the IHA tool and have endorsed it. The RKC have clarified in Press Releases that although they have endorsed the tool, they do not necessarily agree with its design or the physical features identified. Consultation between the RKC and the APGAW is ongoing.The RKC have recently launched their Breeding for Health Framework. This was shortly followed by Roadmap to a New Future for Dog Breeding. As part of this framework the RKC are designing a Nose-to-Tail Veterinary Assessment that will stand alongside and challenge the IHA. There are a series of Breed Health Coordinator webinars during March to help define this nose-to-tail assessment. There is also a Breeder Insight Forum being held on 30 March. We recommend interested breeders sign up to this.
The Skye Terrier Health Committee are aware of and have been engaging with the IHA discussions. We are attending the webinar in March and will be maintaining open discussions with the RKC through the BHC network (which includes the current Chairperson of the RKC). If you have any concerns you would like to pass on to Health Committee to be represented in the webinars, you can contact me at sarahdownes1@gmail.com or message via FB messenger.
What can you do as owners/breeders
If you are a breeder, you can register for the Insight Forum. Register your participation in the Breeder Insights Forum.
As a breed, we need to be able to quantify the relative health of Skye Terriers. One way we can do this is by gathering as much data and evidence as to health and health conditions in the breed. This makes it critical that we get as many responses to the Breed Health Survey as possible. Thank you to those who have already completed the survey. The Survey will now remain OPEN until 31 March 2026. If you haven’t already, please complete the survey ASAP, even if your Skye Terrier is showing no evidence of any health condition or concern. It’s vital we understand the numbers of Skyes encountering certain health conditions and the numbers of Skyes encountering no health conditions.
If you are part of a Breed Club or Association based outside of the UK and you have any data pertaining to the health of Skye Terriers, please share what you can so we can build as accurate a picture of Skye health as possible. It would be particularly helpful if we could demonstrate how health concerns can/have been addressed and improved through testing, screening or other interventions.
You can share data by emailing sarahdownes1@gmail.com or messaging on FB Messenger
There are some groups on Facebook that aim to bring together concerned owners, exhibitors and breeders to discuss the IHA and its implications. These are visible but you have to request to join – https://www.facebook.com/groups/1581738919841754/
I would encourage you to write to your MP, or the APGAW to express concerns. Beyond the threat of being prevented from breeding Skyes in the future, the tool does not achieve the aims of the APGAW as the physical characteristics of an animal will never accurately represent its health or underlying genetics. The Skye Terrier Health Committee will keep you updated as new information becomes available.