FCI, Its History, Organization and Duties

FCI breed standards, The Fédération Cynologique Internationale is the largest canine organization. Like all kennel club’s it’s purpose is  the wellbeing of pedigree dogs. Their guidelines, breed standards are considered the golden standard in the world of dogs. 

• Group 1 – Sheepdogs and Cattle dogs ( Cattle dogs ) 
• Group 2 – Pinscher and Schnauzer – Molossoid and Swiss Mountain and Cattledogs
• Group 3 – Terriers 
• Group 4 – Dachshunds
• Group 5 – Spitz and primitive types
• Group 6 – Scent hounds and related breeds
• Group 7 – Pointing Dogs 
• Group 8 – Retrievers – Flushing Dogs – Water Dogs
• Group 9 – Companion and Toy Dogs 
• Group 10 – Sighthounds

FCI was created in 1911 with the intent to protect purebreed dogs and dog breeding as a whole. ITs founding nations were Germany, Austria, Belgium, France and The Netherlands. 

Organisation is currently composed of three sections: Europe, the Americas and Carribean, and Asia, Africa & Oceania. It has 99 FCI members, one from every member state and contract partner.

It’s main duties are:

• Updating, translating and publishing of the breed standards
• processing results of international conformation shows 
• registering kennel names
• homologation of titles 
• keeping lists of internationally licensed judges
• Updating, translating and publishing of international regulations
• setting up calendars of international dog shows

It does not however keep registries and does not issue pedigrees or keep breeder records.   

FCI and other kennel clubs are an important part of keeping the “dog world” organized and dog wellbeing oriented. While most people can take care of a dog, not everyone knows what is actually good for a dog. How do you determine how much a dog of a certain breed should weigh in order to be healthy?

How do you determine if their posture is ok, or if they happen to have an injury or a life threatening defect. Is the fur allright, or is it indicative of a skin problem? That is where the breed standards come in handy, to tell you where your dog stands in relation to its breed. 

The FCI Breed Standards

The FCI currently recognizes 353 breeds on a definitive basis and a couple more on a provisional basis (11 at the time this article was written). Breeds recognized on a definitive basis are eligible to compete for the CABIB (Certificat d’Aptitude au Championnat International de Beauté – award for the title “International Beauty Champion”) and FCI titles, while breeds recognized on a provisional basis are only eligible to compete for FCI titles.

A recognized breed has breed standards – detailed description of the ideal type of the breed – written by a country (member) in cooperation with the Standards and Scientific Commissions of the FCI. 

The FCI standards are written in the form of a document containing the following information:

• Breed name
• Breed picture
• Origin
• Date of publication
• Utilization
• FCI classification
• Brief historical summary
• General appearance
• Important proportions
• Behaviour/temperament
• Detailed description of body (head, eyes, ears, neck, body, tail, limbs, gait/movement, skin, coat, size and weight)
• Faults, severe faults and disqualifying faults

These standards are then used as a guideline for the dog breeders and as the reference for judging dogs in the (FCI) international dog shows. Most of these data are established via visual inspection, but some are measurable and have quantifiable ideal ranges for various breeds. This are the strings of data our PAWSM dog diet and nutrition app uses in its calculations. 

FCI Breed Standards and PAWSM Dog Diet and Nutrition App

We here at team PAWSM believe that good nutrition and proper diet are a key factor when it comes to dog’s health. The FCI standards tell us where the dog should be, what our app does is to help your furry friend get there. 

The visual part of the FCI’s breed standards cannot yet be used in a regular phone app (not there YET) but PAWSM app uses some of the FCI breed standards data in its dog diet calculations.

PAWSM Dog Diet and Nutrition App calculates the amount of food your dog needs to eat daily based on your dogs ideal weight according the FCI standards for your particular breed. Dog’s current age, weight, height,…  all play a part in the calculations. If your dogs weight is either too high or too low the app makes an adjustment in the amount of your chosen food your dog needs to eat daily. 

Of course PAWSM app’s formulas can deal with more than just pure breed dogs, hence why it is important to designate the primary and secondary breeds of your dog in the selection menus. 

There is more to PAWSM app’s calculations and formulas, but that will be explored in our next blog.