My Licensed Breeder

This week, Russ had the opportunity to present the My Licensed Breeder concept at the Pet Industry Federation - PIF Business of Pets Conference.

For us, the most important part wasn't talking about software. It was being able to tell the wider pet industry that there is a growing community of breeders who support each other and are committed to doing things properly.

The conversation around breeding always focuses on the negatives. What many people don't see is the number of breeders investing their own time and money into education, welfare, health testing, record keeping, traceability and continuous improvement.

Through My Licensed Breeder and The Digital PawPrint we've spent the last few years helping breeders understand licensing, develop policies and procedures, improve record keeping and build confidence in their businesses.

What started as a small support network has grown into a community of breeders from across the UK who share ideas, support one another and genuinely want to improve standards.

The message I wanted the audience to hear was simple:

Responsible breeders are not the problem. They are part of the solution.

Thank you to every member who has supported the network, attended workshops, tested new features, provided feedback and helped shape what we've built together.

The recognition for The Digital PawPrint belongs as much to our members as it does to us. Without your willingness to embrace new ideas and continuously improve, none of this would have been possible.

We're only getting started.

A big thank you to Pet Industry Federation - PIF for shortlisting The Digital PawPrint for Innovation of the Year.

My Licensed Breeder started because breeders trying to do things properly had very little operational support. Most were running litters, welfare records, contracts, policies and compliance from spreadsheets, notebooks, WhatsApp photos and disconnected systems.

At the same time, expectations on breeders kept increasing.

So we started going to events, workshops and licensing discussions to show breeders that becoming licensed and operating transparently was not something to fear. The problem was never that most breeders didn’t care. The problem was that there was no structured framework to help them manage everything properly.

So we built one.

Digital PawPrint became a structured Quality Management System for breeding.

Not a puppy selling platform.
Not another classified site.
Not a flashy startup chasing investment.

Just practical organisation tools to help breeders operate properly, evidence welfare standards and keep everything connected in one place.

Digital PawPrint now helps breeders manage:
• litters and dog records
• policies and SOPs
• welfare records
• sales and traceability
• buyer education
• inspections and compliance
• workshops and 1:1 support

What started as tools for our own members has grown into something much bigger. We now likely have breeders using the system across almost every local authority area in the UK, creating structured operational data around puppies born, welfare activity and traceability within the licensed sector.

While parts of the sector continue discussing future legislation, funding models and oversight structures, we quietly built something breeders could actually use now.

No public funding.
No big investment.
No long consultation cycles.

Just listening to breeders, identifying problems and building practical systems around them.

Massive thank you to the members who helped shape the platform and continue testing new ideas with us every week.

Is Northern Ireland about to lead the way on breeder registration?

New proposals could require puppy sellers and suppliers to register with their local council, include more information in adverts, transfer puppies where they are kept with their mother, and keep better records.

These proposals are aimed at improving traceability and protecting buyers, but they also raise a familiar question: who will enforce it?

Across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, the problems are similar. The rules are different, but the welfare challenges are the same.

Our latest article looks at what breeders need to know.

April is here, and while most of the conversation around Making Tax Digital may not affect breeders this year, this is the point where breeders should start paying attention.

From 2026, anyone earning over £50,000 from self-employment or property will need to follow the new digital reporting rules set out by HM Revenue & Customs.

⏰ But that’s only the start.

The threshold is reducing over the next two years to £30,000 and then £20,000. Which means even if you’re not affected now, there’s a strong chance you will be soon.

For many breeders, especially those having one or two litters a year, this could bring you into scope without realising it. And it’s based on turnover, not profit.

Making Tax Digital isn’t about paying more tax. It’s about how your records are kept and reported. Quarterly updates, digital records, and more structure.

If you’re already keeping good records for your licence, you’re in a strong position. If not, now is the time to start thinking about it.

We’ve put together a simple guide to explain what this means for breeders and how to prepare - link in the comments 👇

🆕Workshop - The Innate Health Assessment Tool

🔗 Link to event in the bio 👆

Licensed breeders are under increasing pressure to show that their dogs are suitable for breeding. The regulations refer to things like “detrimental effect on welfare” and “breathing normally”, but they don’t clearly define what that looks like in practice. This is where many breeders are left unsure.

​In this session, we’ll explain where the Innate Health Assessment (IHA) fits into that.

​We’ll be joined by guests from the APGAW team, including Marisa Heath and Vanessa Barnes, who have worked with Professor Dan O’Neill to develop the IHA. The tool has been built with input from a wide range of experts and organisations who are supporting its use.

​We’ll cover:

​Why conformation and health are becoming a bigger focus in licensing

​What the IHA is and what it actually assesses

​How it can be used to support your breeding decisions

​Where it may help during inspections

​The session will include live demonstrations of the IHA using real examples.

​We’re also inviting members to:

​Submit images of dogs they are unsure about ahead of the session

​Send in questions so we can cover them in detail

​There will be time for open discussion, and attendees will be able to ask questions during the session.

​This is about giving you a clearer way to evidence your decisions and understand how expectations are changing.

​This session is for licensed breeders only.

We placed an advert about licensed breeders and deliberately targeted it at breeders to understand the objections to licensing.

We have now put those objections alongside the actual facts. We did not write the legislation. We did not draft the guidance. Our role was simply to compare the concerns raised with what the statutory framework actually states.

In many cases, the tension appears to come from how the rules are summarised and interpreted within online discussions, rather than from the wording of the regulations themselves.

The legal framework is clear. People may disagree with it, but it is not shaped by social media interpretation.

If you commented or followed the discussion, we encourage you to read the full article:

Opinions are welcome. The facts wont change.

👇Link in the comments

Thank you to everyone who attended yesterdays workshop

Your certificates will be available on your dashboard over the next few days

👉 https://digitalpawprint.app/

Yesterday, we had the opportunity to stand up in Parliament and speak on behalf of the licensed breeder community.

We made it clear that licensed breeders are already complying with existing legislation, inspections, and welfare standards. We also highlighted that the majority of licensed breeders are engaging positively with tools such as the Innate Health Assessment (IHA) and are open to continued improvement when it comes to health and welfare.

The key question we raised was a simple but important one:
If around 80% of puppies entering UK homes are bred outside the licensed system, what is the plan to address that unlicensed majority?

The response was that a registration system is being looked at and that conversation is exactly why it’s so important licensed breeders have a seat at the table during the consultation when options are being discussed.

What yesterday really reinforced is that strength in numbers matters. The reason we are able to speak directly to key figures and decision makers is because licensed breeders come together, share their experiences, and allow their voices to be represented collectively through the network.

We want to say a genuine thank you to the members of the Licensed Breeder Support Network. Your engagement, openness, and willingness to do things properly is what enables us to advocate on your behalf and speak constructively about changes that could directly affect you.

Thank you again to everyone who continues to support us to support you.

One of the biggest challenges for puppy buyers is knowing who they can trust.

Not all breeders are licensed, and it isn’t always obvious how to check.

That’s exactly why we’ve built the My Licensed Breeder directory.

It allows buyers to search for licensed breeders by breed, location and local authority with clear licence details, transparency, and accountability front and centre.

This isn’t about selling puppies.

It’s about education, welfare, and helping buyers start in the right place.

If you’re thinking about buying a puppy, take a moment to check the breeder is licensed.

And if you’re a licensed breeder, this is about making sure the public can see that you already go the extra mile with inspections.

Since the government announced it will consult on a new registration scheme for dog breeders, there’s been a lot of noise online. And a lot of it seems to come down to the words that were used.

The term “puppy farm” keeps coming up, but people mean very different things by it. For some, it’s large-scale breeding in poor conditions. For others, it’s started to feel like a label that could be applied to anyone they don’t agree with. That’s where the confusion starts.

We’ve written an article to slow the conversation down a bit and look at what’s really being argued.

What does “ethical breeder” actually mean in practice?

Is caring enough on its own, or do standards and oversight still matter? And how do we protect good breeders without losing focus on welfare?

This isn’t about pointing fingers. It’s about trying to bring some clarity to a debate that’s getting increasingly heated.

If you’ve been following the discussion or feeling uneasy about where it’s heading, you might find this useful.