Interim breed standards published for three imported breeds from 1 August

From tomorrow, 1 August 2026, the Royal Kennel Club will publish Interim Breed Standards for three imported breeds: the Miniature American Shepherd (Imp), the Yakutian Laika (Imp) and the Small Munsterlander (Imp). All three will become eligible for exhibition in Imported Breed Register classes from that date, with the standards available on the RKC website.

The three breeds have quite different histories. The Miniature American Shepherd was developed in the United States in the late 1960s from small Australian Shepherds, bred for herding smaller livestock. The Yakutian Laika is an ancient working breed from north-eastern Russia, revived in the 1990s and formally recognised by the Russian Kynological Federation in 2004. The Small Munsterlander originated in the North German Munsterland region and has been documented since the 19th century as a versatile hunting dog. The Miniature American Shepherd and Yakutian Laika have sat on the Imported Breed Register since 1 July 2026; the Small Munsterlander has been there since 2005.

A breed standard is the written description of a breed's ideal type, structure and temperament, and it shapes what breeders and judges select for. That makes moments like this worth noticing. Breeds newly established in the UK typically begin from a small number of founder animals, so pedigree depth, careful mate selection and attention to genetic diversity matter from the outset rather than as an afterthought. Anyone considering one of these breeds is best advised to ask the same questions they would of any breeder: what health testing has been done, what the parents' backgrounds are, and how closely related the mating pair is.