Rare Wetterhoun puppies born in Dorchester in UK first

The puppies have been born as part of a breeding programme to establish a UK population

A litter of rare puppies - the first of their breed to be born in the UK - has been welcomed by a family in Dorset.

Breed specialists said the arrival of the eight Wetterhoun puppies a week ago had tripled the country's population.

The owners of the new litter, Nicky and Mike from Dorchester, bought their first Wetterhoun, Aafke, in 2020.

But, as there are only just over 1,000 Wetterhouns in the world, when it came to breeding her the nearest suitable male was in the Netherlands.

The puppies have been born as part of a breeding programme by the UK Stabyhoun Association, which hopes to establish a healthy population of Wetterhouns in the UK.

Stabyhouns and Wetterhouns are closely related breeds originating from the Netherlands.

Aafke's eight puppies are the first Wetterhouns to be born in the UK

Hannah Woods, of the UK Stabyhoun Association, said: "With such a rare breed, we have to take a conservationist approach to breeding. Ensuring sound genetics of future puppies is absolutely vital.

"Distance and logistics almost becomes a secondary consideration."

Ms Woods said all breeding dogs needed to pass health tests and be approved by expert judges.

"For this project to succeed, we need people like Nicky who are willing to go the extra 900 miles," she added.