Tell me about springer spaniels General Chat

Just out of interest, would you not touch a pup if the sire and dam had not had the health tests or would you just not look at paying as much for them?

Would you buy a fridge that did not have a CE mark?
Would you buy a second hand car that had not got an MOT, etc?

I would not touch a pup from a breeder who failed to extend their duty of care to:

a) their breeding stock
b) their pups
c) the breed
d) the customer

Nobody should be breeding ANY dog without determining first if the breeding stock is fit for function, has a stable temperament, meets the breed standard and is at little risk of passing on some hereditary disease to their pups.

Think of the heartache, the costs, the pain that could be caused.

Nothing in life is risk free, but you can minimise risks.

The purchase price is not the main cost of your pup.

The best place to look for a puppy of ANY breed is the relevant breed club(s) whose members must abide by their codes of ethics; they will give you the best advice and the best chance of getting a healthy dog from a reputable breeder.

http://englishspringer.org/health-problems.php

Thanks for that. I have asked elsewhere on the forum, but how do you know that a bloodline/pedigree is geniune?

As above, I would not touch a puppy that does not come from health tested parents.

Be very careful if this is a working litter, as from what I've seen, not all of them do much (if any) health testing of breeding stock. Reputable breeders obviously are out there, but you have to know where to look!

Go to one or more of the Breed Clubs, their members must abide by their codes of ethics and will be reputable.

This is also a list of KC Accredited Breeders who must do some health testing (required) and should do others (recommended).

http://www.the-kennel-club.org.uk/services/public/acbr/Default.aspx?breed=Spaniel (English Springer)

The breeder i am due to visit is not on that list....hmmm...

Hey, that does not make them a BAD breeder! Some people CHOOSE not to go on this list.

Contact the BREED CLUB(S).

Tip, you may think that this litter is ready now and you can have a pup and will there be another later. There will, you can wait, until the RIGHT litter comes along.

There is no rush.

No I know there is no rush, just trying to make sure that we get this right, for all of us.

btw do you know the average price for an ESS, want to make sure we are not being done over too?

Thanks for all of this, it really is a help.

No idea sorry

How long is a piece of string?? ;-)

I've just had a look for you. You'd be looking at £300 for a pet bred puppy with zero health testing on the parents (which you want to avoid!) and up to £600 for a puppy from a reputable show/working breeder who health tests.

Thank you for this, so from what it looks like this breeder is asking I would be expecting all health tests to be done.

Brilliant.

I now have reams of things to ask and check.....lol

Ask...any good breeder should happily show you the certificates.

Check before you go. It is very hard to walk away from a litter of pups.

rune

To add to smokeybear's comments:
DNA for PRA cord 1 and DNA for PFK
elbow score 0 (best) or 1

And working line Springers that have all these tests are rare as angel's visits - very few and very far between.

Cheers
Sgurr

Hi Trulee,

Have you now obtained an ESS?