I was reading a post on a dog blog this evening talking about websites like PuppyFind.com and similar sites that are for the sale of dogs over the Internet. Several pet owners were talking about whether or not breeders who sell on Internet sites like those are reputable. As these pet owners discussed what made a breeder reputable, they mentioned things like meeting the breeder and the sire/dam of the puppy in person, how many breeds the breeder was breeding, and whether the puppies were vaccinated. The did NOT mention health testing.
To me, health testing is one of the key things that separates a reputable breeder from everyone else. Yes, you should try to meet at least the dam of the puppies, yes you should look for a breeder who is not breeding many breeds as that is often a sign that they are breeding purely for profit, and yes you should look for a breeder who provides puppies with good health care.
You should ALSO look for a breeder who does health testing on the sire and dam of the puppies and who ALSO has an extensive knowledge of the health history of the sire/dam. The test results on the sire/dam are important, but it is also important that the breeder know the "lines" they are working with, meaning they know health results on several or more generations in the pedigree of the sire/dam. In many cases, the cumulative information that is gained from studying the health history in a 5 generation pedigree can give a breeder a much clearer idea of which sire to choose to use with their prospective dam. If someone purchases a dog from a breeder, does not get information about what health issues are in that line and then goes on to breed that dog, they are really breeding almost blindfolded, even if they do health testing on that dog. For example, if a dog is OFA Excellent, but has a dysplastic sire/dam he is more of a risk for breeding than a dog who is OFA Good, but has two OFA Good parents. This is the reason that finding a breeder who is very involved in their breeding program, very informed about the breed in general and involved in the dog community is important. Dog shows/events are not just a place to walk in the ring and show a dog, they are also the place where breeders are able to meet and talk about the breed and about their dogs. I am personally quite grateful to several English Cocker breeders who have helped me to learn much of what I know about the breed. I do read dog related material constantly, and learn through experience, but advice and knowledge shared by other breeders is invaluable.
Here is the health testing that I personally recommend for an English Cocker before breeding:
OFA Hips
CERF Eyes
Optigen Test for PRA
To me, health testing is one of the key things that separates a reputable breeder from everyone else. Yes, you should try to meet at least the dam of the puppies, yes you should look for a breeder who is not breeding many breeds as that is often a sign that they are breeding purely for profit, and yes you should look for a breeder who provides puppies with good health care.
You should ALSO look for a breeder who does health testing on the sire and dam of the puppies and who ALSO has an extensive knowledge of the health history of the sire/dam. The test results on the sire/dam are important, but it is also important that the breeder know the "lines" they are working with, meaning they know health results on several or more generations in the pedigree of the sire/dam. In many cases, the cumulative information that is gained from studying the health history in a 5 generation pedigree can give a breeder a much clearer idea of which sire to choose to use with their prospective dam. If someone purchases a dog from a breeder, does not get information about what health issues are in that line and then goes on to breed that dog, they are really breeding almost blindfolded, even if they do health testing on that dog. For example, if a dog is OFA Excellent, but has a dysplastic sire/dam he is more of a risk for breeding than a dog who is OFA Good, but has two OFA Good parents. This is the reason that finding a breeder who is very involved in their breeding program, very informed about the breed in general and involved in the dog community is important. Dog shows/events are not just a place to walk in the ring and show a dog, they are also the place where breeders are able to meet and talk about the breed and about their dogs. I am personally quite grateful to several English Cocker breeders who have helped me to learn much of what I know about the breed. I do read dog related material constantly, and learn through experience, but advice and knowledge shared by other breeders is invaluable.
Here is the health testing that I personally recommend for an English Cocker before breeding:
OFA Hips
CERF Eyes
Optigen Test for PRA
Optional but preferred:
OFA Elbows
OFA Patellas
For parti-colored English Cockers also add these to the necessary list:
Baer Test for Hearing
FN test for Familial Nephropathy.
For parti-colored English Cockers also add these to the necessary list:
Baer Test for Hearing
FN test for Familial Nephropathy.
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