Buying a Cocker Spaniel (English) Puppy
What to expect from a breeder who puts Health, Welfare and Temperament first.
Essential Documents
- Heath Certificates (both parents)
- Signed AWF Puppy Contract
- KC Registration Certificate (if applicable)
- Microchip Registration Certificate
- Temporary Pet Health Insurance
- Vaccination Certificate
A Good Breeder Will:
- have socialised and habituated the puppy
- provide a supply of food
- provide a blanket smelling of Mum
- follow the Code of Practice for Dog Breeding
Official Health Schemes
- BVA/KC scheme for hip dysplasia (HD)
- abnormal formation of the hip joint – pain and lameness
- BVA/KC screening for eye disease; full ophthalmological testing before breeding; to include gonioscopy (includes checks for multiple inherited diseases)
- gonioscopy is a progressive eye disease leading to blindness
Other Diseases
No current health scheme or DNA test available.
- Auto immune disease
- where the dog’s immune system attacks its own body in various ways (particularly autoimmune haemolytic anaemia, where the dog’s immune system attacks its own red blood cells)
- Chronic pancreatitis
- recurring inflammation of the pancreas causing pain and vomiting
DNA Tests Relevant to Breed
- PRA – Progressive retinal atrophy
- eye disease leading to blindness
- FN – Familial nephropathy
- early onset kidney failure
- AMS – Acral mutilation syndrome
- dog attacks its own paws
- Adult onset neuropathy
- neurological disease causing progressive weakness in middle age