Getting a dog / puppy - advice on where to buy from

[Chasingsquirrels]

I'm thinking about getting a dog, probably a puppy - cocker spaniel, we always had them when I was a child and exH and I had one, she died several years ago so it's probably 20 years since we got her - pre-internet and I've got no recollection of how we found her, probably an advert in the local paper.

I've read lots of things about not buying from puppy farms and am totally with that, but how do you go about sourcing a breeder?

I've looked on the Kennel Club site and they list a number of breeders in our area, although not many. Should I just call them and ask?

Having Googled Cocker Spaniel "my area" it's mainly coming up with pets4homes (I think that was the name) which has numerous adverts on, but how do you know??

[CornflakeHomunculus]

I would recommend contacting the breed club, either the national one or the relevant regional one. They should be able to put you in touch with breeders of the type you’re after who are planning litters.

Champdogs can be a good place to start looking for breeders, as can the KC’s list of Assured Breeders, though neither guarantee a breeder is decent.

Champdogs have a good guide to buying a puppy which is worth reading, along with the accompanying list of questions to ask a breeder. I’d also recommend reading their guide to interviewing new puppy buyers which is obviously aimed at breeders but will give you an idea of the sorts of things a breeder should be asking you.

[Chasingsquirrels]

Thanks for all that CornflakeHomunculus, I had no idea about regional breed clubs.

[missbattenburg]

I sent a covering email to every breeder of my breed within a distance I was prepared to travel which talked about me, why I wanted a dog and why I wanted that breed in particular, how I would expect to care for it and my living situation etc.

I then asked them to keep my in mind should they be planning a litter.
Some ignored me, some replied but said they were not planning a litter and mentioned people they know who were or forwarded my details to them and some replied to say they were thinking of a litter.

From there I kept in touch with those planning litters until one panned out. In the meantime, I spent my time researching those breeders that were a possibility to double check I was happy they were legit. Once litters were on the way I spoke to a couple I was especially interested in so that they could quiz me and I could quiz them to make sure we were both happy.

The whole process took about five months from the first email to me collecting a puppy - and that was with me being very lucky that everything went exactly to plan (e.g. the right dog fell pregnant at the right time with the right puppies).

[missbattenburg]

Forgot to add that I used champdogs and the KC to get the original breeder list!

[Madbengalmum]

Seconding champ dogs as good reference point for good breeders with litters or ones that may have future litters.

[Ellapaella]

We knew of an excellent breeder locally by word of mouth, she is KC registered and we rang her. She grilled us a lot about why we wanted this particular breed, asked us lots of questions about our family, lifestyle and expectations in having a dog. She wasn’t planning any litters but put us in touch with another breeder who had a litter on the way that she said she trusted and would be happy to recommend. 3 months later we now have our lovely lab pup. Do you know anyone locally with a spaniel that could recommend a trustworthy breeder to you?

[EmmaGellerGreen]

We got a cocker puppy in May and he's gorgeous. I struggled to find a cocker breeder, most seemed to breed cockerpoos which we did not. I eventually spoke to a reputable local dog groomer and asked if they groomed as cockers and if so, could they find details of the breeder. This worked really well for us. My initial conversation was very much a two way fact find, she wanted to know all about our lifestyle etc before agreeing to put us on her waiting list.

[Chasingsquirrels]

Thanks everyone - I'm going to contact local breeders per KC and Champdogs and go from there.

[japanesegarden]

Also depends whether you want show type or working type, which you don't say, but which makes a big difference with cockers!

[Chasingsquirrels]

Show type (only because it's what I've always had, same reason I want a bitch not a dog).
I've only come across working Cockers in the last 10 years, nothing against them but they don't have quite the same appeal to me.