Cocker spaniel stud?!

[poppydesign]

Hi
I have a lovely 4 yr old liver roan and tan cocker spaniel male dog - we would like another puppy as a companion (or troublemaker!) and I would love to continue his line.

Does anyone know if it would be a good idea to try and mate him and get the puppy from the litter he produces? How would we go about finding a suitable girlfriend from him? We don't want to do it commercially or travel miles.

Thanks
Joanne

Does his line really need continuing? I only ask because if you want the best companion for him, I'd say getting another (unrelated) puppy would be just as successful. He won't know it's his offspring after all. Contact the breeder you got him from and do it that way, breeding dogs is not for the inexperienced, and I mean that in the nicest possible way.

Completely agree with ellangirl - I'm a vet and I occasionally breed. Firstly, t's no kindness to him to mate him once and then never again - and not always easy to get a mating from two inexperienced dogs, anyway. Dogs shouldn't be bred from without having been tested for any health problems likely in the breed, and most bitch owners would want to use a stud which had show or working credentials and had been health tested. Unless you have a friend with a cocker, the only reason for a bitch owner to use your dog rather than another would be because it would be cheaper than paying the stud fee for a dog with credentials, and you probably don't want to be dealing with someone who's trying to do it on the cheap. If your dog came from a reputable breeder, by far your best bet is to go back to the breeder and ask them about future puppies. As long as your dog is registered, even if you don't know the breeder, you can ask the Cocker Spaniel club people to have a look at his pedigree and advise you on where you could get a dog of similar type (a lot will depend on whether he is show or working type, the two being effectively almost separate). If he's not registered then any puppies of his wouldn't be registerable either, and most reputable bitch owners wouldn't want to use an unregistered dog anyway. I hope this helps.

You would also need to think about the health checks for hip dysplasia and eye conditions to make sure he is not passing on any genetic diseases to the puppies.

www.the-kennel-club.org.uk/services/public/breed/health.aspx?id=2052

Above is the link to the Kennel Club page on recommended health tests for Cockers, which I was too lazy to look up before. As Lizcat says, they are mainly eye conditions in Cockers, although they also recommend a DNA test for familial nephropathy (FN), a kidney disease, and suggest HD testing. You're looking at two or three hundred pounds minimum to get all these tests done.

www.thekennelclub.org.uk/download/4742/cockerspanielfnclears.pdf

Above, as an example, is a list of FN clear DNA tested Cocker Spaniels registered with the Kennel Club - 26 pages of small print!

Sorry, I didn't do the links properly - hopefully you can cut and paste them anyway.

IMO it wouldn't be a good idea. The best way to get another puppy like your dog is to go back to his breeder if they are a reputable one, or as suggested, look for a second dog with similar bloodlines.

Unless your boy is well proven in either the show ring or the working field, the only sort of bitch owner you are likely to attract is one that hasn't health tested and isn't breeding for the right reasons, particularly if you haven't health tested your own dog. With so many dogs in rescue it is vital that those who decide to breed are doing so for the 'right' reasons and are prepared to be responsible for any puppies they breed for the entire life of the dogs.

Sorry, I suspect that isn't what you wanted to hear.

Thanks for all the replies and advice.
The only reason I want a puppy from him is because he is the most fantastic dog and I really love him but his life is so short! He is a beautiful dog and has such a friendly, intelligent character - I cannot stand not having him around hence why I want his son or daugher!
He is KC registered and I have his complete family tree/pedigree as he comes from show stock and has annual vet checkups etc but not the specific eye tests.
However it certainly sounds like the best option would be for us to look at buying another unrelated puppy and leave the breeding.