please help. I'm totally stuck about what to do...

[BeaWheesht]

We want a dog and have done for a very long time. Nothing comes up which is suitable at rehoming centres near us, well they do, but the one centre they seem to trun up at doesn't rehome to houses with kids under 5. We have a 5 year old and a 20 month old.

From threads last night I have been rightly, I think, persuaded away from a king charles. I also mentioned springer pups which we have seen, however, when we called up about them, we were told they were 10 days old and they were wanting them sold in 4 weeks and I'm not willing to take a 5 week old pup away from its mum.

Dh wants to buy a sprocker which we have seen advertised. We called the guy - he seemed nice, don't they all? He is wanting 250 for a springer x cocker boy pup. They are 16 weeks old. They've been vaccinated, are getting wormed this week and are house trained.

We simply can not afford 600 for a puppy which is why our choices are limited. I know dogs cost a lot and we can afford that but the massive initial outlay is the problem.

Wwyd?

I should also mention we have a cat but she spends much of her time upstairs. The springerxcockers have been brought up with a 3 and 4 year old. Its the first time they've bred the mum, she had a false pregnancy last year.

if it were me, I would just wait for the right rescue dog to turn up. There will be some who are pups or very young who can be rehomed to you with a young family. Just be patient. I agree that they are exhoribant. Keep looking and maybe widen your search to other rescues too. Good luck

Right. Did you look into breed specific rescues?

What is it about spaniels that appeals? If you like them have you considered a lab? Or since you are considering paying for a cross breed getting a cross breed from a rescue centre. They are IMHO the best bet for a family dog.

You were well advised on your other thread about not buying from adverts. The people with the sprocker don't sound great either - they are breeding a 'fad' dog for money.

Personally I am very about paying top dollar for cross breeds - maybe thats just me.

If you want good dog that is tried and tested you need a rescue centre, or you need to use a responsible recomended breeder. The people inbetween are hot and miss.

Thanks for the replies. We have contacted cocker spaniel rescue.

I suppose why I want a spaniel is because I've had a springer before and she was adorable. I've also had a border collie before and she was flighty and obsessive though we loved her. The dogs I love the most are shelties but they're madly expensive.

To be fair to the sprocker guy, he had asked his mates dog (another springer) to breed with her but he didn't manage so he got his friends cocker instead. So he wasn't specifically breeding a sprocker iyswim.

He's also kept them until 16 weeks which sits better with me than 5 weeks.

We've waited so long, a lot of collies come up but I'm wary of them around the kids.

I think you need to take a deep breath and slow down a bit. Many rescues do home with children if they don't there is a very good reason why not. You will have to pay money for the dog regardless of where it comes from and the dog will cost you a lot of money over its life time so if money is a sticking point I would again re think this.

It should take a very long time to get the correct dog for you and you must be prepared to wait. It is good to see that you have turned down several already. Be prepared to do a lot of research and a lot of thinking. If you are going down the breeder route much good breeders will have a waiting list so you would have to wait and rescues will work so hard to match you up with the right dog that again you must be prepared to wait.

I would not recommend a collie with young children unless the household is very dog savvy and you have a lot of current experience with dogs - they will need a awful lot of attention and this will be hard unless it is already mapped into your day.

Good luck with your search but do be prepared to be patience and wait for the right dog. Contact more rescues

The thing is you have to wait for the right dog, either from a rescue or untill the right people are breeding.

Why is that man breeding his spaniel? Does he work his dogs? Train them? Show them? Is he trying to improve the blood line or is he just a bloke/family with a pet dog that wants to make some money and so has bred his dog with the first available one. I can see the answer from your information I hope you can too.

Really, I'm not against dog breeders there are many good ones. People who breed responsibly charge what they do for dogs because it costs a lot to look after them proplerly and involves a fair amount of work. Of course they make a profit too.

There are thousands of cross breeds and mongrels all over the country that are ending up in kennels who start life by being 'bred' by people like this. They don't vet the homes and they don't take returns. Some of my labs are returns from a responsible breeder. Sometimes it doesn't work out with a dog/family and both a rescue and good breeder will ensure that the dog is taken back and rehomed if this happens as oposed to ending up neglected/abused/passed on to incapable owners.

Thanks both.

Yes I think he has a pet dog and is breeding her. He said he wanted to breed her this year because of the false pregnancy last year.

Have a look at many tears rescue. They have a lot of dogs in need of rehoming. They frequently have puppies. I was looking the other day and they have cockers and springers.

many tears

They rehome everywhere and consider families with children

Thanks, will check it out after school run. We are in scotland if that makes a difference.

Most puppies find their (hopefully) permanent homes at around 6-8 weeks. If you are taking a pup at 16 weeks, you will have missed a very important window of opportunity for socialising and first steps in training.

Hi Be a
I am in a similar situation. We have children 10, 8 and 5 and would love a rescue dog but are unsure about the children aspect. I have been in touch with black retriever x rescue but they are in Wiltshire so a bit far for you. But they foster their dogs in homes so they can be certain about their temperaments. I also contacted the Guide Dogs as they rehome dogs that fail their training. Labradors seem to have very good temperaments generally.
If you really want a puppy it is a minefield I think, as others have said. It is very hard to be patient ( I certainly am not!) but with a 20 month old, you will have to be so careful.

DO NOT take a puppy on at 16 weeks! There is a window between 8 and 12 weeks when they need to be with new owners and getting basic training and doggy life skills. Any bad habits will have formed already at 16 weeks and will be hard ( although not impossible ) to break. I also think that spaniels might be quite hard for a 1st time owner.

There are lots of smaller spaniel rescues,many will become to children. I would contact as many as possible, be prepared to travel. Wouldn't buy from a random 'breeder'.

Breed rescues less dogmatic in becoming criteria than bigger centres IME anyway.

Thanks. I dont especially want a puppy tbh, in fact, Id rather a slightly older dog.

We may have found a rescue one just this morning but obviousluy need to meet it and its fosterer etc so am trying not to get my hopes up.

good luck

Thank you, I am not doing very well at the not getting my hopes up part - Ive just been sent a photo and it is so lovely.

"To be fair to the sprocker guy, he had asked his mates dog (another springer) to breed with her but he didn't manage so he got his friends cocker instead."

so he really invested alot of time into finding the right stud dog and matching them healthwise then? and it's clear he is breeding for health and temperament of the pups rather than just getting the nearest convenient dog and sticking them in a room together?

you have no idea what you are buying of this guy and tbh he probably doesn't even know what he's selling, health and temperament wise.

dont give this idiot your money. you'll just encourage him to do this again.

All I meant was that he wasn't breeding a 'fad' dog.

I am taking my time and considering everything as should be evident by my threads.

Am really hoping the rescue dog and us are suitable for each other (terrible grammar but I hope that makes sense) as I would feel much, much happier with that scenario.

no just a convenience dog to earn him a whack of money for very little outlay. no better than breeding a fad dog.

i can see you are considering everything. i do think if you are considering buying from a breeder that you should get a bit more advice on what to ask, what to look for etc when doing so and dont buy from and ad on guntree or the likes. proper breeders will have their clients agreed before they even put the bitch into pup and wouldn't need to advertise their 16 week old pups for sale. they would even have a back up list of clients incase someone pulled out of a sale. do your research and make sure you know what you are buying/rescuing. it takes time to find the right dog. cleinets of breeders can wait years to get the right pup from the right mating. it is quite normal.

I wouldn't go near the Sprocker pup

He is the very definition of a back yard breeder - someone who breeds just because they want to and can with no regard for the pups they produce. The fact that he was prepared to use any available stud dog confirms this. Also, there was no 'need' to breed his bitch just because she'd previously had a false pregnancy. It's a false motion and very outdated thinking.

Also, it is highly unlikely that he has voluntarily kept the pup to 16 weeks. More likely he hasn't been able to sell it yet for whatever reason.

And are the springer and cocker both from working lines? If so, you could have a lot more dog on your hands than you could handle. Springer x Cocker is a popular cross for gundog work but IMO are not the best choice for family pets, especially with very young children. They need almost constant mental and physical stimulation - much more than most average households can commit to.

I'd hold out for a rescue from one of the breed club affiliated rescues. That way you will have their back up if you need advice at any stage and you are much more likely to get a dig with a known history that is suited to your family circumstances.

Please avoid the sort of breeders you are looking at. You can afford to buy a puppy from these for a reason and they aren't good ones. The parents will not be health tested and you risk health problems that will lead to heavy vet bills in later life. You also risk an unsocialised puppy with temprement problems seeing as they likely haven't selected the breeding dogs with any thought at all.

This really worries me:

To be fair to the sprocker guy, he had asked his mates dog (another springer) to breed with her but he didn't manage so he got his friends cocker instead. So he wasn't specifically breeding a sprocker iyswim

It doesn't sound like he put much thought into the stud dog int he first place (his mates dog) and then when that didn't work he just used any old dog instead.

Please DO NOT support breeders like this, they are the ones creating the rescue situation in the first place.

Why not start saving for a well bred, pedigree puppy of the breed you want and in the meantime contact breed rescues (often more flexible re children etc) and other rescues and get on a waiting list. Our breed rescue (Golden Retrievers) is run by the breed club so you may get older, house trained puppies that have been returned to the breeder through no fault of their own and now need a home as the breeder isn't keeping them. It may take some time, but there's no rush if you want a pet for th enext 10-16 years.

teh 'breeder' sounds like a tosser tbh!