Airedale??? Spaniel??? Help??

[fitflopqueen]

So we have decided that a dog would now be a nice addition to our family, esp for our teenage son.
But what to get, husband and son would rather have a pup (so our cat could take charge from the start) , I would be open to one a little older.

Where to go?, will pay a trip to our local vet and boarding kennels for any local contacts. Not bothered about pedigrees etc but would like to know mum & dad if pos.

Am in the Northwest if anyone would have any contacts
thanks in anticipation

your vet will know any local litters as very likely will be providing care. also ask at your local petshop and visit the park, speak to other puppy owners to find out where they got there dogs.
a lot of the good breeders are word of mouth, be careful of puppies from places like gumtree and freeads as not always best quality.

If you have particular breeds in mind then get in touch with the relevant breed clubs, they'll be able to put you in touch with decent breeders who either have a litter on the ground or, more likely, are awaiting or planning one.

Most breeds can potentially be affected by various heritable health conditions so it's important that breeders health test (and evaluate then act on the results as appropriate), not just get a vet to give their dogs a once over. You can see what breeds require what tests on this website. The relevant tests should always be done regardless of whether a dog is being used to breed pedigrees or crosses. The breeder should be happy to show you the official documentation they get when these tests are performed. If the dogs are KC registered then you can look up their results here on the KC site.

Whilst good breeders will sometimes own both the dam and the sire it's more usual for the breeder to have travelled to a stud, sometimes even going abroad to find the best match for their bitch. If a breeder doesn't own both then they should be more than happy to put you in touch with the stud owner.

I'd also check what socialisation the breeder has been doing with the puppies. A lot of people just seem to leave the bitch to it, not really doing much more than feeding and playing with the puppies when they're old enough. There's a lot a good breeder should be doing during the puppies' development to set them up as well as possible for going to their new homes. This website is really good for explaining the different stages of development and what the breeder should ideally have been doing during each. It can make a world of difference getting a puppy who has been raised well. I've had three from a fabulous breeder who puts in a huge amount of effort to get them ready for their new homes. They've all been confident, adaptable and really solid little puppies despite being a breed that can be prone to being very sensitive.

If you haven't yet picked any breeds, what is it you want from a dog and what can you offer one? How much exercise would you be able to provide? How much grooming would you be prepared to do? Do you have a size preference? What sort of level of trainability would you like? Are there any particular activities you'd like to do (showing/agility/flyball/obedience/etc.)?

A puppy may be easier to socialise with your cat. When I was thinking about which breed of dog to get that would be all right with the cat my vet said to avoid all terriers, which would include Airedales, and retired racing greyhounds as both these are cat chasers by nature. I chose VERY carefully and my cat is definitely the boss in this house!
We have managed to train my DD's Irish Terrier not to chase my cat, using 'no puss cat' command but the cat was well versed in warning dogs off with a quick swipe and this took a lot of really hard work from all members of the family and an excellent trainer. The Irish is the smaller relative of an Airedale and she is very strong and needs loads of exercise so be warned if you think about an Airedale.

Thank you for your advice, we were "vetted" by an English springer spaniel rescue group about 3 yrs ago, but apart from being a bit older nothing has changed. We have plenty of space both in and out but I don't want a large dog. Will do some contacts over the weekend and may be back for more info.

Meant to add vetted as suitable!

Oh I love airedales! Hugely powerful, very independent. You almost get the impression that when they do what they're told they're just sort of humouring you... We had a few growing up. Amazingly funny, clever, and like all dogs in their own way, hard work at times! (ours was a seasoned deer killer. Try explaining THAT amount of blood to a small child when you get back from the woods! Trained beautifully but just couldn't resit a deer trail.
We did live in super rural scotland, though!)