* Have a longstanding, serious interest in Cocker Spaniels - they often take part in activities with their dogs such as showing, field trials (in the case of Working Cockers), agility, obedience training etc. Most reputable breeders will be a member of a least one Breed Club, such as The Cocker Spaniel Club (the parent Club for Cocker Spaniels) as well as other regional Breed Clubs.
* Try to ensure that any puppies they breed go only to the most suitable homes. They will ask as many questions of you as you should be asking of them. If a breeder does not ask you any questions at all, ask yourself why they apparently don't care what sort of homes their puppies go to? Commonly asked questions relate to how long a puppy would be left alone during the day, whether the would-be buyer has children & how old they are, what sort of home & garden the buyer has etc.
* Make it clear to potential buyers whether their puppies are working or show strain. As the two distinct strains can be quite different, it is important that breeders ensure their buyers understand these differences and are getting the type of puppy they want, whether this is a Working Cocker or a show-type puppy
* Understand that breeding & rearing a litter of puppies with care takes enormous effort & commitment & therefore only have a few litters a year which will be carefully planned with health & temperament as top priorities. They will make every effort to ensure that puppies are well socialised before they leave for new homes (something that is impossible to do if the breeder has numerous litters at the same time)
* Willingly offer advice on the breed to potential buyers (even if they do not have a litter) & will honestly discuss the breed's requirements (e.g. grooming) & the hereditary problems that are known to occasionally occur in the breed (e.g. the eye conditions, CPRA, GPRA & Glaucoma and the kidney disease, Familial Nephropathy) They will explain what steps they take to avoid these hereditary problems e.g. annual eye-testing, Optigen/Antagene DNA testing of dogs used for breeding and be able to show buyers certificates as proof of their health testing program. Please note that basic health checks by an ordinary vet in general practice are NOT what is meant by heath testing for hereditary conditions. Check out www.thecockerspanielclub.co.uk/health.htm for more information on known hereditary problems and the tests currently available to breeders. NB:If you want to check whether the parents of a litter you are interested in have been health tested, register with MyKC and enter their KC registered names in the Look Up A Dog tool
* Provide back-up help & advice on a long-term basis to their puppy buyers. They will also make clear that if the owner of one of their puppies is unable to keep the dog for any reason, then they will take back that dog & find it a new home where possible.
* Provide puppy buyers with all the necessary paperwork at the time the puppy is collected. This will include a copy of the pedigree, a diet sheet, worming certificate & the Kennel Club Registration Certificate. Many will also provide comprehensive information on grooming, training etc. It is also common practice to provide free insurance for the puppy for a minimum period of 6 weeks (depending on the insurance company preferred by the breeder)
* Encourage potential puppy buyers to meet their dogs, including "Mum", all the puppies in the litter & possibly other relatives too. If all the breeders' dogs seem happy & pleased to "meet & greet" visitors, then this is a good indication that a puppy from this breeder will have a happy, outgoing temperament. NB: Be wary of breeders who own both parents of a litter – reputable breeders will sometimes use their own stud dogs in their breeding plans but this can also be an indication of “backyard” breeding (see below) so do your homework!
* Sell puppies under the age of 8 weeks. NB: Selling puppies before this age is against the Cocker Spaniel Club Code of Ethics and is actually against the law if the breeder is licenced (ie breeds commercially).
* Breed puppies purely for financial gain as a business
* Sell to agents/dealers/pet shops or sell to buyers they have not met personally and screened for suitability
* Have more than one or two litters at the same time or advertise multiple litters from a wide variety of popular breeds (those who do are clearly commercial breeders or dealers)
* Offer to deliver puppies to buyers (unless in exceptional circumstances) or offer to meet potential buyers in locations such as motorway service stations. Puppy farmers often use these tactics to prevent buyers from seeing the conditions in which puppies have been born
* Charge buyers extra if they want a puppy with KC registration
* Charge extortionate prices for so-called "rare" colours
* Sell puppies without KC Registration unless this is clearly explained to the buyer at the time of sale
* Register puppies with commercial registries such as The Dog Lovers Registration Club (DLRC) which sell registration certificates based solely on information supplied by the breeder/owner. DLRC papers are considered to be worthless by many as there is no verification of pedigree information supplied by breeders - someone could easily register a litter of cross-breeds as "Cocker Spaniels" with the DLRC, using completely fictitious "pedigrees" without any problems at all!
* Claim the breed has no hereditary problems - every breed generally has at least one or two. Good breeders also will not say they don't need to test their dogs for hereditary problems because they know their dogs are all problem free - no breeder can ever claim that!
* Go for the "hard sell" approach & try to persuade enquirers to buy one of their puppies as quickly as possible, "before they all go!"
* Advertise puppies in free-ad papers/publications or on their equivalent websites. Puppy farmers/dealers frequently advertise in such papers whereas reputable breeders rely more on word of mouth & recommendations from other breeders or Breed Clubs