5mth old pedigree spaniel with no papers?

theradfords

I have been looking for ages for a young, but not 8 week old puppy. I have the opportunity of a 5 month old cocker spaniel, he is apparently a pedigree but no papers so his not kc registered. He is £400 though.

Can I have some advice please? is this normal? or is this something I should be warey of this?

Any advice greatly appreciated.

Thanks

alison99_2

I have a pedigree Yorkie with no papers. The reason he wasn't registered is because the owners only wanted the pups to be pets. I certainly wouldn't pay £400 for an unregistered dog though. Have you considered giving a home to a dog from your local shelter?

theradfords

alison99 wrote: »

I have a pedigree Yorkie with no papers. The reason he wasn't registered is because the owners only wanted the pups to be pets. I certainly wouldn't pay £400 for an unregistered dog though. Have you considered giving a home to a dog from your local shelter?

We would be very happy to take a spaniel from a local shelter, in fact this is our first choice. unfortuately there are very few near us.

Thanks

kickstart_3

If you are sure he is pure then thats ok , having no papers means that you wouldn't be able to show him at any Kennel Club shows. Having papers would show you his breeding , like a family tree. He does seem a bit overpriced though with no papers!

greenmoneysaver_2

It does depend where you live!

If there aren't many places to get dogs near you then £400 for a pup with no papers isn't bad, I have seen cross breeds go for much more!

The papers are really only relevant if you intend to breed/show, and so as long as they aren't giving you the "they're in the post" story you should be okay.

At this age you can see what he's growing into, so have a better idea if he is actually the breed/size you want. If he isn't pure bred then you won't be caught out!

Also, cross breeds are less likely to get breed associated health problems, so just make sure you are happy with that dog and price, rather than worry about a name/breed.

However, if there are any problems with the pup will they help/take him bakc/give advice, and ask why he hasn't been sold earlier, and if he has been returned then why? Asking these and getting an honest answer shouldn't put you off, but can save you a fortune in vets/behaviourist bills, and chewed furniture!

Forewarned is forearmed, especially with puppies!

Good luck and let us know what happens!

howskint?

Have you tried the spaniel rescue societies. My brother got a springer from nwessr (i think that's right). His spaniel was just 13 weeks old but they have dogs of all ages, backgrounds, pedigrees and cross breeds.

honey06

i would recommend contacting one or all of the breed clubs- cocker spaniels have several, the parent club for the country is http://www.thecockerspanielclub.co.uk/contacts.htm
they will be able to put you in touch with cocker spaniel rescue who are part of the club, and also have a list of breeders who may have an older youngster available (often breeders keep a puppy, or run them on, for several months to see if they grow up good enough to show)
questions to ask about the youngster you mention- can you meet the parents/mother, what health checks has the youngster/parents had, has it been properly socialised as a puppy?
if you contact the breed club, you will be in touch with people who are passionate about their breed, and will have as good an idea as possible of what to expect from the puppy you acquire in terms of temperament, size, health, etc.
Breed rescues quite often have older youngsters and do their best to ensure good homes for their dogs so they dont end up in local rescues.
dont be in too much of rush-hopefully you will have a woderful best friend for many year to come

suki1964

Sorry but I wouldnt advise you to buy this puppy. At the best hes from a back yard breeder, at the worse a puppy farm. Most un registered pups are unregistered for a reason, the dam has had too many litters to enable registration or neither the sire or dam have been registered, which in its self is worrying. If there has been no registration then there was probably no health checks done on either parents and cockers have a whole host of inbred problems which are only being eradicated by proper testing and responsible breeding - you could possibly be buying a pup who develops hip and eye problems sooner rather then later and even early renal failure.

400 pounds is way too much for an unregistered pup. To buy a pup from a responsible reputable breeder would cost between 5 and 6 hundred pounds depending on where in the country you are.

Please get in touch with the cockerclub in your area (link already posted) and be prepared for a wait as no breeders let pups go this close to christmas. Also you may like to go along and look at www.cockersonline.co.uk theres a wealth of information there from owners and breeders alike

theradfords

Many thanks to all of you. It turned out that the cocker spaniel puppy had a pevious home before this one as well. The dog was beautiful, but something was obviously not right, there must be a reason why two families did not want him.

We decided not to go for the dog.
We did contact the Springer Spaniel rescue, but there was nothing really suitable.

We have just got an adorable 8 week old Cocker Spaniel / Poodle cross ( cockapoo). We saw mum ( the cocker) and dad ( the poddle), because she is half poodle she might not moult too much. This is fantastic for me, as I am asthmatic.

Thanks to all, and I know we did the right thing in not taking the 5mth Cocker Spaniel.

suki1964

There may have not actually been anything wrong with the dog temperament wise, many new owners find they just can not cope with cocker's. They see beautiful cute puppies, think ahhhhhhhh Id love to sit and cuddle that all day and cocker's are not lap dogs. They are busy and vocal, needing constant stimulation. And cocker's are very much people dogs, they love to be glued to their owners side. They dont do well being left for any length of time and often new owners get a wake up call realising their way of life does not suit a pup. Even the breeder of my lad has had pups returned from first time cocker owners

Good luck with your cockerapoo, you will have a very intelligent dog there (poodles and cockers being in the top five "intelligent dogs" ) which is going to need a lot of stimulation and exercise -I dont think its possible to wear a cocker out

Cerenia

We got ours for free, with papers (friends passed him to us as he was the last one and they were due to go on holiday), but average price is £450 WITH papers. I wouldn't get a pup without papaers so i've got the full history, if there's a genetic problem or anything