Hi would really appreciate some advice.  We recently added a new puppy to the family and have discovered that she has cataracts in both eyes, we have had her 5 days and she is almost 10 weeks old. I know we should accept her faults and love her anyway but we spent a lot of money purchasing her and I feel we are only leaving ourselves open to large vet bills and heart ache if she could potentially be blind by 1 year old. I think we should return her to the breeder as this is obviously something she was born with and should have been picked up at her vet check prior to leaving and really just wants to know where we stand.  I have emailed her and am awaiting a reply. She is a nice lady so hopefully no problems but thought I'd seek advice in case I have no rights and expecting too much.

Has the vet confirmed that it is cataracts? Could it not just be the blue eyes of a puppy that haven't yet darkened to their proper colour?

Did you sign a puppy contract? If so what did that say about returns?
I'm sure with my pup the contract said I had a week to return for full refund.

Is it a breed that normally has puppies eyes tested?

He showed us them, it looks like a white crescent shape over the centre of her eyes. Our vet said cataracts but he's not an eye specialist, we did suspect a problem hence the appointment as she kept bumping in to things.

Hi, there was no contract. She's a cocker spaniel although not sure they are tested for cataracts.

Most good breeders have contracts for just these eventualities - they want to know that any problems would be reported back to them, and you need to be confident that you are buying a healthy puppy.

I understand the urge to keep her as you have started to bond BUT you are right to be concerned about her long term care and the expected costs of treatment.  Do you have her insured?  Even if you do I expect that you might not be covered as most policies exclude conditions which are present or develop within the first 14 days...

An attentive breeder would have noticed a developing problem with eyesight and an experienced one would be able to explain how eye colour changes over time so, either way, I'd have expected the breeder to have mentioned something at the time the pup left.  Were you aware of the problem when the pup was still in the litter or did you notice it pretty soon after your pup came home?

In your situation I would be looking at returning her to the breeder, at the very least for a second opinion.  Is the breeder experienced in this breed?  If you've bought from a pet litter (i.e. not bred for show or work) then you might not be getting the level of expertise and back up you need, in which case you might just want to ask that the breeder takes the puppy back.  So much depends on the type of breeder as to what you might expect by way of support BUT without a contract you might find it difficult if your breeder doesn't want to know...

Hereditary cataracts are a problem in the breed and should be tested for. 

Take your puppy back now and ask for a refund (not another puppy) before you get anymore attached to her.  If your Vet is correct, then the breeder is at fault for selling such a puppy.

Then ask for recommendations on here to find a healthy puppy from a reputable breeder.  :)

Hi Rottieseth,

I think you are right in returning the puppy to the breeder, however hard that will be.  Irrespective of not having a contract it seems to me that the puppy is "not fit for purpose"  and I would expect a full refund.  Keep a record of all communication between you and the breeder just in case she doesn't take her immediately.  Good luck.

She has 4 weeks free insurance with petplan which I was going to continue, but having looked at the small print wonder if this could come under pre existing conditions.
Nothing was mentioned other than she's a thinker, sits back and watches her brothers play.  Thinking back maybe she just couldn't see so well. The first thing we noticed was when we lift her up, as we touched her she freaked out but didn't worry as we approached which made me wonder if she knew we were there. I actually thought she was deaf to start with but she responded to noises.
She has come from a pet home so not sure of the level of help we will get, still waiting on a reply at the moment. If they don't want to know would trading standards be interested?

>Hereditary cataracts are a problem in the breed and should be tested for.

>Take your puppy back now and ask for a refund (not another puppy) before you get anymore attached to her.  If your Vet is correct, then the breeder is at fault for selling such a puppy.

>Then ask for recommendations on here to find a healthy puppy from a reputable breeder.

This, absolutely. Difficult that while dogs are treated as objects in law, obviously they are a far more emotional purchase than that. However, you keeping this puppy and letting the breeder avoid any impact from her careless actions will just encourage her to breed more puppies that will suffer in a similar way.

Hi, I have kept all our correspondence, what does worry me is that the bitch belonged to the mother in law of the lady I brought the puppy from. She had the bitch on loan to breed and keep a puppy for herself.  I really hope she answers, we've been in touch since puppy was 3 weeks old and she seems really nice.

Thank you, my intention is for her to go back although it will devastate the children, if I get the option that is. I will do more homework in future, I was told grandma was a carrier of GPRA after researching more once I had her full pedigree turns out grandma is affected by GPRA and Gluacoma, I wonder if this has and relevance to puppies eyes now? Wish I'd been more thorough before collecting her, I asked for parent names but KC site kept saying id spelt mums name wrong, dad came up as clear for FN and GPRA so I figured at worst she'd be a carrier.  I wouldn't ask for a replacement but the other 3 remaining bitches were being retained anyway.
Thanks everyone for the advice so far.

Breeder has been in touch and is happy to take her back, we're gutted that's she's going but it's the right thing to do.  On a happier note she will stay with them and be operated on when she's old enough as I don't think I could have returned her if they were considering putting her to sleep. Thank you for all your advice x

Please insist that this "breeder" doesn't go onto breed from this poor little puppy......

You could inform her......

"If you don't test...you don't know".

What a sad story and such a shame that it has happened to you. I hope in the future there will be another puppy waiting for you  to come along. You are doing the right thing as there will be much heartache further along the line I fear with this little one.
There was a cocker spaniel in my village who went blind at a young age (about 2 or 3 years I think) and his character changed so much. He lost confidence when out and was scared when he heard other dogs approaching and became very aggressive. They kept him for quite a while but eventually his aggression became very hard to deal with and he was put to sleep.
Check the pages on the Champdogs website for cocker breeders, I'm sure someone on here would be able to advise you as well. A good thing is to go to a breed dog show and speak to the people and breeders showing their dogs, ask for advice on good ethical breeders who do the required health tests and then get yourselves onto a list for a puppy. For a good healthy puppy be prepared to wait. It will be worth it in the long run. Good luck

Really sorry your pup has this problem and you have had to return her - the right thing to do IMHO. This link is really useful to see which health tests should be carried out before breeding http://www.workingcockerhealthscreendirectory.com/healthissues.htm

A pup from an ethical, reputable breeder should have all the relevant tests done and the breed club would be a good place to start your search :-)

> I wouldn't ask for a replacement but the other 3 remaining bitches were being retained anyway

I can't say that it's normal to keep 3 bitches from a litter.  I think it would be not too suspicious of me to think maybe all 4 girls will be bred from.  Or am I being cynical?

Quite possibly, the other 3 were being kept for breeding.  Another question, should I inform the stud dog owner, would this mean he's potentially a carrier? I believe he is responsible for quite a few litters so maybe they need to know?

Oh dear this is all so very sad :( You are doing the right thing and personally I would inform the stud dog owner. Are they kc registered any chance the kennel club would be interested ?

Breeder has been in touch and is happy to take her back, we're gutted that's she's going but it's the right thing to do.  On a happier note she will stay with them and be operated on when she's old enough as I don't think I could have returned her if they were considering putting her to sleep.

The right outcome, you shouldn't have kept her, it's a breeders responsibility to take on a pup that has not been bred completely healthy.

So sorry, for yourselves and the pup, but sounds as though the breeder will do right by her. :-)

Wishing you all the best in your search for your next pup, there are good reputable breeders on CD and through the breed clubs, although the sadness of this one may take a little time before you begin your search again.

You did the right thing.

> Quite possibly, the other 3 were being kept for breeding.  Another question, should I inform the stud dog owner, would this mean he's potentially a carrier? I believe he is responsible for quite a few litters so maybe they need to know?

Sorry to hear about your pup but at least the breeder is doing the responsible thing in taking her back. At the moment, although congenital cataracts are seen within the breed, their nature (ie hereditary or not and if hereditary, their mode of inheritance) hasn't been established and Cockers are not tested for hereditary cataracts under Schedule A of the BVA/KC eye scheme yet (congenital cataracts are included in Multi Ocular Defects which are under investigation in Cockers). There are also other causes of congenital cataracts besides genetics (the BVA list them in their eye leaflet which you can find online as a pdf file here: http://www.bva.co.uk/public/documents/Eye_Leaflet.pdf)

You might want to fill out a questionnaire for the breed Health Co-Ordinator reporting your puppy's condition which will help in monitoring any increase in reports of cataracts in puppies: http://www.cockerspaniel-info.org.uk/healthquestionnaire.htm