I have seen an advert today for sable cocker spaniel puppies, no mention of health tests. Prices from £850 to £1200. What a crock...Sable is an undesirable colour for the Kennel club, whilst it is attractive, they cannot be shown and the sable gene overpowers all other colours except black. can we please keep our cockers to the breed standard. the going rate for a health tested, show quality pup is around £700 to £1000. It's as bad as "designer" dogs.

I'm on some canine genetics groups and apparently Sable in Cockers isn't really "sable" as it is known in other breeds [as in Sable in GSDs which are  a(w) or sable in breeds like Collies and Belgian Sheps which are a(y)....]

There is a theory that is is a new gene on the E locus. So possibly a new mutation. If the theory about it being on the E locus then it is unlikely to overpower all other colours. I looked into the pedigree of someone's pet-bred English Cocker a few months ago and found there was sable in that line, but they certainly weren't all Sable.

Certainly some of these Sables have been imported into the UK and seem to be mainly in the hands of BYBs, no different to the other "colour not recognised" shades being brought in in other breeds (Pugs, French bulldog, Chis etc.)

I suggest you go read the cocker spaniel breed standard as sable is not an undesirable colour it is in the list of colours registered.

the going rate for a health tested, show quality pup

Can you explain exactly what you/is meant by 'health tested' - it sounds like you mean that the puppy at the time of testing is 'not in an unhealthy' condition or suffering some kind of OBSERVABLE illness 'which is showing any symptoms' 'at the exact time of 'testing'!

Do you mean it has a normal examination e.g. heart etc
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>Do you mean it has a normal examination e.g. heart etc

No, it means that the parents are fully tested (hips, eyes etc) and the pup has been DNA tested for what can be found at this young age.

I suggest you go read the cocker spaniel breed standard as sable is not an undesirable colour it is in the list of colours registered.

http://www.thecockerspanielclub.co.uk/colours.htm  

Go to the second page of this link .....  "
"Very rare but not necessarily recognised solid colours may include: -

    Sable, sometimes classified for show/breeding purposes with particolours in some parts of the world (on account of its mixed colour hair shafts) "

Having said that, BYBs will always try to promote what they breed as 'rare' - kerching.

No, it means that the parents are fully tested (hips, eyes etc)

Ahh, I understand that now...a vet would need to be very, very careful as to what they said about a puppys health beyond what they found or not found at the exact point of an examination.
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I suggest you go read the cocker spaniel breed standard as sable is not an undesirable colour it is in the list of colours registered.
jogold It's on the Accepted Colours for Registration list yes but in the actual breed standard under colour sable is not mentioned and it then says 'Any colour or marking other than the above is undesirable'.

There are others breeds where undesirable colours are accepted for registration, like in GSD the breed standard says blue is highly undesirable yet in the Accepted Colours for Registration it has blue on it. There still undesirable by you can register them as that colour.

Sorry i had not realised the breed council had decided this was an undesirable colour in 2011 has i had seen a sable at shows quite a few years back.

Hethspaw. Health testing for cockers consists of DNA testing for PRA and FN, hip score and eye testing (which all mine are).

Having attended a breed seminar recently, the KC will register a sable puppy but the dropdown for colours states it is undesirable. A sable dog in the showring would be penalised for it's colour. "Any dog of an undesirable colour should not be rewarded in the showring"