We have seen a 17 week old springer for sale in the paper. The owner no longer wants him. What do you suggest about buying him without seeing his family. What are your views about dogs rather than bitches.

Look forward to your reply

Amanda Spencer

Hmmmmmm...its a toughy, there could indeed be a genuine reason for their wanting to be rid of it (eg, allergy, no time for it) ...BUT.....what is that reason?..problem is, they can lie to you just to get rid of it.
What exactly does it say in the ad? Is he pure pedigree,. is he KC registered? If it says..as these ads sometimes do, "no papers"...then steer clear! I wouldnt go near it.

Also, are they charging? What price? Why wont the breeder have him back? Is he actually from a breeder?

Personally, I would do a hell of a lot of research into this dog, and unless they can offer you a breeder name/number, kc+pedigree papers, and a GENUINE reason...dont go any further.

Why not join and talk to us?
Good luck.
steph
:)

Stephs advice is good, for example after losing our Cocker we decided to go for a Field Trial English Springer Spaniel... We eventually through this forum found druimmuirspaniels.co.uk and Nicola there put us in touch with a friend who had a bitch for sale "to soft to work". Upon meeting this breeder you could see he was only interested in the dogs well being...He interviewed us and after satisfying himself that we knew what hard work Springers can be he sold to us. On a good note he gave us the option to return her after 3 months if it did not work out and he also provided all papers, dietary needs, vets papers etc . Our girl cost us £400 so for a well bred dog I would be looking to pay that and also if you want the right dog you WILL be prepared to travel like in our case a 5hr drive.

But remember on Springers do your research and make sure you can cope with the demands, if you need any advice feel free to drop me an email at scotty.anderson@ntlworld.com

Scotty.

17 week old springer - sounds like the most likely reason is they did not do their research about the suitable breed, especially if they are house proud, most likely the puppy trashed a few things, dug up the garden and does not appreciate short walks on the lead. Investigate whether this is the reason and if it is a springer you are after then I would go an see it. Be careful about the for sale bit, they should be trying to find it a good home, not recoup their money so do not pay full puppy price. My working cocker came to us from his 2nd home and he was only 11 months, they said he had behavioural problems but his only problem was he was a spaniel, he fitted right in with my 2 springers and was the best decision I have made. I had not considered a dog before, my other 2 are bitches, but he is wonderful, I think they are more affectionate but he is also more stubborn.
I reckon that if you are worried about his breeding you should be able to contact the breeder without any problems, check his papers if he has any and go from there, however alot of springers are bred for the pet market so do not be surprised if you can't get any contact details. As a breed they do not have a large number of genetic problems so I would not worry too much.