Hi,
I am looking for a cocker spaniel puppy and have seen some that i like.The breeder has told me that the father is PRA clear but the mother has not been tested.Should i be worried about the puppies?
any advice gladly received.
thanks
mike

You can find information on this and all other health matters affecting the Cocker Spaniel here.
As you see the puppies would have to inherit a faulty gene from each parent to be affected so this cannot happen if one parent has been confirmed as clear by DNA test.

Though if you were later wanting to breed you would want to know if the pup was a Carrier or not which it could be if the untested parent was affected or carrier.

From PRA breedings to a clear male you can get the following as the bitch could be clear, a carrier or affected

Clear x Clear = 100% Clear puppies
Clear x Carrier = 50%Clear and 50% Carrier
Clear x Affected = 100% Carrier

I personally would not be put off by having a carrier puppy as they wont develop the problem but if you plan to breed the pup will need to be tested if the breeder doesnt test them at a few weeks old.  If you are buying a dog with the idea of renting him for stud you probably wouldnt get any interest in a carrier unless he makes champion.  If you had a bitch you would need to use a claer stud.  Big breeders in our breed only offer clear studs out of their many dogs.

One last note is at least the breeder had the common sense to choose a clear father, this means they at least understand the basics behind it.  I would ask if she is planning on testing the litter as this is now a common place thing in our breed who also suffer from PRA.

Good luck with finding the perfect puppy

Emma

> One last note is at least the breeder had the common sense to choose a clear father, this means they at least understand the basics behind it.  I would ask if she is planning on testing the litter as this is now a common place thing in our breed who also suffer from PRA.
>

Sadly in Cockers, we seem to be seeing a trend where certain breeders will use a PRA tested clear dog so they can advertise that "none of their puppies will ever suffer suffer eye disease" (not true of course since the DNA test covers only one particular condition) but don't bother doing any kind of testing on their bitches. So the fact that a litter has a PRA tested clear sire does not mean that the breeder necessarily understands very much at all - all they see is a marketing opportunity. That may not be the case here of course but if this is a reputable breeder, they should be testing their bitches as well and be able to talk about the other conditions breeder should be testing for (such as the kidney disease, FN).

The OP has a link showing all the health issues affecting the Cocker so hopefully they will now be confirming all these matters have been covered, Jane.

Yes I am aware of that Isabel - was just making the point that using a PRA tested clear sire does not make someone a good breeder. I'm sure I'm allowed to post my thoughts the same as any other member ;-)

> Yes I am aware of that Isabel - was just making the point that using a PRA tested clear sire does not make someone a good breeder. I'm sure I'm allowed to post my thoughts the same as any other member

Jane, I could have made the same comment to all the other posters but I did not take it like that I think everyone has just been adding a bit more.

Hi All,
Many thanks for your replies.
I have found out that the PRA test on the father was the drops in the eye one and not the optigen one.
It is also their first year breeding and they own the mother but the father belongs to a friend who is used for stud.
They have told me the father is "leggy" and tends to produce leggy pups.
I am a bit confused and would appreciate your opinions.
Could anyone recommend a good breeder of cocker spaniels.
regards
mike

That means the sire has only been clinically tested, this means he might be clear, he might be a carrier, or he may even be (depending on his age and the age of onset in the breed of this disease) affected but not showing signs yet so certainly should not be used on an untested bitch.

Clinical testing is all that breders had, or ahve for any diseases where the mode of inheritacne,a dn or DNA has not been discovered yet.

> Could anyone recommend a good breeder of cocker spaniels.

You will find help and information here.

> Could anyone recommend a good breeder of cocker spaniels.
>

Try contacting your nearest regional Cocker Spaniel Club - you'll find a full list of contacts HERE. If you're looking for a tricolour as mentioned on your other thread, you will need to be extremely patient and be prepared to travel as this is not a common colour and not widely available from reputable breeders.