I need urgent advice, I want to buy a show type english cocker spaniel. I today rang a lady up who has two 6 month old female blue roan cockers for sale. She said the pups are show championship quality,kc reg and that they are for sale because her mother is terminally ill (the ladys mother). They are £300. How can I know if this is genuine or not? She said she is going to ring me later tonight or first thing tomorrow morning. Could someone give advice soon please.

Hello,
Have you seen the pups' pedigree? Is it not possible to take someone with you who knows about Cockers? This is probably the safest thing to do.
£300 seems quite cheap if you're buying an older show quality pup.
Let us know how you get on.
Char

The pedigree is not as important as the Kennel club documents. Pedigree papers can come from any dog and filled out to suit. I agree £300 does seem cheap for an older dog, check they have been vaccinated and if this lady didn't breed them, see if she's prepared to give you the telephone number of the person that did, so you can find out about the parents, to see if they have had all the health checks ie. eyes.

Good luck, let us know how you get on.

Thank you so much for your advice. Think you are right about a show championship cocker would not be so cheap. The lady has not telephoned me back so far, so I am inclinded to leave the situation alone. I think I would be in a right mess only for the sound advice I am getting from you all. Think I will look for a pup from a breeder and I can then see the mum and ask questions.

I would ask lots of questions about these pups - show quality blue roan bitch pups are not readily available & certainly not usually for such a low price. Even pet quality blue bitch pups from reputable breeders can be hard to find as they are often booked well before the litter is born. I would certainly want to know their pedigrees, whether both parents have current clear eye-certificates, how much training & socialisation these pups have had etc. If you want any information about their breeding specifically (once you find this info out), then feel free to email me privately, my email address is in my profile.

Jane

I agree with Jane and I would take advice from her because she knows about show cockers. £300 is incredibly cheap too.