» Guidelines

CESSCGA GUIDELINES FOR RESPONSIBLE BREEDERS OF ENGLISH SPRINGER SPANIELS

Responsible Breeders:

1. Strive in each and every breeding to achieve the highest quality possible relative to  breed standard for conformation, excellence in hunting for field, or trainability for tracking, and field trials. They also strive for ideal temperament to maintain our breed’s characteristics.

2. Endeavor to gain personal knowledge of the temperament and health of every dog they breed, or to which they breed, to gather information about which to base breeding decisions. They share this information fully and honestly with other breeders and with prospective buyers.

3. Use only physically sound, mature dogs of stable temperament for breeding. These characteristics are rarely, if ever, determined before the age of two years for either males or females. A minimum breeding age of three years is seriously recommended for breeders to determine with greater certainty that the parents are of good health and temperment.

4. Check all breeding stock for history of genetic diseases pertinent to this breed, including, but not limited to, hip dysplasia, eye diseases, seizure disorders, phosphofructokinase (PFK), blood disorders, allergies, and heart disorders. Where applicable, documentation such as OFA and CERF certification should be available to the prospective puppy buyer.

5. Apply the same high standards to these bitches accepted for breeding to their dogs as they apply to their own breeding stock.

6. Match each puppy’s personality as carefully as possible with a compatible buyer/family. Temperament testing litter before offering puppies for sale is encouraged.

7. Ensure that each puppy is examined by a veterinarian for general health and examined by a veterinary ophthalmologist for congenital eye disease before placement.  Each puppy should be vaccinated and wormed by or in consultation with a veterinarian. Proper documentation that indicates normal health and eyes for the age of the puppy or specifies any health or eye problems found at the time of examination should be furnished to the puppy buyers. Examination of each puppy by a veterinary cardiologist is encouraged.

8. Encourage buyers of pet puppies to spay/neuter. Such encouragement includes written spay/neuter contracts, limited registration, and/or spay/neuter rebates.

9. Sell breeding prospects to knowledgeable, ethical, and experienced persons and are willing to help educate and guide novices. They should at any time accept the return of any dog/bitch their breeding program produces, and they should always help when relocation is needed.

10. Do not engage in misleading or untrue advertising.

11. Do not sell, supply, donate, or surrender any dog for which they are responsible to a pet shop, raffle, catalog house, wholesale dealer in dogs, or humane society.  Responsible breeders do not sell dogs to a laboratory and should have reasonable assurance that each person receiving a dog will provide a home with appropriate shelter, restraint, control, and responsible care.

12. Encourage puppy buyers to attend puppy and obedience classes to help their puppies become better canine good citizens. The achievement of a Canine Good Citizen certificate should be encouraged.

13. Support English Springer Spaniel rescue by financial donations; by volunteering time, supplies, grooming, or breed knowledge; or by other means.

For more information, you can review the AKC Breed Standard.