Chattahoochee English Springer Spaniel Club
of Greater Atlanta, Inc
| Breed Referral is offered
to visitors of this site as a service. The sole purpose of this
service is to provide the public information on puppies and older English
Springer Spaniels by giving inquirers names, addresses, and phone numbers
of club members who are listed with the service. An on-going referral list
shall be maintained by the club's Breeder Referral Chairman. It shall be
the responsibility of club members to communicate with the Chairman to
update their information as appropriate. This service is not meant to be construed as a vehicle for offering stud services or females in heat to be bred (refer to GUIDELINES listed below). CESSCGA, as well as responsible breeders of every AKC recognized breed, members dedicate years and thousands of dollars breeding out genetic defects of their particular breed. The kennel name, not to mention reputation of the breeder, is on the line with each and every breeding. Pedigrees can be traced through generations of breedings and records reflect any problems detected through the breeding. Breeding for profit is not a consideration for any club or member. Breeding for purpose (see GUIDELINES) is the only consideration.
The ultimate goal of the membership of CESSCGA, Inc. is to perfect the breed. Accomplishing this goal requires a dedication of purpose and a commitment by current and future members of CESSCGA, Inc. The ESSFTA (English Springer Spaniel Field Trial Association) has published GUIDELINES FOR RESPONSIBLE BREEDERS OF ENGLISH SPRINGER SPANIELS. CESSCGA, Inc. uses these guidelines as a condition of membership as well as breed referral. The guidelines are as follows: |
| Responsible Breeders: 1. Strive in each and every breeding to achieve the highest quality possible relative to the breed standard for conformation, excellence in hunting for field, or trainability for obedience, tracking, and field trials. They also strive for ideal temperament, in order 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 in order to gather information on which to base future 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 for either males or females. A minimum breeding age of three is seriously recommended in order for breeders to determine with greater certainty that the parents are of good health and temperament. 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 stud 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 of a litter before puppies are offered for sale is encouraged. 7. Take appropriate steps for each puppy to be examined by a veterinarian for general health and examined by a veterinary ophthalmologist for congenital eye disease prior to placement. Each puppy should be vaccinated and wormed by or in consultation with a veterinarian. Proper documentation which indicates normal health and eyes for the age of the puppy of specifies any health or eye problems found at the time of examination should be furnished to the puppy buyers. 8. Encourage buyers of pet puppies to spay/neuter. Methods should include 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. They do not sell non-diseased dogs to a laboratory. They should have reasonable assurance that each individual receiving a dog will provide a home with appropriate shelter, restraint, control and responsible care. 12. Encourage puppy buyers to go to puppy and obedience classes to help their puppies become better canine good citizens. The achievement of a Canine Good Citizen certificate should be encouraged. |
| Final thoughts: Responsible breeders and dedicated members of any club are not pompous nor sacrosanct. Breeding a litter of puppies is a serious undertaking. It is expensive and a lot of work. The responsibility does not end when the puppies are sold. It is a commitment for the entire life of the puppies. A responsible breeder will always take a puppy back - At any time, for any reason, without hesitation. For this reason alone, unless your Springer (or any breed) is a champion it is not likely that someone will breed their champion to your dog. The owner of the bitch is considered the breeder and he/she will select a male that compliments his/her bitch. Show breeders with champion bitches are trying to breed the "perfect" Springer and will ship their bitches all over the country to find just the right match. Rarely will they give a stud fee puppy back in exchange for the breeding, preferring to just pay the stud fee and keep the best puppies. If you still want to produce a litter of puppies, your best bet is to place a notice at your local vet advertising your male or female. Before you offer him at stud or her for breeding, you need to ensure your dog is free of genetic diseases for your particular breed. He/she will need to be x-rayed by your veterinarian to screen for hip dysplasia. He/she will need to be taken to a veterinary ophthalmologist and be examined for any eye problems. (Your regular vet does not usually have the proper equipment or training for this.) If your dog passes these exams and temperament is EXCELLENT, then you may want to consider breeding. Any bitch brought to a male for breeding must also be checked for hip and eye problems and should be screened for Brucillosis (a canine venereal disease). Check your local city/county ordinances. Certain counties require a license be issued approving breeding. CESSCGA Rescue has placed entire litters seized due to illegal breeding. BE A RESPONSIBLE BREEDER - Spay or neuter any dog with known genetic defects. Hopefully, a better understanding of breeders, breeding and responsibility has been gained through this page. Further questions can be answered through this Email address - Breed Referral. |