BUYERS BEWARE: Puppies should not leave the breeders kennel before 8 weeks of age. There are at least 10 states which prohibit a puppy being sold or transported before 8 weeks of age. Please check your states "Lemon Laws". Even if it is not in your state's (or the breeder's state/country) Lemon Law, it is not good practice to take a puppy home before 8 weeks of age.
BUYERS BEWARE: There are breeders here in the United States and overseas (especially in Spain) that are not performing the appropriate health tests on their breeding dogs. At a minimum, the breeding dogs should have a Hip evaluation by a CREDIBLE agency (that does not include the breeder or the breeder's personal vet evaluating the x-rays), here in the US, OFA or PennHIP, in the UK a BVA or PennHIP and in the rest of the world, PennHIP or FCI. The breeding dogs should also have an eye exam by a CREDIBLE agency and well as an OptiGen test for PRA. When purchasing a puppy, the buyer should ask for the certification by a CREDIBLE agency. All health registries will have a CERTIFICATE of some sort that the breeder can give you a copy of. Do not purchase a puppy without this!!!
BUYERS BEWARE: Puppies must be socialized extensively by the breeder before they go to their new homes. Puppy development expert, Dr. Ian Dunbar, DVM, recommends "100 people by 12 weeks" Your breeder should introduce the puppy to many different people of all ages, sizes, skin color and sex by the time you pick your puppy up, and you must continue the process. There are safe ways to do this. An excuse of "viruses are airborn" is not acceptable. They should also be exposed to different environments and textures. The experience that your puppy gets while at the breeders home will shape his/her personality for the rest of your puppy's life. The American Kennel Club recommends various ways a breeder will responsibly socialize and rear a puppy. Click here for the full article on Puppy socialization.
BUYERS BEWARE: It is unethical for breeders to withold registrations for any reason, including spay/neutering. In some states it is even illegal. Check your state "Puppy Lemon Laws". Some states give the breeder up to 120 days to give the buyer a properly executed registration application. Every registries' Breeder's Code of Ethics requires that a breeder register the litter and provide the purchaser with a properly executed application within a reasonable amount of time. Please see Breeder's Code of Ethics for UKC (United Kennel Club) and AKC (American Kennel Club) as well as any other registry.
BUYERS BEWARE:
Some breeders in the United States (and overseas) are overusing their stud dogs in order to make more money and produce more puppies. A purebred dog population needs to maintain a certain genetic diversity in order to remain healthy and functional in the future. The SWD gene pool is miniscule in the United States. By using the same stud dog many times we are taking very large risks, especially if the overused stud dog is a carrier of genetic diseases (or even affected with late onset disease, if they are young), as their "bad" genes will be widely distributed within the population and will most likely surface extensively in the future. Using a male often when he is young does not allow us to evaluate whether he will develop a serious disease in mid-life, nor if his offspring might develop serious diseases. The widely accepted protocal for responsible breeding is to breed a stud dog approximately 8-10 times over his lifetime. Breeding a stud dog multiple times in a row does not allow us to evaluate the offspring and adjust the usage according to their health and development. When interviewing a breeder, ask how old the stud dog is and how many times the stud dog has been used in the their respective country. An answer of "I don't overbreed my stud dogs" is not an appropriate answer. Any breeder should answer any question openly and honestly. This is true of all breeds, especially rare breeds. There is much research which you can find on the internet and in standard breeding manuals. Simply do a search for "Popular Sire Syndrome" or "Matador Breeding". Please click here for an example. There are no excuses.
BUYERS BEWARE: Championships, while impressive and sometimes valuable are not the most important thing when purchasing a puppy. In many cases it is very easy to obtain a Championship on a rare breed such as a Spanish Water Dog. Many times, there are only one or two dogs competing. Best of Breed does not mean much if it is the only dog or one of two. In some show organizations, such as ARBA (American Rare Breed Association) the Spanish Water Dog is usually the only breed in Group. Announcing ARBA Group 1 placement is misleading, as the dog had no competition. ARBA Best of Opposite/Best of Winners is not a title, and is only meant to mislead the public, especially if the dog is the only opposite sex in the show. There are some other show venues where competition is required, such as UKC, Rarities/NAKC and FCI in order to obtain a Champioship title. Having "Champion" in front of a dog's name does not necessarily mean it is the best dog. Show is only one aspect of a dog. It is only the way the dog looks on the outside and it is a judges opinion at that moment. It does not tell you about the health, temperament or working ability. In order to preserve a breed, aside from the structure and beauty of a dog it is also important that a dog proves that he posseses the ability to perform the primary function (herding) which makes him a good candidate for breeding. Breeders should be able to tell you how they work their dogs. Spanish Water Dogs should have a Herding Instinct Test at a minimum before they are bred.
BUYERS BEWARE:
The Spanish Water Dog is not and never was a Field Dog, Hunting Dog or a Gundog. By every historical account and by primary instinct, the Spanish Water Dog is a versatile herding dog. There is no where in any documented historical account that the SWD was EVER used primarily as a water fowl or upland game hunting dog!! There is some evidence that it hunted rabbits with the farmer. Some breeders are promoting the Spanish Water Dog as a hunting dog. Some breeders claim that it is both a Field Dog and a Herding Dog. This is not possible. Beware of breeders who claim their dogs are "proven in the Field" Experienced dog people know that "proven in the Field" means they have hunted upland game and waterfowl. Breeders claiming "proven in the field'' means herding, therapy and water work obviously don't know about working a dog or anything about dogs except for selling puppies. The Spanish Water Dog does not have the temperament, soft mouth, coat or structure to be an excellent Field dog. The Spanish Water Dog is and was primarily a versatile HERDING dog who is capable of learning many things and performing many tasks. He is intelligent, loyal and protective. Many love the water and love to fetch objects. The Spanish Water Dog makes an excellent watch dog. He is usually wary of strangers. He will bark to alert, but is not yappy. Spanish Water Dogs may nip as puppies. Although they make excellent pets, their herding temperament must be taken into consideration. They do best when they are active. Breeders who are breeding for anything other than the primary function of herding are not interested in preserving the breed and do not understand their breed. If a breeder claims that his/her dogs can be Field Dogs, ask how they work in the Field. Ask how the breeder hunts with their dog. Ask is they have any hunting titles on their dogs. (As of this writing, not one SWD in the WORLD has a hunting title, although several in the US have Herding Titles) Retrieving a ball does not make a hunting dog! You may not think this is important in a breeder, however, if a breeder does not understand the type of dog they have and has not experienced their dog perfoming their primary function of herding, they are just breeding to make money and puppies. Producing the most puppies or having the premier kennel is not necessarily a positive attribute of a breeder.
BUYERS BEWARE. The prcd form of PRA (Progressive Retinal Atrophy) is a preventable Disease in the Spanish Water Dog. Some breeders are refusing to test their dogs through OptiGen and still others are testing too late. Due to some breeders refusal to test since it has been available in November 2006, there have already been carriers bred together unnecessarily. There will be more dogs who will go blind because certain breeders refused to spend the money to test their breeding dogs for carrier status. Fortunately, some breeders have begun to test only after pressure from puppy purchasers and members of this club and the SWD Club after they already bred two carriers together unneccesarily. For dogs tested in the United States, please go to the OFA site. There are carriers in all lines. Since prcd/PRA is an autosomal recessive trait, all a breeder must do is breed at least one normal/clear. Putting pressure on breeders by not purchasing a puppy from parents who are not tested will force them to test and eradicate this terrible disease!!
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