Animal trace

[sooty strikes back]

Sooty has been diagnosed with Progressive Retina Atrophy (degeneration) a regresive genetic disorder that only develops when a carrier male mates with a carrier female producing a litter that will almost certainly develop PRA and start to go blind from the age of 3. This condition particularly effects cocker spaniels as well as poodles and golden retrievers.

Therefore I need to trace Sooty's breeder to inform them that their sire / dam is a carrier and that it must be only breed with a gene tested dog that has proved negative for the disorder. Also i need to clarify whether Sooty is the same sooty that Linda Ward of the Rage Syndrome Help Line, has a record of.

This is the known information for sooty;

He was chipped by the dogs trust at darlington on 19th July 2002, chip 986-000000-184586

The Sooty Linda has a record of was born April 2002.

The 1st owner may have lived in the Saltburn area on the North East Coast, or the Darlington Area.
 
The Breeder is probably in the North East of England.

Sooty is a pure black who's hair can grow quite long and curly, he has grey freckles on his head.

Anyone with any information can message me, and I would be grateful for any information.

[*Jay*]

Have you checked with the rescue centre whether they have his pedigree or registration paperwork? Obviously they wouldn't be able to forward these onto you but they could make contact with the breeder and give them your details for future contact. Failing that they should have details of who signed Sooty over to them so I would imagine they could contact them and find out the breeder that way.  It may also be worthwhile contacting PetLog regarding the microchip. You would need to do this anyway to change ownership details but there is a space on the form where you can place the dogs kennel club number - I'm not sure what details they would be able to give you due to the data protection act but if you could get the kennel club number, you could then contact the kennel club and they would be able to tell you the breeder or at least contact them on your behalf.   

[sooty strikes back]

Have you checked with the rescue centre whether they have his pedigree or registration paperwork? Obviously they wouldn't be able to forward these onto you but they could make contact with the breeder and give them your details for future contact. Failing that they should have details of who signed Sooty over to them so I would imagine they could contact them and find out the breeder that way.  It may also be worthwhile contacting PetLog regarding the microchip. You would need to do this anyway to change ownership details but there is a space on the form where you can place the dogs kennel club number - I'm not sure what details they would be able to give you due to the data protection act but if you could get the kennel club number, you could then contact the kennel club and they would be able to tell you the breeder or at least contact them on your behalf.   

Unfortunately the peolpe who handed him in to the rescue centre didnt give any details, it was a dump and run. Dogs Trust have taken up this issue and are trying to identify sootys origins as well.

[Jane S]

I would think it will be virtually impossible to trace Sooty's breeder with the information you have available. Many Cocker puppies are sold by dealers in one area but may have been bred in quite another area, sometimes as far away as Ireland. Just because his orginal owner was from the NE does not mean Sooty came from a breeder in the NE - he could have come from anywhere in the UK  and then sold in the NE by a dealer. He also may never have been KC registered - many Cocker litters are either not registered or are registered with other organisations who don't have publicly available records.

Sadly only a reputable breeder would be interested in the fact that one of their dogs had developed PRA - I know several cases of PRA in dogs bred by well known commercial kennels who could not care less about the condition and continue to churn out puppies without doing any testing and who tell their buyers they don't need to test because there are no problems in their lines

Jane

[Cob-Web]

Sadly only a reputable breeder would be interested in the fact that one of their dogs had developed PRA - I know several cases of PRA in dogs bred by well known commercial kennels who could not care less about the condition and continue to churn out puppies without doing any testing and who tell their buyers they don't need to test because there are no problems in their lines

  Yet another reason to avoid these breeders 

Now that a genetic test has been developed, it should be perfectly possible to eliminate these genes from the cocker spaniel lines within a few generations - but only if all breeders have the good of the breed at the top of their motives for breeding  It only takes one carrier to continue to produce litters for the condition to occur in later generations 

(Sorry, I'll get off my soapbox now; it just annoys me when scientific research produces a test that can make a real difference only for it to be ignored by irresponsible breeders  )

[sooty strikes back]

Sadly only a reputable breeder would be interested in the fact that one of their dogs had developed PRA - I know several cases of PRA in dogs bred by well known commercial kennels who could not care less about the condition and continue to churn out puppies without doing any testing and who tell their buyers they don't need to test because there are no problems in their lines

  Yet another reason to avoid these breeders 

Now that a genetic test has been developed, it should be perfectly possible to eliminate these genes from the cocker spaniel lines within a few generations - but only if all breeders have the good of the breed at the top of their motives for breeding  It only takes one carrier to continue to produce litters for the condition to occur in later generations 

(Sorry, I'll get off my soapbox now; it just annoys me when scientific research produces a test that can make a real difference only for it to be ignored by irresponsible breeders  )

I agree, perhaps it is something that the kennel club should make mandatory, that way everyone will be in the same boat with the extra expense, and most people know that a pup should be kc registered?

[Cob-Web]

I agree, perhaps it is something that the kennel club should make mandatory, that way everyone will be in the same boat with the extra expense, and most people know that a pup should be kc registered?

Oh, I agree, Phil

I think that the KC has made it clear that it does not want to go down the route of "policing" its members - prefering instead to advise on good practice.

There are a number of other "registration" services offered to dog breeders; not just the KC - the others are pretty pointless really; but if a breeder tells a novice owner that their puppy is registered, then many will take this to mean with the KC, and they only find out when they get the paperwork that its with another "agency" 
There are also breeders who say their bitch isn't KC registered because they dont show - shes just a pet  and there are are 1001 other reasons which are given - some even promise to forward the KC papers on, and they never turn up.....

I have learnt so much about unscrupulous breeders and the differences between reputable and Backyard/farm/commercial breeding since I joined COL - I initially began my puppy search in the classified ads because I didn't know any better 

[sooty strikes back]

I agree, perhaps it is something that the kennel club should make mandatory, that way everyone will be in the same boat with the extra expense, and most people know that a pup should be kc registered?

Oh, I agree, Phil

I think that the KC has made it clear that it does not want to go down the route of "policing" its members - prefering instead to advise on good practice.

There are a number of other "registration" services offered to dog breeders; not just the KC - the others are pretty pointless really; but if a breeder tells a novice owner that their puppy is registered, then many will take this to mean with the KC, and they only find out when they get the paperwork that its with another "agency" 
There are also breeders who say their bitch isn't KC registered because they dont show - shes just a pet  and there are are 1001 other reasons which are given - some even promise to forward the KC papers on, and they never turn up.....

I have learnt so much about unscrupulous breeders and the differences between reputable and Backyard/farm/commercial breeding since I joined COL - I initially began my puppy search in the classified ads because I didn't know any better 

I'm the same COL has taught me so much about choosing a puppy, and if I get another then it will be from the kennel clubs puppy availability link, and it will have all the checks, in fact the breeder will probably end up telling me where I can shove my pooper scooper!

[lyn]

phil i have to warn you that when i was looking for a puppy i would only use the kc list as i mistakenly thought only reputable breeders would be on it.i was soo wrong.anyone whose bitch is kc reg can advertise puppies on the list.when i called paddy's breeder she invited me to go see the puppies that night which i did.when we eventually got there i was informed that if i wanted paddy i would have to take him there and then as she wanted all the cockers gone so her golden retriever could come home with her puppies,apparently her cocker and goldie were best friends till both had litters within days and then would fight so she had to move her golden ret to her mother in laws.the cocker puppies were only six weeks.now i know i should have walked away but i had fallen for him and i couldn't leave him knowing i could give him a loving home.paddy's breeder is rapidly moving from a backyard breeder to commersial breeding.she kept two bitches from the litter and was planning to keep at least one bitch from her golden ret.she will be allowed to advertise her litters on the kc because the dam and sires are registered there.she also mixes show with working and sells the pups by showing a copy of the mums ped(show type)and saying she cannot find the copies of the sires ped(worker)she never once mentioned working strain was in the pups ped.
lyn

[sooty strikes back]

thats good advice and a warning to us all

[Coco]

It may be worth checking the internet and local papers' classifieds archives from around the birth time in case the pups were advertised there.
How many dog homes are there in Darlington and the surrounding area? - if there are a number then it could be that they left it at the one they live closest to, however if it is the only one - they may have travelled far. Also yes, people do travel far to buy a pet, an owner that "drops and runs" possibly is not one of these people. - You've probably thought of all this but just in case.

I would say though, that if this is hereditory, the breeder has probably been made aware from other owners. Also if they have bread from untested dogs (if show type) they may be irresponsible and therefore may ignore the info anyway. I think it will be a big job tracing the breeder and i'd hate to think it were wasted time.

[Pammy]

Coco - this is an old post and long since overtaken by events. Sooty's owner is no longer a member of the forum.