Alice and (what a great name, but I might be biased) Rufus sound great. I seem to recall that when investigations have been done on telly, no papers are ever available from these farms. On the same note, I have been hugely surprised how many free ads can't or don't mention KC pedigree papers, and how many say working cockers make fantastic family pets, without mentioning the energy levels and training issues. On the different looks, my Rufus ( long pedigree mostly working) and I now know lots of supposedly pedigree cockers (I do not know what breeders) and they all look different. I read somewhere that until the KC recognised the different spaniel types, they were named according to size. My vet said that most of the working strain dogs he has known over the years (he has just retired), probably had a mixture in their background, and that somewhere Rufus has Field because of his muzzle shape. I saw a cocker the other day, and I honestly would not have known it was one. I didn't say anything because people were so rude about Rufus, and I was so hurt, I did not want to repeat an insult. However, the size and other problems puppy farm dogs have seem to come from overbreeding and inadequate vet care. I still am at a loss to understand why people buy from them.
