DOG UPDATE

Today I went to see a Welsh Springer Spaniel breeder who advertised on a web site and claimed she was Kennel Club registered,she also claimed she showed at Crufts and had entered dog shows and won.
Now at the best of times I am a bit of a cynic but I will describe what I saw and you can make up your own minds.

On arriving at the house which was a terraced three bedroom in a through road I saw a small wooden run with a towel slung across it in the grassed front garden which was about 30' x 30' the front gate hanging off it's hinges.Knocking on the door set off barking from inside which, OK is normal for any dog. I was welcomed by a pleasant woman and on entering over the threshhold could get no further due to being surrounded by jumping barking dogs and puppies who congregated around my feet preventing me from moving in case I stood on one. Ushering me into the back kitchen I could not believe my eyes,one large wire cage had four mature dogs inside while the rest of the puppies totaling seven scurried around yapping and trying to bite my shoes.The back door was open which led out to a yard about 60' x 30' covered in gravel which had a shed and a kennel.

Inspecting one of the puppies I had a feel of it's body and before I said anything she said it had a fat stomach. Now after reading a book on dogs the alarm bells started to ring as this could be a sign of worms,that's me being the cynic, so I asked if they had started their injections yet and she said no as she liked to let the new owner take this on which was fair enough as the puppies were only 8 weeks old but again it made me think.

The puppies were very nice and appeared to be well and living in clean conditions which I suppose is what you would expect from a KC registered breeder, but being in such cramped conditions and in such a confined area did not give me a good feeling and I began to feel sorry for the neighbours living next door and at the end of the garden as well as the dogs.She obviously thought the world of the dogs and took them for walks but I'm afraid if you breed dogs I think it should be in a large area away from close neighbours, I say this as we had a Rottweiler breeder living next door for 3 years whose pups used to escape and the smell and flies during the summer were appalling until we got the landlord to shift them out.
So needless to say I made my excuses and left. One thing I learnt was that the Welsh Springer Spaniel is too big to keep in our house as we only have small rooms so I will be looking for a smaller dog.Watch this space.