Here are the TOP FIVE ways to CHOOSE A REPUTABLE English Cocker Spaniel breeder.

1. Visit the www.ecsca.org website. This is the website maintained by the English Cocker Spaniel Club Of America. They have breeder referrals listed who can recommend ECSCA members who are breeders in your area. There is also a lot of wonderful information about the breed available on their website.

2. If you have previously owned an English Cocker, return to the breeder you purchased your English Cocker from and ask if they can help you find a puppy. Even if you previous breeder is no longer breeding, they may be able to give you contact information for someone they recommend.

3. Visit a dog show!!! This is one of the BEST ways to find a breeder. Go to the www.akc.org website and look for a dog show near you. Contact the dog show superintendent (the information should be listed on AKC) and find out what the ring and show times are for the English Cockers. Go to the show, sit ringside and watch the English Cockers show, and then talk to those exhibiting after they are done showing. If you wait until after the exhibitors come out of the ring, they may let you visit with their dogs while they talk with you about people in your area who may be expecting puppies. Take something with you to write on so that you can get names and phone numbers of people you would like to call later.

4. Contact your local Kennel Club or Regional English Cocker Club. AKC has a list of Kennel Clubs formed under AKC guidelines. Go to the AKC site and find a Kennel Club or Regional English Cocker Club near you. Contact the person listed on the AKC site and ask if they can help you find a reputable English Cocker breeder.

5. Do an internet search for English Cocker breeders. DO NOT go to the advertisement sites, but rather go to the individual sites owned and maintained by breeders. Look through the site thoroughly and look for information that will help you determine if this site is owned by a reputable breeder. Visit the Questions To Ask page to see the questions that can help you determine if you are working with a reputable breeder. A reputable breeder will usually help you find a breeder in your area if you contact them and let them know where you are from.

Here are the TOP FIVE ways NOT to find an English Cocker Spaniel puppy.

1. Do NOT buy from a PET STORE. Pet stores buy puppies in bulk, usually from Puppy Mills. USDA regulations govern puppy mills and provide for little more than a rabbit cage environment for the breeding stock to live in. If you buy a puppy from a Pet Store, you are promoting the sales of PUPPY MILL puppies. This means each time a puppy is sold through a pet store, we encourage Puppy Mills to keep breeding. Dogs are pets, not money machines. They should never be kept as nothing other than a way to make a profit. Visit www.nopuppymills.com for more information on puppy mills.

2. Do NOT buy from a backyard breeder. These are usually one time breeders or small scale "purely for profit" breeding programs. These are breeders who do not do health testing, do not screen homes thoroughly, and do not breed with the purpose of improving the breed. Visit the Questions To Ask page to see the questions that will help determine if you are working with a reputable breeder. A backyard breeder usually does not have the knowledge that a reputable breeder has and they will not be there to provide you with help and support should you need it.

3. Do NOT buy a puppy through a website without thoroughly screening the breeder and without looking to find a puppy closer to you. When you buy a puppy from a reputable breeder, you are also getting a lifetime commitment of help and support. It is best to have a breeder who is reasonably close so that you can have a back-up plan if anything ever happens and you need someone to help with your English Cocker. A reputable breeder is always willing to take a puppy back. If you choose a breeder within driving distance your puppy will not have to be flown on a plane. In certain areas of the US it may be impossible to find a breeder near you, but please use the recommendations on the left side of this page and try to find a local breeder before flying a puppy in from a breeder you have never met in person.

4. Do NOT buy from a commercial breeder. This is a breeder who usually breeds and sells more than one breed. It is in between a puppy mill and a backyard breeder. This breeder may also sell so called "designer" breeds such as cockapoos. They claim these dogs are free of genetic faults, when really they have the possibility of problems from both breeds. A commercial breeders usually has more than one litter at a time and will try to sound like a reputable breeder. These breeders are usually best screened by visiting the site where the puppies are born and raised. If there is more than one litter of more than one breed than it is likely a commercial breeder. Commercial breeders often use comments like "champion sired" or "champion pedigree." They try to sound like they are reputable, but when you ask detailed questions about the titles the parents have or what health testing they do it will be easy to spot a commercial breeder. A commercial breeder usually does not screen puppy buyers thoroughly to make sure an English Cocker is right for them because they are breeding purely to make money.

5. Do NOT buy from a puppy dealer. A puppy dealer is someone who sells puppies bred by other people. They will claim they buy the puppies only from reputable breeders. This is IMPOSSIBLE because a reputable breeder NEVER sells puppies to a dealer. Reputable breeders care about each puppy they breed and want to make sure that their puppies will be in quality homes and be loved family members. They would never sell to a dealer because they would have no control over where the puppies end up. Dealers usually get their puppies from commercial breeders, backyard breeders, or puppy mills.