WELSH SPRINGER SPANIEL PUPPIES & BREED INFORMATION
PLEASE NOTE: We are NOT currently planning any Welsh Springer Spaniel litters!
However, we hope to provide you with some interesting and helpful information about Welsh Springer Spaniels as a breed via this page.
We appreciate your interest in Briallu Welsh Springer Spaniels. We hope you are enjoying your cyber visit with our dogs, and looking at our puppy photos at the top and bottom of this page. There are not many creatures cuter than a Welsh Springer Spaniel puppy!
We are currently on a bit of a hiatus with our WSS breeding program, and so do not have plans for a Welsh Springer litter yet in the near future.
I have included some information you may find helpful in your search for a Welsh Springer. I hope that it will provide you with some further insight into the breed, information, and questions to ask of the breeders you contact in your search for a good quality WSS puppy. Simply being a member of a club, or being placed on a directory or list of breeders, does not assure the quality of a breeder. You will find most reputable WSS breeders have similar concerns, questionnaires, waiting lists, policies, etc. Due to the rather rare nature of the breed, most breeders of quality Welsh Springer Spaniels have already spoken to and screened people prior to the time their puppies are ready to go to their new homes. People often have to wait for a while before acquiring a quality Welsh Springer Spaniel puppy.
When we do plan a litter, if you are interested in possibly adding one of our Welsh Springer puppies to your family in the future, we ask that you send us an email with some information regarding your desire for a Welsh Springer Spaniel. We feel that Welsh Springers are terrific dogs, but like any breed of dog, they are not the right choice for everyone. Each breed of dog has its own inherent breed characteristics which make it more suitable for some people than others. The Welsh Springer Spaniel is a rather active, outgoing dog, who thrives on the companionship of people. I do appreciate your sharing some information via email. I will look over the information, and after doing so will be happy to speak to you on the telephone. After speaking, I may request that you fill out our formal questionnaire if you are still interested in getting a Welsh from us closer to the time that we are expecting a litter, and we think it you might be a good match for one of our puppies.
Below is a list of some of the initial information that we feel is important for us to know. Please include brief answers in your email. Our questionnaire is more detailed, but this list covers some of the basics:
Your full name(s)
State and town/city in which you live
How you acquired my name
How you came to want to add a Welsh to your life
The number of adults and children (ages of children) in your household
Who the main caretaker of the dog will be
Housing and yard/exercise facilities
Your expectations for your Welsh
Time frame during which you are hoping to get a puppy
Preference for male or female puppy, or a male or female adult Welsh, and reasons
Feelings and expectations regarding neutering, spaying, or breeding the dog
Brief information about any previous and/or current dogs, or other pet experience
Other WSS breeders/owners you know, have spoken to, or are on their puppy lists
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Here are some highlights regarding our dogs, and us.
Our Welsh Springer Spaniels are an important part of our life. Our dogs are all house-pets and companions first and foremost, as well as our show dogs. I have had Welsh for thirty one years, and have exhibited in conformation, obedience and field competition over that period of time. A number of our puppies have gone on to compete very successfully and be titled in each of these areas, as well as in agility. I have been a member of the Welsh Springer Spaniel Club of America throughout my years as a WSS owner, and have served on the board of directors and on various committees. I have also maintained active membership and served as an officer in several other breed and all-breed dog clubs throughout my 36 years of being involved with pure-bred dogs.
Our puppies are all raised in our home in the company of all of the members of our family. We love our dogs, and hope for only the best for each of the puppies that we help to bring into this world. We do not breed often, and when we do, we take into account the total dog before we decide to do a breeding. We evaluate temperament, type, structure, health, and pedigrees before choosing to breed one of our bitches and selecting a stud dog for her to be bred to. It is our policy that the dam and sire are both OFA hip certified. Our puppies usually go to their new homes when they are eight to ten weeks of age. We generally have pre-arranged homes for all of our puppies prior to the time they are ready to go home.
We, along with most reputable Welsh Springer Spaniel breeders, consider hip dysplasia and epilepsy to be two major health problems in our breed. My recommendation to anyone looking to add a Welsh Springer to their lives is to only consider purchasing a WSS puppy whose parents are both OFA certified for hips, and whose pedigree contains a vast majority of dogs who have hip clearances. I would also suggest that you question any breeders you contact regarding their awareness of the incidence of epilepsy with the dogs in the puppy's pedigree. Unfortunately, at this time there is no test that can predict the epilepsy carrier status on a dog. We can simply hope to minimize the possibility of producing a dog with epilepsy by eliminating the use of dogs with epilepsy, and those that have multiple dogs that have been known to have produced epilepsy within their pedigrees.
We want all of our puppies to have great, loving homes. We make every effort to get to know our prospective puppy people. All prospective owners must fill out our puppy questionnaire. We require that we meet in person, as well as have phone conversations, including speaking to each of the adult members of the household, prior to agreeing to sell someone a puppy. We do not ship puppies; prospective owners must either drive or fly to pick up their puppy and accompany the puppy on the trip home. We maintain these policies to assure that our puppies are being welcomed into loving, caring, responsible homes. We strive to provide support and information and hope our prospective puppy people will share with us all of their concerns and expectations so that we can select the puppy who will be a wonderful match for them. We welcome your questions. We evaluate all puppies throughout their time here with us and they are temperament tested prior to leaving to help us in our selection process. We match each puppy to his or her prospective owner. All of our puppies are born in our bedroom, which is where they spend their first few weeks. They then move to our family room, where they encounter all of the trapping of our active family life. Our puppies begin the housebreaking process while here with us. All puppies will have been examined by our veterinarian, and have been given their first shots prior to going to their new homes.
We provide a contract with each puppy. Most of our puppies are sold to people who are looking for a pet and companion. All of our pet/companion/performance puppies are sold with an AKC Limited Registration. This means they are AKC registered, eligible for all performance events, but not conformation shows, and no offspring are acceptable for AKC registration. Occasionally we have a "show puppy" available. Our companion/conformation/performance/potential breeding puppies may be sold on an AKC full registration, but would then have a co-ownership and guidelines regarding future breeding including requirements for AKC titles and health screenings on both parents prior to being bred. We do encourage people who are looking to start out in our breed, and believe in mentoring those people throughout the process. Our contracts address the issues of health guarantees, care, training, health screenings, and support for the life of the dog.
I hope this information has been helpful to you. I try to cover all of this material in depth when we speak on the phone or meet in person, but feel it is helpful to have it in print, so that you can refer back to it in the event that you have any questions.
Barbara
BRIALLU
Barbara Shuklis Smith
Piper Smith
Welsh Springer Spaniels since 1979
In The Pocono Mountains of Northeastern PA, USA
[email protected]
Jussie is such an awesome Mommy Dog!
BRIALLU
Barbara Shuklis Smith
Welsh Springer Spaniels since 1979
Tibetan Spaniels since 2008
In the foothills of the Pocono Mountains, Pennsylvania, USA
[email protected]