Aww - I hope it goes well for you.

congratulations, hope it all works out, just a couple of things to look out for when you get her home, just remember she has probably spent her life in a kennel, so she may well need house training, and your home maybe scary for her, although she was great on her own territory with the kids it may well be different when you get home, and finally unless you want puppies better think about getting one of them done in the near future, unless you have the facility to keep them totally seperate when she is in season, which at 9 months could be any time now

Thanks for the replies, yes we have already thought about all of the above Lizzy, she is a dog that bonds well strongly with people and yes she does need house training, we are going to be in a much stronger contact from here in, with the breeder and both dogs will likely go back to him when we go on holiday and we may well visit him to get his training with Rolo beforehand. The breeder really wants a good home for this bitch and chose us as a pet home rather than the other people who took a 12month old dog from him and were thinking of Ruby but wanted time to think and were going to let him know as they planned on working the dogs and he thinks they would be better with another male he is training on, but he wanted to be sure we and Rolo were right for her.

He has offered full support and full training free of charge and believes that Rolo is a fantastic dog who we should consider using as a stud dog. We have said we are really not sure about this but we are prepared to wait and not have Rolo neutered for now but we would very likely get Ruby spayed, they are half brother sister sharing the same dad so not sure if mating with each other is a good idea although her four generation pedigree only has two non champion/winners in her pedigree, i am not sure we are in this for babies or prepared to have someone elses bitch into our house etc and all the politics that go with it! Think it is a whole can of worms that although he would like to see Rolos lines continued I am not sure we are the ones to do it!

just pointing it out as i have one that came from a gundog breeder, she was sick in the car for two months because she'd never been in one, she was scared of traffic, the ironing board, the tv, the hoover etc, etc and although impecably trained and a fantastic temperament has been hard work integrating her into pet living, oh and she also came from a field trial winning kennel, dogs that have been run on for working are just that working dogs, changing them at 9 months is never as straight forward as you would think.

Like i said good luck, but be prepared for it not to be as easy as you think, as you know its important to get them used to things when they are babies and at 9 months you've missed that window. I'm not having a go, just trying to prepare you for what might be to come. Who's the breeder, if you would prefer to pm me thats fine

She hasnt actually been run on for work just been given obedience training, she is good on a lead etc because he has been thinking all along that she would make a lovely pet, but yes she will have to get used to all of the stuff in the house and toileting etc, but we are prepared for that and will take it slow and calmly, she will complement Rolo as he will naturally become the dominant one, will be challenges, different to the puppy ones that we have been through, but something just feels right and we are fully supported by the breeder, and he is fully prepared to help us so the work we put in will give us a dog that come the summer will be more along where Rolo is at in terms of walks etc rather than starting then with a puppy and having all of the walking issues with a 1 year old and a puppy etc. No one says we dont like a challenge and we are really committed to both dogs and think in some ways we know what we are getting and need to do with her, whereas a puppy to a large extent would be a wild card as the personalities that have appeared from the other dogs in Rolos litter prove that there were a mixed range of confidence, dominance and character, all lovely but different.

ok last word on this and i will butt out, and you can put me on ignore, you asked at the beginning of this thread if you were mad or not to consider taking on another springer, most of the advice you were given was to wait, you have a young springer who is just starting to test the boudaries, hence you asking for help with his recall, you are now going to bring in another adolescent dog that is going to be have to be treated basically like a puppy for info it won't necessarily follow that Rolo will become top dog , in my experience a bitch will always boss a dog, but hey what do i know, you have the backing of this "great breeder" who not only sold you a working springer as a pet, but thought that the one that you are now going to be taking would always make a great pet, see i don't understand why she is still with him great working breeders want their dogs to go to working homes and will wait for them, you are in effect taking on a nine month old rescue that has missed out on a load of socialisation, this will take a lot of work to put right, house training a kennel dog is nothing like house training a pup, the same principles apply but they have already learnt to walk through Pee and pooh and its lovely when its trammed all over especially when you are looking after other peoples kids, like i said good luck i was only trying to prepare you for what you might be taking on after all the breeder's not going to do that he's already got your money, and as for studding Rolo what has he got to offer thats different to all the other springers out there, is he going to be a field trial champion, is he going to work, or is he just going to be a great pet, not that theres anything wrong with this, but its no reason to breed from him there are enough springer breeders out there doing that already

I will definitely not be putting you on ignore, I am not one of these forums members that gets peoples opinions and then strops! I hear absolutely everything you are saying and yes i see your worries. I have asked many of these questions and the dog has been in both cars and houses, the dog was sold as a pet initially and then something tragic happened to her owner and the breeder took her back, she is kept now in stables and he has trained her but taken her in his car and to peoples houses, knowing that the nature of the dog whilst would make a working dog he has the choice of two homes for her at the moment a working one and ours, and he feels she will be enjoy life more as a pet. He whilst training working dogs also looks after dogs that he feels need to just be looked after and for no benefit other than to help the dog, he has a few that owners have dumped with him as they were poorly treated or not wanted and he just aims to give them a happy life, asking nothing in return from them, he trains all of his puppies free of charge for their new owners if they want it because of his love for the dogs.

Please dont take what i have said as another i know better than you, because that genuinely isnt what any of my posts have been about, they are just to try to show that we havent done this on a whim, (well that said we have in terms of the speed of things ), but please trust me when I say the amount of time, thought, and care given to this and the long term outcome we are after which is two dogs that are right for us, really hasnt been done without great care.

I also would never say i know better than anybody ever, because we have all got to where we are in life by a pattern of experiences and so our opinions are always valid and if asked for then you accept them, agreeing, disagreeing or otherwise, especially when given with a lot of care for both us and the dog involved which you have done.

Good luck with it then, i'm only worried because i don't want you to be put off for life, Rolo has not even begun to test you yet, Fudge is 10 months now and at the moment i don't like him at all, don't get me wrong i love him, but he's a bolshy little b***stard, who knows exactly which buttons to press and he's my 5th not to mention all the ones i've fostered, i have two ex kennel dogs both have their issues and are not easy, both still need to be crated on a night at 5 and 4 even though they have been with us, 2 and 3 years respectively, because if i don't they will just go, Neam will still run away from the ironing board, and get the hoover out and she's off to the garden and won't come back before its away, she can be iffy around food because she too lived in a barn and they have to fight for it, so you can see where i'm coming from.

With the very greatest of respects, any breeder who suggests that a one of their puppy buyers (especially a first time owner) should be putting their pet dog to stud and possibly even breeding from the bitch you have just acquired, probably isn't the most reputable. Having a pedigree full of winners doesn't mean anything.

With a challenging breed, I personally think it is a mistake bringing in another young bitch when your own dog is still a young puppy (and hasn't even hit adolescence yet), but good luck anyway.

and this is what i'm trying to say in a round about way, your still in the honeymoon period with Rolo, he's only been with you 3 months at this moment in time you should be concentrating on him, because trust me on this one he IS going to get a lot worse before he gets better, taking another one on is a mstake in my opinion. in truth no good breeder should be suggesting you take another adolescent dog on at this stage, but as you've made your decision you pays your money and takes your chances, good luck because you are going to need it.