Can I ask did you actually check that the parents had had health tests (rather than checks) and see the relevant certificates and the passes/scores?

A breeder should show you the certificates and they are also listed on the KC registration certificate under BVA health tests.

There was nothing about the heart problems, i must say though that the vet said its mainly genetic but it could just be one of them things that sometimes happens, we had monty put to sleep 10mths ago i dont dwell ont he ilneess any more but we got a puppy in september last year and it was on my mind then.

All dogs have Health Issues in their background it depends if you buy from a Moral, Responsible and Ethical Breeder whether you will get a bad or good one and proof of tests Nice of you to Introduce yourself !!!!!! Welcome

Thankyou, can you tell me then how far back these tests go, and where there are 2 blood lines in a dog could it be that with a condition as rare as d.c.l it must just be in 1 blood line and for all they were brothers 1 blood line could be more dominant in one dog than the other, sorry if i sound a bit muddled (maybe i am). Ive got to say other than this with monty which was horrendous he was and his brother still is perfect examples of the breed very healthy lovely looking dogs.

Do you know it was a genetically carried illness for sure? There are some illnesses that can affect the heart in developing pups, and might not be picked up for several years.

Genetic testing is an odd one, some testing can be done on one set of genes, eg Optigen PRA and CNM in Labs - the genetic hip testing that's being developed is a way off, partly because of the complexity, I can't remember the exact number but its something like 12 or 16 genes per dog, and then that depends on the dog you breed with as well.

As far as I'm aware it is not a problem in spaniels so is not tested for, although they are not my breed so can't be certain. It may well be genetic, however, with something like this that is unusual in a breed, it is not generally tested. Dogs actually have far few inherited diseases than humans... I think we sometimes forget that these are living creatures and nothing can be guaranteed except through genetic testing. The last decade has seen huge leaps in genetic testing, but there must come a stage where we have to be careful about expecting 100% guarantee when it concerns a living animal.

The vet said it was most likely that it was genetic, at the time when this happened i tried to research it over the net, really to see what i could do to help him, as the vet was doing all that could be done he was on 13 tabs a day one of the tabs was causing kidney problems it became quite complex he took a lot of looking after but he was great, during the time i was researching it said it was common in dobermans and a few other breeds but english springer spaniel was not on the list of breeds, as it was not common in e.s.p they could not tell us how well the e.s.p did with the disease, and how long they normally lived with it, they just had to go on how other breeds did, once the deteriation started then obviously they had a better idea how long the heart could keep going with the severity of it.