Choosing a working puppy
The best guide to a puppy is its parents. Ask how both of them work and, if you can, see them do it: a retriever marking and delivering to hand, a spaniel hunting within range, an HPR holding its point. Field trial winners or champions in the pedigree show that the lines have been bred for work, though not how an individual puppy will turn out. Meet the puppy with its mother where it was bred, and look for a litter that is confident, curious and well cared for. Our checklist for buying a puppy takes you through the visit.
Health and paperwork
Ask for both parents' hip and elbow results under the BVA/KC schemes, a current BVA/KC/ISDS eye certificate, and DNA results for the inherited conditions known in the breed; each breed guide lists what to ask for. Every puppy must be microchipped before it goes home, with the breeder recorded as its first keeper. If Kennel Club registration is offered, ask to see the paperwork, and if the breeder is licensed, ask to see the licence from their local council.
Bringing a puppy home
Puppies usually go to their new homes at around eight weeks old and should not leave their mother earlier. Before you collect, have a crate, the food the breeder has been using and a plan for the first few weeks: house training, short lessons and plenty of socialisation. Formal gundog training usually starts at around six months, but good habits start on the first day, with recall, sitting for food and calm lead walking. If you would rather skip the puppy stage, look at part-trained gundogs.
Judging the breeder
A puppy is only as good as the care it has had in its first eight weeks, so judge the breeder as carefully as the litter. Breeders who reach their nation's licensing threshold need a licence from their local council; the thresholds differ across the UK, so ask whether the breeder is licensed and, if so, ask to see the licence. A good breeder will show you the mother with her puppies, explain how the litter has been raised and socialised, and hand over health certificates, the microchip details and any registration papers. They will also ask about you and the work you plan to do, and many will offer to take a puppy back if things go wrong. Be cautious if you are offered a puppy younger than eight weeks, if the mother is unavailable, or if several breeds are for sale at once. If no litter here suits you, the main gundogs for sale page lists every stage, from puppies to fully trained dogs.