Accidental litters...

 I wish to heaven that this were the only type of mixed cross that occurred.  I placed a foster dog with someone who had a Beagle and Aussie cross that was a similar situation.  He was a beautiful and healthy dog - and huge!  Genetics are funny things.  I wouldn't feel too awful about it.  I have a friend whose best young herding trial dog and go-to dog on the farm is the result of an accidental breeding between two youngsters.

The Welsh color is the same as the gene that makes yellow labs, golden retrievers, and Irish setters.  So you would only get tri if the cocker carries it for some reason.  Probably they's mostly be solid yellow, with touches of white, with possibly a couple black and white or yellow and white (what cocker people would call parti).  Looking at body type, I think they'd look amazingly like field cockers.  If there were a yellow and white I'd want one for my mom!  She had a purebred cocker like that when she was a kid.

I think she has little choice but to advertise and be very, very careful as to choosing the homes. 

That's a bummer, but it happens....

Did she know the bitch would go into season whil she was "away"?

Is she going to keep the pups till after Xmas is over, to deter those impulse buyers and ensure the pup doesn't go hom amid the Xmas Chaos?

Oh yes, I forgot I was going to mention that.  We had a Border Collie Lab mixed litter in rescue who would have been nine weeks old the week of Christmas.  Instead of letting them go then, or even talking to anyone before then, I let them wean at a natural pace since I had the opportunity, didn't offer them for adoption until after Christmas, and held them until they were sixteen weeks old.  It meant that two all-black  puppies ended up with me until they were six MONTHS old, but they found wonderful homes too.  Those were the nicest set of puppies I've ever seen - one of them became a service dog for an autistic child.

Just asking a question for my own knowledge --- can you not abort puppies?  In the horse world they can administer a drug that will cause the mare to abort unwanted pregnancies (such as when, say, a stallion jumps a fence).  They can also "pinch off" extra fetuses to avoid twins & triplets, so that the remaining foal will be viable.

Why would a professional breeder not abort an unwanted litter?  It can't be good for one's reputation to have a mixed litter like this.

Xeph why didn't she do the mismate shot? It has a couple risks but honestly? I sure would have given it a go...esp since the bitch in question has already given her some nice pups...make sure she at least KNOWS such a thing exists...if this were to occur again.

KarissaKS

Just asking a question for my own knowledge --- can you not abort puppies?  In the horse world they can administer a drug that will cause the mare to abort unwanted pregnancies (such as when, say, a stallion jumps a fence).  They can also "pinch off" extra fetuses to avoid twins & triplets, so that the remaining foal will be viable.

Why would a professional breeder not abort an unwanted litter?  It can't be good for one's reputation to have a mixed litter like this.

That's what I was wondering.  I have heard of a few cases where good breeders have an oops litter but keep them and adopt them out to pet homes on spay/neuter contract and limited reg or not registered, but this was within the same breed, and even the same type (so honestly the pups were better quality than from most breeders, but it was just not a carefully planned litter as far as the breeder's goals).

it happens. Thinking one is infalible is the surest way to ensure it does. No one plans on things like this but sometimes things just happen.

Not everyone is willing to risk the effects of the mismate shot or wants to spay their bitch (the only real way to abort pups in a bitch gone over 72 hours bred, and you cannot show a spayed bitch regardless). I know people in my breed that have other breeds where this has occured. Most often when they are out showing and the kennel help is there...or the chaos of christmas or bad weather.

Stuff  happens. What matters to me, is how they handle things after the fact. Even rescues and shelters have accidental breedings occur...their advantage is that they can spay the girls...and not lose a whole arm of a line or genetic material doing so.

The bitch was not in her care when the breeding happened.  She was out with a handler, so the mismate shot was not a viable option.

Also, it won't really be the reputation of the breeder on the line here, but the reputation of the handler that had the bitch.
 

Xeph

The bitch was not in her care when the breeding happened.  She was out with a handler, so the mismate shot was not a viable option.

vet's are on site at most shows...if not the yellow pages are only a click away lol. A vet could have been found..I don't really doubt that, esp since you have 48-72 hours. You can bet I'd advise one be found POST HASTE were it my bitch...and on that handler's dime, too.

BUT, be that as it may yes the handlers rep will take a ding for certain...and deservedly so.

 I can ask, but I believe that the bitch owner wasn't even notified that the bitch was pregnant until AFTER she was returned (which was a good chunk of time...a week or two)

Honestly, it's not a horrible match-up. I'd say the chances of getting a healthy puppy with a reasonable disposition are pretty good, and better than you'd find in most accidental matings much less purposeful BYB matings. My parents had a mixed breed with a similar background who was very, very healthy and an sweet dog.

Perhaps your friend could work with a rescue to help find and screen homes for the puppies, with the adoption fee kept by the rescue.

 You can technically "abort" puppies surgically if it's too late for the shot and you want to keep the bitch intact....but it's very unpleasant and can be dangerous. It's done the same way as a C-section....and then you just let the fetuses die on the table (or I think you may actually be able to give them a cardiac injection with euthanasia solution if they are big enough, but I am not sure about the ethics of such a procedure. I wouldn't like to do that.

 It's already been decided that the puppies are going to be whelped, so it's just a matter of finding homes for them