Allowing a dog to sire a litter is a big decision & needs a lot of thought about the responsibilities involved & the amount of knowledge needed. You will probably find that breeders or breeding kennels are not usually interested in using privately owned dogs for stud purposes, unless the dog has some special qualifications or show merit, or has the pedigree that they require for their breeding programme. Before breeding from your dog, the Kennel Club advises that you check with your veterinary surgeon, your breed club and/or your dog’s breeder to find out whether there are any possible inherited conditions that may affect your breed, for which there is an available test (e.g. CEA, HD, DM, DMS). Knowing more about their genetics will reduce the risk of producing puppies affected by inherited conditions. Providing you and new puppy owners with the peace of mind of knowing the health of your puppies’ hasn’t been left to chance. There are several health schemes currently in operation to assist in the prevention or control of some diseases (including DNA tests), and where they exist, the Kennel Club strongly recommends that both sire and dam are tested. You will find that the owners of most bitches would only wish to use those dogs that have been examined under the appropriate schemes. Similarly as a responsible dog owner, you should ensure that any bitch to which your dog is to be mated has also been tested under these schemes. In order to register your dog’s progeny with the Kennel Club, you will need to ensure that the dog is in your registered ownership. You will also need to ensure that your dog’s Kennel Club registration does not carry any breeding restrictions. If there are any, you will need to discuss this further with the person from whom you obtained the dog, as any breeding restrictions will need to be removed before the registration of a litter can take place. In most cases it will be the breeder who has placed the restriction, and they will therefore be the person empowered to remove it. The terms and conditions of a mating do not fall within the jurisdiction of the Kennel Club. It is therefore advisable that any breeding terms or stud fees should be arranged by mutual agreement in writing between the owner of the dog and the owner of the bitch before the mating takes place. As a general point, if a dog has not previously been used at stud, the owner might charge a nominal fee covering expenses etc. Once the dog has been proven (i.e. has produced puppies), the stud fee may be reviewed for any future matings according to the value of the dog as a proven sire, and the quality of his progeny. A guide to an appropriate stud fee may be obtained from studying the advertisement columns in the canine press, as breeders may advertise their dogs for stud. Alternatively you can contact your nearest breed club, who may be able to give you advice on this and any other matters relating to your breed. Food for thought… The following article was written by Mr M Stockman MRCVS and gives a further insight into using your dog at stud: 'To the uninitiated it would seem that the best way of making money out of the dog game is to own a successful dog of a popular breed. You simply advertise him as being available at public stud and then sit back and watch the fees roll in! It costs no more to keep him than if he were not at stud, the bitches do the travelling and you get your fee when the mating is complete, not when the litter is born… what could be easier? Doubtless there are people who try to do just that; and there are probably those who actually get away with it. But what should happen? What should the dog owner do in order to make certain that he or she is doing the best for the breed? First of all let’s ask a few pertinent questions: Is the dog fertile? Is he possessed of the libido to do the job effectively? The mere fact that he has a tendency to chase every bitch in sight whether she’s in season or not, doesn’t necessarily mean that he will have a clue what to do when it comes to the point; and if the owner hasn’t either, frustration of all concerned is liable to be the order of the day. To be honest, you can read up just so much about mating techniques, but the experience of a knowledgeable breeder and stud dog handler is the most useful asset you can have. In truth, the only really fool proof way of finding out what your dog is like at stud, is to give him the chance with a sensible bitch (preferably not a maiden herself) and see that you enlist experienced help if you possibly can. As far as finding out whether your dog is fertile, you can take all the samples you like, but there is no substitute for the real thing in the shape of a litter in the nest. But, that said, shouldn’t we be looking a lot further back before we get this far? Have we checked with fellow breed enthusiasts about what hidden problems there may be within the breed? Has the dog been examined under the relevant health schemes which are appropriate to the breed. i.e hip dysplasia, elbow dysplasia and inherited eye disease. In one or two breeds it would be sound policy to have the heart tested, and in addition, there are now several DNA tests available to help eliminate inherited diseases in many breeds. I am not trying to suggest that these examinations are universally needed, but most of us, if we are honest, know which problems occur in the breeds in which we have a special interest. Even if the dog turns out to be a paragon of virtue, is he of such merit that he truly offers the future generation real benefit? It is undoubtedly very flattering to have somebody come up to you just after you have won yet another puppy or junior class and ask if the apple of your eye is available at stud. If the enquirer is one of the better known and successful breeders in your breed, it is usually a feather in your dog’s cap; if on the other hand, the question comes from the sort of person who runs to every new champion in the making, be careful. Used on the wrong bitches, he may well sire progeny which will do him no good at all. Be ready with an answer, which gives you a “get-out”, such as seeing how the pedigree would click, before the question is ever asked. If you have done all the right things in relation to health testing, don’t let your dog down by allowing him to be used on bitches which have not had similar tests. I know all the stories about how “this person arrived with the bitch already in season, and she had never heard about hip dysplasia, and anyway it was only a pet bitch so they weren’t interested in all this posh Kennel Club stuff”! And then they go on: “after all it’s better that they should use a dog that had been scored than one that had- n’t; and if I had refused they would have only gone to the next dog down the road”. Well let them! There will still be those who will merely say: “Oh, that’s just Stockman rabbiting on about inherited disease; the vets are all the same.” But surely those who put their dogs at stud in whatever sphere ought to take some responsibility for what they sire. However busy life may be for a breeder, it doesn’t take long to keep a reasonably accurate check on what a dog’s offspring do. It is lovely to see his progeny winning in the ring. In some ways it’s even better than doing the winning yourself. We all like to hear when the good news comes. It’s not so funny when we learn that one’s favourite has sired a cryptorchid, an epileptic, or a dysplastic. Note that I said that he’d sired it; that doesn’t mean he is necessarily the one who is responsible for the defect. We don’t know enough about the genetics of many conditions to be able to say whether or not both sire and dam must have contributed to the problem. So the sire should not be condemned unless it is positively known that the genetic input responsible for a particular defect has to come from both parents. However, we blame bitch owners for mating their bitches without having any idea of who’s going to be in the queue for the pups when they are whelped, and rightly so in many cases. If the owner of the sire had questioned the mating, had tried to dissuade the eager novice-breeder, or would take responsibility for helping find the right homes, the rescue services wouldn’t be strained to bursting point.'
'SHOW DOGS and STUD DOGS Stud dog of the week can be a huge disservice to your breed!! But every once in a great while there is that dog who can be bred to multiple styles of bitches and produce well!! Choose wisely my friends. by Richard G. (Rick) Beauchamp: “Show Dogs and Stud Dogs A stud dog is not simply a male dog. Neither do show records or championships have anything to do with a dog’s producing ability. Winning in the show ring proves the dog has the quality necessary to win. Siring outstanding offspring is the only thing that proves a sire’s ability. These are two entirely different qualities. A dog can be a truly great show dog and a poor sire. A dog can hate the show ring and never win a point and be an outstanding sire. It is just as simple as that. The biggest mistake breeders, novice or veteran, can make is to confuse their show dogs with their breeding dogs. They can be the same. We hope they will be the same. Often they are not There are those who say show wins are the indicator of a dog’s value to the breed. In other words, if many judges agree a particular dog is the current ideal in its breed, the dog should be bred to. I agree - but only to a degree. You can get every judge in the country to agree that the dog of the hour is the dog of the hour, but that same dog can be a complete disappointment in the breeding department. If a dog’s quality is not realized in the whelping box, all we have is a box full of ribbons and nothing more. This is not to say a winning dog cannot also be an outstanding producer. Records prove otherwise. But I cannot stress strongly enough that it is the producing ability that must be looked to and not the show record! Even the outstanding sire can be misused. Most breeds have had those truly wonderful show dogs who develop records that become the envy of one and all. Unfortunately, they become the envy of too many who feel if a dog is good enough to win every award in sight, it must be good enough to breed every bitch in sight. In a way, the popular stud dog that produces well only with certain bitch lines can be very destructive to a breed. A few excellent youngsters emerge from the right combination and the parade begins. Every bitch that can see lightning and hear thunder is bred to the dog, but the percentage of quality produced is minuscule. The breed takes a big step backward. This is actually not the fault of the sire, but of the owners of the many bitches who follow the parade to the popular sire, regardless of the fact that he would in fact be the last choice for their particular bitch. Truly great sires are really few and far between. There’s an old saying I heard somewhere along the way that goes something like, “You can breed that one to a fence post and you’ll still get good pups.” They are the rare ones, the ones that any breed is lucky to have, but it is highly doubtful that any breed will have such a dog any more than once in any breeder’s lifetime. This no doubt all sounds perfectly logical, but I could write whole books on the excuses young breeders make for not breeding to the correct dog for their bitch: snow storms, rain storms, typhoons and earthquakes; the correct dog’s third cousin lives down the street; it’s just her first season and I’m “proving” her; etc., etc., etc. There is only one breeding worth making - the right one. When it comes time to breed your quality bitch, stop and think, what if this turns out to be the only litter she will ever have!”' Although this article was written several years ago, it is still relevant in today’s society, and definitely provides food for thought. The Kennel Club does not currently keep a register of stud dogs and therefore if you wish to use your dog at stud you should contact your local breed club for more information and advice. The responsible owner of a potential stud dog must have in depth knowledge on a range of subjects including: Fertility - you may want to have their fertility tested if they are not already proven
Unless your dog is used regularly at stud, this means a number of times a year, it is possible that he could make a nuisance of himself, it is often said that what the dog doesn’t have in the first place he won’t miss. It is also highly likely that his temperament will change particularly towards other males, who he may see as rivals. For a dog to be used regularly, it is usual that he will be shown regularly at KC shows and will be seen by bitch owners looking for a dog rather than the other way round. If you are considering keeping a puppy from a one off mating with your dog you need to consider this carefully. If you keep a bitch puppy, one of them should be neutered to stop any unwanted liaisons. You may or may not be aware of any hereditary health problems in the breed. These are major issues and all dogs to be used at stud should be tested and passed clear before being used. The Bitch's Cycle. The stud dog owner must be able to advise novice bitch owners when to bring their bitch for mating as all bitches differ. The stud dog owner must know from just looking at a bitch whether she is receptive to mating or not - introducing a stud dog to a bitch who is not ready for mating could lead to the dog being injured as bitches may be aggressive to males if they are not ready. The stud dog owner must also be prepared to board an in season bitch for a few days or longer if she arrives before she is receptive to mating. Contrary to popular belief, not all male dogs know instinctively what to do with an in season bitch - many need careful tutoring & the stud dog owner must know how to do this & how to assist a dog to achieve a successful mating. Some matings can be technically difficult for example if the dog & bitch vary in size too much or if the bitch is reluctant to stand still to be mated. Again, the stud dog owner needs to know what to do to achieve a good result without injury or distress being caused to either party. Once a dog is used at stud, it is not unusual for his personality to alter to some extent. Some have a tendency to mark their territory indoors (cocking legs on furniture etc) and may be more likely to wander off the lead in search of in season bitches. Once a dog has been allowed to mate one bitch, they will generally want others! Some may also become more aggressive to other male dogs (due to sexual competitiveness). The potential stud dog owner needs to decide whether they can cope with these possible behavioural changes. Once a dog has been used at stud, the owner cannot just take the money & forget about it. The stud dog owner must be prepared to give advice on rearing puppies to the bitch owner (if a first time breeder) & must also take responsibility for any hereditary defects produced by their dog. They are also morally responsible for helping with the rehoming of any of their dog's offspring should the need arise at any time. This responsibility also means the stud dog owner must vet bitch owners that contact them to ensure that the breeder is reputable (not a puppy farmer for instance!) & that the bitch is old enough to be mated (or not too old) & has passed all the recommended health tests (annual eye tests for example). If you would like to offer your dog at stud simply because you would like another puppy with his personality & looks, then it would be easier to buy another puppy from your dog's breeder. Recommended reading - |
