# Thoughts on studding out my Golden



## emobley22 (Mar 13, 2018)

Hi All, 


Looking to get some information on using my 2 year old male golden as a stud. He is a healthy AKC registered fun loving pup who I'd like to stud with a reputable breeder or local female. I would like the pros and cons of doing so. I would really like to have one of his pups in the future. Taking all suggestions my fellow golden lovers have! 


Thanks for your help and suggestions.


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## K9-Design (Jan 18, 2009)

Hi there! First things first, what is your dog's pedigree (k9data link) and have you already done your four main genetic health clearances? (OFA hips, elbows, heart & eyes). Have you talked to his breeder about this?
Those are the bare bones necessities before you even think about breeding.
Reality is, stud dogs are a dime a dozen even those with nice pedigrees and clearances completed, so unless your dog has accomplished something really unique in the field of competition, he's not going to get much attention. Anyone who would want to breed to him WITHOUT the clearances in place is no breeder you want to work with. If they can't bother to do that then they are also cutting corners on puppy care and placement.


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## Ljilly28 (Jan 22, 2008)

I agree with K9 Design. Breeding sounds fun, especially if you love your pet and think about a sweet puppy who is related. 

However, there is so much effort and risk in every step of breeding. 

You do need to get your Hip, Heart, Eye, and elbow clearances completed by a board certified specialist and properly listed www.ofa.org,and require the same from any female golden. You need to look back at your pedigree and think about if there is epilepsy, swallowing issues, temperament problems and about ten other issues. Thyroid, Skin. 

This is ,besides the ethics, because you dont want heavy on your heart pups with these issues in your litter. 

Both male and female dogs need brucellosis screening. There is a lot more to timing using progesterone etc.

Goldens are not a healthy breed- mother dogs die whelping, pups are often lost in the process of being born, or an emergency occurs and it suddenly costs thousands of dollars to save the life of mom and babies. 

It is rewarding when it is rewarding ,but super serious always and sometimes tragic.


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## Swampcollie (Sep 6, 2007)

emobley22 said:


> Hi All,
> 
> 
> Looking to get some information on using my 2 year old male golden as a stud. He is a healthy AKC registered fun loving pup who I'd like to stud with a reputable breeder or local female. I would like the pros and cons of doing so. I would really like to have one of his pups in the future. Taking all suggestions my fellow golden lovers have!
> ...



I tend not to sugar coat things so here is a little dose of reality. 

The owner of the female decides which male(s) they will consider for breeding. Your job is to make your dog attractive to them for their purposes. 

Why should they choose your boy? You need to be able to answer this question in a clear concise manner.

What does he (your boy) bring to the table?
Is he a sound healthy dog? This is a question whose answers you'll have to prove and provide backup. Which genetic flaws does he carry? (No, there are no perfect dogs. They all have flaws so it's important to know which ones your dog carries and which ones he doesn't.) 

You should also be aware that if chosen, the female visits the male for breeding. Do you have the facilities to keep a female in standing heat and keep her secluded from all other males and females for a week or more at a time? You need to guarantee this. Letting her associate with the wrong male is obviously a problem. Letting her associate with other females is a problem because there could well be a fight and they won't be just playing around. 


Lastly, the offspring of your boy WILL NOT be little carbon copies of Dad. The female he's bred to and the ancestors of the litter will have a lot to say about the personality, temperament and abilities of the offspring.


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## LJack (Aug 10, 2012)

Probably the biggest question you need to objectively ask yourself is “Should this dog be bred?”

There are hundreds of thousands of great pet dogs out there and most should not be bred. To do this well, you need to suspend your love for your dog and put the love of the breed and potential puppies first. 

If you can honestly answer the following questions with a solid, unwavering yes, then breeding him could be an option. 

Does he have OFA normal elbows?
Does he have OFA Fair, Good or Excellent hoops or a PennHIP score of .54 or less in each hip? 
Does he have a normal or normal/breeder option OFA eye certification within the last year? 
Does he have an OFA heart certification completed by a Cardiologist?
Is his temperament stable in public? (No growling, lunging, heckle raising, timidness, fear or shying) 
Is he free of allergies?
Is he 22-25 inches tall at his wither? 
Does he have both testicles? 
Does he have full dentition and a scissors bite? 
Is he obiedent and people focused? 
Is he able to be calm in the home? 
Is he free of any other chronic conditions such as hypothyroidism, bloat, infections? 

If you can answer yes to all of those, you then have to wait for someone who’s girl can say yes to all of those too. 

That’s the problem with boys, you are not in the drivers seat. The bitch owners are. They generally are looking for a boy to be a step up or an “improver”. So, if it is between and untitled boy that can say yes to the above and a titled boy that can say yes to the above for not only himself but the generations behind him, they are generally going to go with the titled boy. I used a wonderful boy of 6+ years with full health certifications, obedience titles, a great pedigree and Conformation wins and I was only the second person to use him. Good stud dogs are a dime a dozen. 

Beyond the “should” is the risks. Breeding can be dangerous for boys. It is not for some an instant skill. Girls can turn and attack, they can scare and attempt to run during a tie, either of which could be an Injury physically or mentally for the boy. The bitch (who in your scenario belongs to someone else) could be injured during mating. As mentioned above there are STDs/STIs that can make your dog sick, with Brucellosis being especially devastating due to the need to euthanize in most cases. 

You might be tempted to chuck this all out and just breed to what ever bitch answers an online add. Please give it more thought and effort. Poorly bred puppies suffer. They suffer from health issues that should have been minimized by health testing the parents. They suffer from poor placement because poorly bred dogs generally sell for cheap and to any comer. I am sure you don’t want you boy’s puppies to suffer health issues or live in a backyard alone after the kids of the first family with $$$ loose interest or end up in a shelter.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

LJack said:


> Does he have OFA normal elbows?
> Yes.
> Does he have OFA Fair, Good or Excellent hoops or a PennHIP score of .54 or less in each hip?
> Good (with a vote for excellent in there)
> ...


^^^ Putting this into context using my guy (and I'm not actively trying to get people to use him!) as an example of how even covering your bases in that way is not the only thing to keep in mind or do before setting your dog up as a stud dog... 

Might add in addition to the specs above, this is a dog that is obedience titled and major pointed in conformation. He also has a no fuss but full coat, meaning that he's easy to groom, but not because he lacks coat. 

So that's a really nice dog?

But here's the thing. 

Where I am, there's a LOT of really nice dogs available for people to breed to who are also PROVEN producers. A lot of dogs who have "more" of what people want than my dog (who per a judge's impression when handing him a win, is a very honest dog with no excesses). Also, there's a lot of really nice dogs out there who have "outside" bloodlines (meaning they are not related to most of the bitches in an area). Also, there's a LOT of CH titled boys available for people to use. It's a really huge pool for bitch owners to pick from. And that doesn't even include the DEAD dogs. People are using frozen all the time.... 

In addition, types of things that a bitch owner is looking for a stud dog is overall look, heads, pigment, expression, how does the dog carry his tail, how does the dog move (throwing feet in the air, prone to pacing or crabbing, etc).

Obedience or working breeders have extra things on their wish list as well - a lot of which involves them not even looking at a dog unless he has known working dogs in his pedigree and they pick and choose based on what they see when the dog is working. A dog that is a quiet worker might not stand out as much as one that stands out by the amount of drive and flare that he has while working. In obedience, titles don't matter as much as scores and reliability (did the dog finish titles fast and each level at a time, etc).

The people who are not looking for champion titled dogs, proven producers, and certain bloodlines might be focusing on different areas, including using studs owned by breeding partners. Meaning, they are not even looking outside for stud dogs to use. 

Best way to get into the mix with your dog is to start with clearances, but also get out there with him. You need to get titles galore on him to make him stand out from the mix, but then also it depends on who you know and who likes your dog. 
_
Also, there's other stuff like getting your boy tested to make sure he's fertile.
And then there's other tests to run as well at the request of the bitch owner_ 

It's not just putting ads out there and making it first come first serve.


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