Chicken or the egg...Where to begin?

My original lesson plan for today was "Evaluating Show Prospects". However, after talking to some friends, and looking at some other blogs this morning, thought that maybe I would start at the beginning. After all, show dogs all had to come from somewhere- lets take a look at planning a litter.

For the purposes of this particular blog entry, we are going to assume that the bitch that is being bred has completed her Championship, finishing easily. Her temperament is sound. She is in excellent health, and has passed her customary health clearances with flying colors. (We will discuss health clearances in a later Blog- I promise!) You, as the upcoming breeder-of-record, have set aside plenty of money to pay for stud service and Veterinary emergencies in advance, and have cleared your schedule so that you can be available to take care of the puppies when the time comes.

Now its time to discuss who we are breeding the princess to!

I have to tell you that I am frequently amazed (and often dismayed) at how some people go about choosing a stud dog. I have to really bite my tongue more often than not, and if you know me at all, you know that is really hard for me to do! :-)

There is REALLY only one thing to consider when choosing a stud dog- which dog is going to do the most for MY bitch?

Win records, location, amount of stud fee, convenience, your friendship with the dogs owner... none of these should really matter!

All too often, bitch owners choose stud dogs that are either A) near by- therefore eliminating the cost of shipping semen/bitches for breeding; B) Owned by friends- thereby perhaps saving on stud fee's, or at least showing a gesture of favoritism, or C) Big Winners- assuming that just because a dog is Winning Big it is going to Produce Well with every bitch.

The issue lies in that if dog A, B, or C does not possess the qualities needed to help your bitch, you are not going to be moving forward with your litter. At best, you will be treading water- at worst, you will be sliding down river!

The wise bitch owner must be highly critical of their bitch. You must know both your dogs virtues and faults. You should be familiar enough with her pedigree to have a good idea where those faults and virtues most likely came from. Any breeder that wants to move forward with their breeding program cannot afford to be kennel blind, or to look at their breeding stock with rose colored glasses.

But how to know which stud dog is really going to be the best dog for your bitch?

The first question I, as a stud dog owner, ask when someone calls to breed to my dog is "What do you want to fix in your bitch?" Now, obviously, we are not going to FIX your bitch- but what we are hoping to do is to produce puppies that do not have the same faults as your bitch! (and yes, I have had people tell me that there was nothing that they needed to fix in their bitch- and our conversation comes to a very quick end-- every bitch- and every dog- has faults!)

The second question I ask is "What do you like about your bitch?" This tells me a great deal about priorities, as much as it tells me about the bitch itself.

I always ask the bitch owner why they are interested in using my dog. I want to know! I need to know! If they want to use my dog because he has produced well with another bitch, that really doesn't mean that he is going to produce well with their bitch, and I need to let them know that! Maybe that other bitch is related differently, or compliments my dog better. If, on the other hand, they tell me that they feel that our dogs compliment each other, that gives me a better feeling.

With the advancements in shipping fresh-chilled semen and frozen semen, there is simply no excuse for breeding to a local dog- unless that dog is TRULY the best dog for your bitch! Yes- shipping semen is marginally more expensive, but isn't your litter worth it? Isn't your goal to produce the absolute best quality dogs possible, rather than another litter of mediocre dogs?

Choosing the right stud dog is not an easy task. While the people next door may be able to find a dog down the road to impregnate their Labradoodle- those of us who are breeding to improve our breed have a different outlook on the process.

It should not be an "any-dog-will-do" choice!