How to choose the right STUD....
How to choose the right Stud. This is a frequently asked question and a very good question. There is no short or simple answer to this one. There are many questions a breeder should ask themselves before they should ever consider breeding or continue breeding but that's another topic so let's dive in.
Most breeders when choosing a stud for their bitch will use the hot Champion at the time or their friends male or whatever male is easiest and cheapest to use. This is the most common and can actually prove to be a success but in the greatest amount of time, end up failing.
When choosing the right stud, you must first understand your bitch. How is her confirmation, what are her true strengths, what are her weakness(s), how is her temperament for the breed? Memorizing the Standard is not enough. You must truly understand
and why they look the way they do, act the way they do and how it coincides with their function.
You must also ask yourself what is in her pedigree? Is she an out crossed dog, line bred dog, inbred or back bred dog? Is the Stud your using out crossed, line bred, inbred or back bred? This is fundamentally important to reach the desired outcome. Here's an example. Let's say your female is quite the specimen, healthy, great confirmation, superior temperament but has a moderate to weak rear. Looking into her pedigree, you find she is line bred with 3 other dogs with similar rears. If you choose the latest popular Champion as your stud but he is an out crossed pedigree and an average/ moderate rear but a strong head, you most likely will not improve on your bitches faults.
The ideal situation when selecting the right Stud is to use the right Stud to continue with the great virtues of your bitch and improve on any shortcomings she may have. This takes a great deal of constructive criticism of what you have, honesty and homework. An example of the right stud in the previous example would be a Stud that is healthy, has all the same quality traits as your bitch that you would like to keep and a Stud that has a super strong rear with a pedigree showing he is inbred, back bred or at the least linebred with multiple strong rears behind him.
Now you can remove and replace the rear with head, angulation, length, size, topline, movement etc. If you're deciding to breed, you should always be looking to improve the breed and should truly take the time to do as much research as possible before doing so. Having a true understanding of your breed, your bitch and the Stud you need is essential. Seek advice from very experienced breeders that have a proven track record of having produced consistent dogs or have improved on the breed.
If you are a breeder or considering breeding, I hope this was a Gold nugget for you and your future success. I look forward to meeting you one day in the ring.
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