Thinking of putting our Westie out to stud

Hi, we have a lovely one year old Westie which we are thinking of putting out to stud. We've had him since he was 8 weeks old and he is a cracking dog.

We are total newbies to this. Can anyone give us advice as to what is involved and how to go about it?

thanks

Hi there

I have just mated my English Setter bitch - perhaps you would like to see this from the bitch owners point of view.

I am a serious breeder not a puppy farmer or back yard breeder. It may be that these types of people could be interested in your boy - be careful.

I am well aware of my bitches good points and bad points so I needed a 'husband' who could improve on her bad points but not detract from her good points.

I also needed one who has has all the health tests and who has no evidence of the health problems I know are in our breed but which you cant test for. So I spend time at shows going round the benches at shows looking for evidence of things like skin problems in potential stud dogs and their relatives.

My bitches father is an oustanding example of the breed and as such was a well used stud dog so it was difficult to find a male dog who is not related to him as I didnt want to 'double up' on this dog. As there are light eyes behind my dark-eyed bitch I needed a dog with dark eyes. As her dentition is not perfect I needed a perfect mouth. My bitch has a beautiful head which seems to have come through the generations so that seems a dominant inheritance but I didnt want a heavy headed dog just in case it detracted from her.

She is slightly long over the loin which affects her topline on the move so I have chosen a dog who is short coupled with a strong topline. She has an excellent tailset but her tail is slightly curved so I needed a dog with a straight tail. I wanted to improve on her lay of shoulder and return of upper arm but I couldnt find this in any of the many of the dogs I looked at and 'went over' The dog I have chosen is only slightly better. I was also looking for overall balance, a good temperament, a good coat and consistency in the showring. This guy is a Show Champion and a Junior Warrant holder.

It is not important for the dog to be a champion but I do like to go to all the shows and watch the dogs in the ring in particular on the move as movement belies correct construction. The other place I look is in our breed club Yearbook where people put pages about their kennels and dogs. The Westie people will have the same sort of thing.

All my puppies are cherished and have gone to homes with experienced competant owners. I take back puppies if for any reason the owners cant keep them (only one so far).

Do you think your dog will appeal to the owner of a westie bitch who is in my position looking for a stud dog ?

Thalice's Mum

Very Well Put Thalices Mum

Thanks for the reply.
I certainly think our dog has a lot to offer to potential breeders - he has a fantastic nature, no health problems, good structure etc.

Hi

Unfortunately you don't know the state of his health until you actually have him tested for conditions that affect the breed. A quick vet check once a year doesn't mean that he is 'healthy'. Not to mention that as he is only one year old, many genetic conditions do not rear their heads until the dog is over a year of age.

Equally, unless you have actually had him evaluated by those who are involved in the breed (judges, breeders, etc.), you cannot determine how 'good' his structure is.

So glad you think your dog is great, we all love our dogs
I would deff wait a while yet, your boy is still just a pup and temprament could change as he matures
That gives you time to find out more
Do you know much about his pedigree?? Health of his line? What health checks are needed adn recomended for the breed?
We all love our dogs but not all of them should be bred from
Remember that every puppy your dog produces condems another rescue dog to death so you have to make sure your dog is really needed to be bred from

If you are thinking you may want another dog like him in the future you have more of a chance of getting one like him if you go back to his breeder rather than trying to breed one yourself

If you think your dog is of sufficient quality to be bred from you need to get him in the show ring and get some independant critiques from judges. You need people to see him in order for them to like him so that they might well consider him as a stud dog. Putting an advert in the local newspaper is not appropriate.

The owners of stud dogs dont have to go out and advertise them to all and sundry - bitch owners come to them. So if he is good enough, someone will come knocking at your door. Make sure he has has the health tests required and that you have researched the health in his relatives.

You also need to look for a seminar on handling a stud dog as despite what you might think mating does not come naturally and the happy couple are very likely to need a helping hand (literally). You should learn how to manage a mating and must never leave a dog and bitch who are 'teid' alone - you must hold them togather as a lot of damage can be done to both parties should for example a tired bitch sit down whilst the male is still inside her. Try and be present at a number of managed matings and learn all you can.

I have to say, that unless I was the breeder of your puppy and I had reserved the right to use him at stud I wouldnt use him because his breeder obviously didnt consider him good enough to keep or to sell to a show home.

This doesnt mean that he is not a wonderful dog with good blood lines and the best companion you could ever have wished for, but I would be surprised if he is stud dog material.

So go out there and prove me wrong !

Thalices Mum

I'm not sure that I would want to use my male dog at stud if he was a pet dog as you could then have problems with him wanting to hump other dogs?

Also Westies are not uncommon-there are already a lot of puppies for sale in this breed-are you sure there would be good enough homes for the puppies produced? Not trying to dampen your enthusiasm for your dog but we are in a recession and there are a lot of good pedigree dogs in rescue/rehoming centres or available through breed rescue.