A stud animal is a male of the species that, by merit of his genetic prepotency, has been proven able to consistently sire offspring of such high caliber they help alter the course of the species in a positive manner.
Every stud dog was once young and unproven. There is no way possible to know if the youngster will produce well unless he is test bred. But the young unproven dog is not a toy for the unsophisticated breeder to experiment with. He is for the seasoned breeder who knows the background of the youngster, to use. If the hobby breeder is only going to have one or two litters a year why shouldn’t he stack the odds in his own favor and breed to the dog he knows is producing the qualities needed?
The established breeder usually has firm ground on which to anticipate the producing potential of a young male and it would only be upon the recommendation of the experienced that any hobby breeder should attempt to use an "unproven" male. The fact that a dog can produce puppies proves only one thing to me--he's fertile.
__________________ Kimberly |