A stud dog and his line should be free from genetic defects. The female should also be free from genetic defects (if she's not AKC registered there is probably no way of knowing any problems in her line).
A male dog can be fertile as young as 6 months (has to be at least 7 months to register litter with AKC), but most don't know what they're doing until 15 months or so.
You can do the studying to find out what you need to know, but the most important consideration is once a dog is used at stud, it is not unusual for his personality to alter to some extent. Some have a tendency to mark their territory indoors and may be more likely to wander off the lead in search of in season bitches. Once a dog has been allowed to mate one bitch, they will generally want others! Some may also become more aggressive to other male dogs (due to sexual competitiveness). The potential stud dog owner needs to decide whether they can cope with these possible behavioural changes.
Of course, the best way to eliminate problem behaviors in males is to spay early, so once you have decided to go the stud route you really can't backtrack. |