to own your stud or not??
 

I am trying to decide if we should actually buy a stud or just pay stud fees. I was wondering if any of you experienced in this area could give me the pro's and cons.

I am worried about a stud in the house, will he be a part of the family? I've heard so many bad stories but wanted to know from those who deal with it first hand.

Thanks a bunch!

How many bitches do you breed?

I was just going to ask the same question!

I'm interested in this issue too, as we have kept one of our puppies (male) and we have 2 females. I don't want to neuter him as I will show him in the near future but this is going to be a problem. Advice???

I have one female right now. It will be a while before I breed her but I like to be prepared?

With one female, I'm not sure I'd invest in a stud.

Owning a male comes with a whole set of problems. You have to be prepared to put up with a lot of barking, whining and pacing when a female is in heat. You have to take all kinds of precautions to keep the male away from the female for at least 3 weeks when the female is in heat. Males that are used for breeding are more likely to mark in the house.

On the upside one advantage is you don't have to pay a stud service but when you consider the cost of the dog , food and vet care then you are not saving that much. Also, consider what your goal in breeding is. If you buy a young pup there is no guarantee he will even turn out to be breeding quality. Now if you are interested in showing, I think it is much easier to show a male than a female. You could get a older show quality male and hopefully later start your breeding program out on the right track, then it can be very rewarding.

I have heard some bad stories as well, but my Huckleberry is a doll and is absolutely a part of our family! I am sure the situation with him is not the "norm" because is is EXTREMELY easy-going and never barks at anything....EVER!! So he does not do anything that was mentioned (excpet for marking). Livi was just in heat and after breeding them, I kept them seperated. My poor guy had to stay in the xpen during these weeks, but he did not once bark, pace, whine....not a peep out of him! But like I said, this is just his nature....very very very passive!!!! He does mark, though, and there is nothing fun about that. :( He has a gorgeous steel blue and gold silky coat, but I have to keep it cut because he has to always wear a wrap. He is constantly marking (although, not too bad when Livi is not in heat)....he gets a ton of baths and the pad in his wrap has to be changed quite often. You may already know this, but I didn't when I bought a stud....their marking smell is awful....when his marking is at the most, he literally stinks like a skunk! These are the not so fun things that people should probably know. I would not give him up for the world, but I do think that it is work to keep up with all that goes along with owning a stud (and I would consider Huckleberry easy as far it goes).

Tammy

I own my own male and yes he is ABSOLUTELY a part of my family. I don't have big issues at all. He wears a belly band and runs the house. Spoiled rotten :p
My house is big enough to keep them seperated when needed in a different room if I need to. I prefer to have my own male that way I am in control on the breeding.
I love boys:thumbup:

Good advice. :thumbup:

I love my boys!! I would have a dozen of them if I could. I would buy one because I like their personalities soooo much!

Well I LOVE my two boys, my Harry was here before the girls, and he is mama's boy..LOL he is the only one that is allowed to sleep in my bed...LOL I LOVE, LOVE him... yes he marks when one of the girls is in heat, if he needs to stay home to breed, other than that he moves to grandma's where he is abslutely more spoiled for the duration.
hugs,
Carmen in nj

I thought you said your boys dont mark on another thread about studs:confused:

I love my boys too.

But, coming to a conclusion on whether to buy a stud or to pay for stud services is a bit more complicated than that.
If you're planning to breed, one must look at the female without those rose colored glasses. You must assess her with a critical eye ( her assets as well as her faults) and know every aspect of her background. Find a stud that will complement her or has assets that can fix her faults. One must know what it takes to be able to know how to fix or change things. In other words, canine genetic classes.

Owning your own stud comes with a lot of responsibility of knowing how to manage a dog after he has been used for breeding.....It can be done with a minimal amount of issues, but you need to know learn how to manage those issues before they get out of hand. My biggest problem is that my boys go off food whenever there is a girl in Season. I've had to resort to hand feeding them at times. Nothing more pathetic that watching a love sick boy that won't eat.

No he does NOT mark unless I have a bitch coming into season, the person in the other thread call them a marking MACHINE, let's put it this way UNLESS a girl is in season or coming into season he can SMELL that WAY before me HE is you merry go lucky guy, I NOTICE his change INMEdiATELY and if I am not breeding he is out to my mom's he HAD NEVER marked her house, now if I let him home, HE will mark the door where the bitch is locked, I guess is is staking his claim....LOL
but HE is NOT an automatic marking machine..:p
IS a BIG difference on a dog MARKING all over the house I had seen those, and a stud claiming his territory..:)

let me let you in another little detail about owning a stud, if you REALLY get to know your stud REALLY WELL, he will let you know which girl is close to season by the way he starts courting her.. I been watching my Harry for the past 3 years, if the girls are off, he plays but when they are close he chases them, he play bites their legs, is really fun to watch him and he has NEVER being wrong yet.. by the time i see the first blood he has been courting for a week...LOL He is close to retirement now, he will be 6 on sept.2010, and I swear I am so torn, but I want the best for him so he is going to be neutered and he can live the rest of his life as the KING of the castle that he is.. He produces GORGEOUS puppies, his coat is super silky and he always tested phenomenal, but I don't want to abuse his tributes either..he is MY BOY...:D
hugs,
Carmen in nj

So studs do mark after they are bred which was the point I was trying to make on the other thread and was corrected. The term peeing machine actually came from a long time breeder on here I respect. Now I dont know they become peeing machines so maybe I shouldnt have said that but according to her they do

:thumbup::thumbup:

In reality all dogs mark more or less, girls in heat tend to mark too, my mentor has a girl that everytime she is in heat marks her room..:eek: I have not experience that with my girls. and even a neutered dog might have marking tendencies. bred or not a dog is a dog and is going to mark more or less, my stud only marks the door where the bitch in season is, and he only marks when she is HIGHLY receptive, which I LOVE because tell me the right days to breed. I have not done a progesterone test since I been using this boy..LOL I mated according to his marking and my pups are born exactly 63 days to the day of my stud going INSANE, and marking the door...:eek::eek: I am extremely surprise every time, because of his ability to do this...
hey breeding is not an exact science but we try to make it one..LOL
owning a stud takes a little more knowing your man that meets the eye..:D:D:D

My males pee on anything and everything but I stil love them..lol I have 2 girls that will also lift their leg a pee. It is harder to deal with a female doing it than a male. My boys I can put a belly band and off they go but my girls I don't like to use diapers because they poop in them too. I wish they would invent something for the girls they could wear but still could poop.

I agree all males can mark I just think there is a higher chance of it hapening if theyve been bred or not neutered. My boy doesnt mark but he was neutered. If it were a common occurance with neutered dogs there would be threads on here all the time about stopping the marking

My boys do mark when there is a girl in Season....on goes belly band. But, I will say, I have girls that have never been bred and spayed....they mark. The difference is that it is much more obvious in a boy than a girl.....

LOL, I am sure a breeder somewhere is working on it...:D:D

Yep Ive had female cats that marked also

:love:Thank you all for the good advice!!!

It is nice to hear the little men of your hearts are a part of your families and daily lives.

I can't answer for all people, but in my case, you are correct. My Huckleberry hadn't one time ever marked until Livi went into her first heat. This was back when she was 10 months old and I just remember the two of them and me walking out of my bedroom and all of a sudden he stopped and raised his leg on the corner of the doorframe. I was shocked because this was a first....but Livi went into heat later that day so it was just his instincts. His marking has not stopped, but it is definitely better when Livi is not in heat.

I will say I have pups at the age of 10 weeks begin to lift their leg......now they've obviously never been bred. And I also have a stud, that has never lifted his leg...............so, it's different in each male and how you manage it.

my neutered boys do not mark the house and all my boys with the exception of Radar squat LOL Radar marks all the time even when there isn't a bitch in season but less often. I have a female that is spayed and she marks all the time too but at least it's on the pee pads when she does LOL...
I love my boys but like Mary said much more into studding or going out to stud than just either or....so much more into breeding than that :)

Donna

Exactly...Huck hadn't been bred when he started marking, but I do agree with Chachi that unneutered dogs are probably going to mark....especially if exposed to a dog in heat.

My guy is not bad about any of the things that I have heard about...no pacing, no barking (he's not a barker, though), no whining and he eats just fine during Livi's heats. I know that I am lucky and also understand that it is really due to his EXTREME passive temperament.

I have two males in the house, an old guy, 11 years, strictly a pet (actually my first yorkie). He was neutered at 6 months, he marks, he won't start it but covers any other marks he can find.
My stud actually doesn't mark unless someone is in heat, then he has to wear belly bands. I agree it is a concern that he doesn't eat when someone is in season, he is a nervous little guy anyways and he turns to skin and bones after a couple of days of not eating. I love his personality, as I do all the boys, boys are certainly my favorite. He is not trustworthy with any pups that I may have in the house until they are past the age where they get in his face maybe six or eight months. He will get angry and give them a beating on occasion, not just a get out of my face growl, but a beating, so unless I can watch him VERY closely, he is in an ex-pen when I have youngsters around.
My biggest concern with the boys is my two boys HATE each other and would fight to the death, so they can never be in the same room together.
I also have a girl that marks and she also will mark in the house when another is in heat or has pups. Outside, she always lifts her leg and walks around covering pee spots of others, gets right involved in the outdoor "pee wars".

Just out of curiousity, does anyone else have to deal with any dogs that do not get along, to the point of trying to literally kill each other, I would be interested in knowing, and if so, is there any way of solving the problem.

Audrey