Stud finding

[Laska]

Hi all again

I know its still early days for laska to have pups. but i feel its never too soon to look for a stud and get to know the owners to make sure you find the right one. so ive had my feelers out and been speaking to a few and told them it wont be untill laska is at least 2.

But so far ive found a nice looking boy what do you guys think. i need to get a few more full body pics but i think he has a nice face.

He s full kc registered

Hip Score - 0/0

Current clear eye certificate

[Bec]

Impossible to tell just from a head pic...

The more important question is how compatible is he with Laska's lines? It's important to have a really solid knowledge of what makes a good Siberian and the breed standard so that you know if Laska is breeding quality, and that by breeding her with the appropriate stud dog any resulting pups will be contributing something worthwhile to the breed. Have you entered Laska in any dog shows so you know if she's a good example of the breed? Have you run her in harness or had any of her health tests done yet? The owner of a good stud dog won't touch a bitch who isn't a great example of the breed standard. Being active in your local Siberian breed club is a great way to find a mentor and learn more about the breed so you can look at your bitch with a critical eye, and help understand how to find a stud dog that will complement her pedigree well. As I'm sure you know, there is a lot to consider about your own dog before approaching a stud owner.

[Laska]

Hi ya

Thanks for the reply good input there.

Yes there is alot to learn thats why im starting early im not breeding laska for a show dog im breeding her as a pet dog for 1 reason

1. We never breeded any of our family dogs before for which i feel upset about as they ended up being such a great pet and i feel their family line is lost, So i dont want to make the same mistake again. So with laska not only will i be giving her puppies to close family and freinds ( as it not about making money) i will be keeping 1 or maybe 2 of the puppies. as she is such a loving girl i would love to have a puppy from her.

But before hand along with the dna heritage test im having done i shall be getting her dna tested for all problems such as eyes hips etc.

I shall be before hand goto visit the breeder and get as much info from parents as i can including photos etc for her puppy pack. its a first for me with breeding but my mother and her father used to breed german sherpards so she will helpme out with some questions.

But stud wish i just want to make sure i get the best possible match for her . if the dna comes back that she is 75% of a breed i will get a stud for the highest % breed of her. unless it comes back sausage dog

but thanks again for input i shall be asking many more questions over the next year so be warned

Laska & Mark

[Bec]

Does she have pedigree papers that permit her to be bred or shown from?

If not, no stud dog owner will want to mate their dog to her. Without a pedigree you do not know what lines are behind her and therefore can't chose a stud that will be compatible - you could mate her with a dog that is too closely related to her or mix lines that produce nasty recessives.

If you breed from an unregistered bitch you can't register the pups and any contribution she could have made to the breed will be lost forever. I'm not saying this to be harsh but that's the reality when it comes to breeding - breeding unpapered dogs is like breeding blind and no reputable breeder would touch a bitch that hasn't got papers to prove her lineage.

Breeding from Laska is no guarantee you will get pups that are like her, when we breed we want to make sure we are breeding for the betterment of the breed - there are enough Siberians in rescue and pounds world wide to prove we don't need any more bred just for the sake of it.

[raindog]

This is what we (and any other owner of good quality stud dogs) would be looking for in studding their dog.

First of all, before any other considerations, the dog must be KC registered and must have successful eye tests and a good hip score. Any dog we owned which does not have these minimum requirements would be neutered and never used for breeding purposes.

Secondly, we will have satisfied ourselves that the dog was of sufficient high quality for breeding. For us that means that at the very least the dog has achieved its Kennel Club stud book number in the show ring (ie it has won a Limit Class or 1st to 3rd in an Open Class at a Championship Dog Show) and that it has a good record of success in the show ring over a period of time. We will also have satisfied ourselves that the dog retains a good working attitude and works well in harness. An excellent temperament is also essential.

Without all those factors, we would not consider using any of our dogs at stud.

Once we have a dog or dogs that we feel are excellent examples of the breed and are good enough to breed from, what questions do we ask when someone comes asking for a stud?

Firstly, does the bitch fulfill all the conditions we consider necessary for a stud dog - KC reg, showing, working, health tests, temperament etc.

If so, what pedigree lines are behind the bitch? We are extremely choosy about where our bloodlines go (having spent thousands importing specific lines to the UK) and unless the bitches bloodlines are compatible and acceptable, we would not consider allowing a mating.

How compatible are the dog and bitch in terms of conformation? - every dog/bitch has, at the very least, minor "faults" in terms of the breed standard. There is no such thing as the perfect dog/bitch and we would want to assess that the minor faults of each partner to the prospective mating were complimentary rather than antagonistic. As a simplistic example - both dog and bitch have "faulty" ears. Dog has a wide ear set but small ears, bitch has a good ear set but her ears are a little large - this could be seen as complimentary and the hope is that the two "faults" will cancel each other out (not that this always happens of course).

Another issue to be considered is experience. If the bitch is "maiden" - ie not been mated previously - it makes sense to use an experienced stud dog who knows what he is doing. Mating two inexperienced dogs can often be problematic. Similarly, it makes sense to use an experienced bitch to an untested male.

As a final point, unless the stud dog owner is unethical and only in it for the money (eg the vast majority of owners offering their dogs at stud on E-pupz etc) then you are in a "sellers market" - you have to sell the idea of the mating to the stud dog owner. The majority of ethical breeders reject the majority of requests they get for stud from their dogs and only agree to the ones they believe will result in good matings and excellent quality puppies.

Mick

[marcos]

added to rep, mick.

Here is a very harsh article written by Laurie Niedermayer.

this is what made me second guess breeding my two huskies.

But this is just information.. not a lashing a wanting to breed...

Her article is only on your motivations for breeding...

Why? What are your motivations? Want to let the kids have a natural experience, think its best for your couch potato? Think you€™re doing the dog a favor by breeding a litter or 2 or 10 before spaying? Because your dog is so sweet and everybody wants a pup from him/her? Because you want to make money? Because you want to buy that big screen TV? Or Computer? Or?

If you are breeding dogs just to sell to pet homes - no matter what your motivation is - you are a puppy mill.

There are a lot of individuals who jump up & down and castigate others for being a puppy mill and justify their actions by being self appointed saints - saying only they breed good dogs, only they do the health checks, they sell only to €˜approved homes€™ and insist on spaying and neutering. These are the people who are €œBackyard breeders€œ. Just because their animals are kept in clean situations does not mean they are any better than any puppy mill. Case in point - if you have a couple of dogs and have bred more than one litter per year and been in the sport/breed less than 5 years - YOU really need to check your motivation for doing so - because you are a fine line/step away from being a puppy mill. Let those who live in glass houses not cast the first stone.

Why?

Breeding as it pertains to the sport of dogs - is supposed to be done to IMPROVE the breed, or in the case of the hybrid performance dogs - to improve performance/speed - not just because you have a nice dog or for any of the above reasons.

If you are not actively pursuing working your dog - in either a specialized aspect or combination of conformation sports, and whatever the dog/breed was originally bred for - you probably should not be breeding. In the case of this writers experience we will be dealing with the over breeding of sled dogs. No matter the breed.

If you are a recreational €˜musher€™ who spends weekends with your dog playing around - and then the rest of the time the dog hangs out at the house, cuddles, sleeps on the bed, has toys, grooming and socialization out the wazoo- then congratulations - you are exactly the kind of pet home I would want for my pups. But are you the kind of home I want to have breeding my dogs? Not on your life.

Why?

Chances are you haven€™t been involved with the breed for very long. You are an instant expert - know all there is to know about the sport, the breed etc and you have been hanging out in your little corner of the world for less than 5 years. You may have lucked out and found a decent mentor - most likely not. You may or may not have ever followed the racing or show or obedience circuit. You have a nice dog. That€™s it. Sure - you may have purchased or been given your first dog by a respectable breeder, you may even have a show title on him or her. Heck - anyone can have their dogs eyes and hips certified.

Does that mean you should breed it?

Without being proven? In my opinion no. I would ask for opinions from other breeders that I respect and trust, I would want to see the dog working under harness - and not just for a few miles playing around - I am talking about 30 - 40 km per day runs, not 2 or 3 mile jaunts. Structural problems show up after consistent 10 mile runs. You should want to see several conformation show titles and preferably even obedience titles on several of the dogs from any kennel or on your own dogs first - before even considering a breeding.

Why?

This discussion has been forefront in several prominent breeders/rescue organizations I have been involved with over the last few months. The one thing that comes up consistently is the why of breeding. Why are so many novices jumping on the €œI am a reputable breeder bandwagon?€

The general consensus from those who have been around for a long time - is that there is a general lack of €™KNOWING€™ in the dog sport world of today.

If you are breeding dogs and you have less than five years experience - you lack the knowledge that really working and training them is all about. You lack the knowledge of reading and recognizing pedigrees and health issues pertaining to each bloodline. You lack the knowledge of recognizing a dog€™s faults & strengths.

If you are breeding for performance - can you honestly say that you have spent the months, weeks, days & hours working with your dogs. Recognizing structural inadequacies, temperament issues and stresses that actively working your dogs and racing bring about. Have you ever actually tested your dogs and yourself against other teams of dogs to see whether or not you really have good animals to even begin considering breeding? Chances are you haven€™t.

Every day rescue groups are bombarded with requests to take on someone else€™s problem. The dog escapes, the dog kills cats/chickens etc. The dog is aggressive, the dog doesn€™t pull. The dog is defective for whatever reason. The reality is that the people who bought the dog probably got it from someone like you - who has a flowery contract, screens the prospective puppy person, says all the right things, and means well - but doesn€™t really GET it.

This may seem harsh and judgmental - but needs to be said. For the sake of the dogs.

Before jumping up and down and getting on the holier than thou bandwagon and wanting to know how I can say such things€ remember €

I am only asking you to really examine your motivations for why you breed.

How many hours have YOU personally spent going to shelters, working with animal rescue, taking on fostering of unwanted sled dogs, retraining and re-homing them? How many of those dogs needing rescue have you taken on and spent months working with to try to save and then ultimately have to give in the fight and have the animal put down? How many of you have held a dog in need as it is being administered the final shot that will bring it respite? How many of you have spent hours cuddling and crying with/over an abused animal to try to gain it€™s trust. How many of you have ever actually taken back a dog of your breeding after it has been turned in to rescue or the local SPCA?

So unless you are actively trying to improve the breed, not breeding because you have nice/beautiful dogs or want to sell puppies, unless you are actively working them and testing them against others in your specified field - do the dogs and the rescue organizations a huge favor - don€™t breed.

Even really experienced breeders are sometimes caught by the lies of others in pursuit of some trait or coat color or something they want.

To those who would still like to be breeders: Find a true mentor in the breed, study at their feet, take their advice and learn from their wisdom in the hopes that if you are intent on doing this at least some mistakes can be avoided.

TEMPERAMENT

If you are breeding to improve you will want to keep your best (Sled, Show, Obedience, Agility, Herding etc, Dog)

What then are you passing on to others? If most of what you sell goes out to the general population, how will they fit in? Too many never think if it will be the correct situation for that particular dog.

Very recently someone I know got a new pup, her third Siberian, just for a pet. The comments were, "If I was not educated in this breed this dog would have been gone long ago, and likely turned up in rescue!" Even if the home checks are done, is this the right dog for the home.

People who breed to improve are on the right track but if they can't keep all that they breed, they should breed less.

[Mazz]

You know, I used to think breeding a bitch, letting her have a litter of puppies, was a good thing to do. Given the number of dogs that end up in shelters, that are euthenised, that roam, plus the fact that I know absolutley nothing about the subject, I came to realize that this is something that should be left to those who are professional. I used to have Irish Setters, and I had my female bred. Put an add in the paper, and sold the pups. At the end, I was almost giving them away. When I became interested in Siberain Huskies, I thought a bit about starting a kennel, but soon became aware of the amount of study, dedication to the show circuit, and all I really wanted to do, was give my girl my time. So, I'm a Husky owner, and not a Husky breeder. Some breeders really get into the genetics, dominant and recessive traits, it's pretty high tech. The kennel we acauired Zoya from, will not under any circumstances, let out any of their dogs for stud.

Don't take this the wrong way Mark. I think it's natural to want to have your dog bred and let her have a litter of puppies. What I think most folks are saying, there's a lot more to it than what you may want. Consideration for the breed, that is what must be paramount. From your other posts, am I correct that Laska is a mixed, part wolf? If that is the case, no reputible breeder would allow their dog to be used for stud. Here in the US, in some states it is illegal to own or breed wolf hybrids. I'm not trying to be harsh, nor pour cold water on your idea. But to make you think and study this issue, and realize there are more issues at hand than just wanting to let Laska have a litter to carry on her line. Giving puppies away is not always a good idea. Those that receive a "free" puppy do not always take the responsibility of ownership to the level that they should.