stud dog

[Hattrick]

I have 7 males that are 6 wks old now. And im looking at keeping a pup to have as a stud .Problem is all these males are dam nice in one way or the other. I no they change by the day. So what do most of you look for in picking a pup at this young age? I have intoduced them to birds at about 4 wks, they all point...I may try to post pics here soon.

[Vision]

I have 7 males that are 6 wks old now. And im looking at keeping a pup to have as a stud .Problem is all these males are dam nice in one way or the other. I no they change by the day. So what do most of you look for in picking a pup at this young age? I have intoduced them to birds at about 4 wks, they all point...I may try to post pics here soon.

Pedigree, Markings/Pattern,Nose, style and confidence not in that specific order.

[Karen]

Structure.

[Hattrick]

We got pedigree for sure in this breeding. I'm just trying to evaulate these pups from my litter.I'm pulling my hair out. I got hot stuff with style,lots of high tail, nice head pieces, light dark, solid heads, sum with blazes. I guess i need to post pics

[Hattrick]

I have my eye on one pup that is the larger of the lot. He alot times sleeps away from the others hes mild temperment, big head and chesty and always nose to the ground.

[Ridge-Point]

I like to see a pup that is bold and independent with good conformation.

Your best chance to get a Stud quality pup is to keep all the males till they are a couple years old, then sell the others as started or finished dogs.

[ST8 UPPOINTERS]

I would go with conformation and coloring at this point, i'm not a fan of a dog running with its nose to the ground tho..jmo

[DonF]

This young, good pedigree just close your eyes and grab one. If not that, sit with them out and around you and let a pup pick you. With pups that young nothing is sure. Trust the pedigree, they'll change a lot in the next several months.

[RayGubernat]

I guess the first thing you should have is a VERY clear idea of what it is you want in your stud dog. That may or may not be what you might want in your hunting dog, but whatever it is, you should have it clearly in your mind.

I have found that the Volhard Puppy Aptitude test is a fairly accurate predicterof temperament traits in the adult dog. You can Google it on the net and have a friend read up on it and administer it to the dogs. It most certainly can helpseparate the dogs, based on temperament. I generally only do four tests, Following, retrieving, dominance(flipping the dog on its back, and the resiliency test(pinching to see if the dog comes back for more). It really does work.

As far as conformation, I saw a video some years back which started out with the premise that a puppy that was EXACTLTY eight weeks old , to the day, is a miniature of the adult dog and thus can be evaluated at that point in time for conformation. I don't know if I buy into that one, but since your guys are almost there, it might be worth stacking them up at eight weeks...just to see.

I always wanted the pup out of a litter that wanted me and was willing to fight off the others to keep me for themselves.

RayG

RayG

[mcbosco]

Structure.

Still a crapshoot but, all else being equal, the pup that looks like it has too much bone than it should.

[PntrRookie]

Still a crapshoot...

This sums it up...come on...at 6 weeks trying to pick your next stud dog...really? I am with the poster who stated to keep all the males and evaluate them for the next 2 years and THEN ask this question. Or pick 2, sell the rest with breeding rights and watch them develop under the new owners. Right now you are rolling the dice and should be in Vegas. JMO

[stlgsp]

As far as conformation, I saw a video some years back which started out with the premise that a puppy that was EXACTLTY eight weeks old , to the day, is a miniature of the adult dog and thus can be evaluated at that point in time for conformation. I don't know if I buy into that one, but since your guys are almost there, it might be worth stacking them up at eight weeks...just to see. RayG

Pat Hastings put together the video after years of evaluating litters. According to her, conformation should be evalutated at 8 weeks, plus or minus 3 days. Have been to her "Structure in Action" seminar where she evaluated a couple of litters of pups as well as several adult dogs, she does a great job explaining the effects of structure. Was well worth the time.

[ultracarry]

Eliminate the blazes from your list... how many did I help you with?

[dan v]

Still a crapshoot...

This sums it up...come on...at 6 weeks trying to pick your next stud dog...really? I am with the poster who stated to keep all the males and evaluate them for the next 2 years and THEN ask this question. Or pick 2, sell the rest with breeding rights and watch them develop under the new owners. Right now you are rolling the dice and should be in Vegas. JMO

+2

I field a couple of phone calls per year in which somebody invariably owns "a nice male" and would like to get him bred. They call asking if I would be interested in either of two things. 1) Using their unproven male on one of our females. or 2) Leasing one of our females to breed to their "nice dog."

Stud dogs should be a very rare thing...as they all don't make studs, just like they don't all make grouse dogs or they all don't make FT dogs.

And lastly...you can own nearly any stud in the country for the price of a plane ticket.

[ST8 UPPOINTERS]

[rinker]

Your best chance to get a Stud quality pup is to keep all the males till they are a couple years old, then sell the others as started or finished dogs.

I agree with this statement, except that you need to breed ten litters and keep and evaluate all of the males.

[PntrRookie]

...you can own nearly any stud in the country for the price of a plane ticket.

Cha Ching! I had a NSTRA CH (I know, not a FC) GSP male that I thought the doors would drop off from all the pounding to get to him, WRONG. Ain't gonna happen!

[ezzy333]

You will have no idea which if any of the pups should be bredd till they have had a chance to prove themselves, Till that time pich one or two you like the best and then wait for three or four years and see what you think. Stud quality should depend on conformation, trainability, hunting ability, and companionship.

Ezzy

[Hattrick]

Ultracarry thats funny i'm not a fan of the blaze either. Bad thing is most of them have blazes go figure never thought i would of gotten that out this litter. I think it came from Tango 4 generations back on my bitches side. So i'm looking past that now.

[ST8 UPPOINTERS]

what makes a good stud dog is the quality of the pups they throw, nothing more nothing less! imo

[Munster]

As far as conformation, I saw a video some years back which started out with the premise that a puppy that was EXACTLTY eight weeks old , to the day, is a miniature of the adult dog and thus can be evaluated at that point in time for conformation. I don't know if I buy into that one, but since your guys are almost there, it might be worth stacking them up at eight weeks...just to see. RayG

Pat Hastings put together the video after years of evaluating litters. According to her, conformation should be evalutated at 8 weeks, plus or minus 3 days. Have been to her "Structure in Action" seminar where she evaluated a couple of litters of pups as well as several adult dogs, she does a great job explaining the effects of structure. Was well worth the time.

X2 check her out. Of coarse this is just the conformation end of it. But it is a good place to start. I think you can even bring dogs to her or have her come to you.