We have decided after a lot of thought to have another Ridgeback.  We have a male who is almost 10 years old - is this too old to offer him for stud for a first time?  I can see from this website that many of the studs on offer are show dogs and ours is purely a pet.  He is a beautiful dog mentally and physically and we ideally would like him to Sire pups so we could have one of them.  If anyone would be kind enough to provide be with advice and how to get him hip scored.  He was bought as a pedigree and we have his papers but I am not aware of how good his breeding lines are.

Many thanks
Rachel

The short answer is that this is a very bad idea for a lot of different reasons. There is an article here on CD which will tell you the very basics about offering a dog at stud:
http://www.champdogsforum.co.uk/board/topic/55104.html

Nobody would entertain a 10 year old unproven dog, most dogs are retired from a stud carer at this age. If you want another dog from his line don't use him get in contact with his original breeder or do some research into his pedigree to see if there are any current lines that are similar.

Nobody would entertain a 10 year old unproven dog

Irresponsible breeders no doubt would, those only out to earn enough money for a holiday or similar -the exact ones we should all avoid like the plague.

>Nobody would entertain a 10 year old unproven dog

Sadly an unethical person might - particularly if they didn't have to pay, they might think it worth the risk.  These are the very people you should be wary of: yes they *might* offer you a puppy in exchange for his services BUT, and there are huge buts in this case, this is likely to be the sort of breeder you'd ordinarily avoid like the plague!

I know that having a puppy from your lad sounds very appealing - the truth is that you are likely to be able to get exactly what you want by going to the same breeder, or similar lines, or even just a very good breeder with dogs you like.  This way you'd get to choose the puppy and temperament that suits you and your family.  Imagine being in a situation when you've mated your boy with a poor standard of bitch (as this is the type that may come to you) and you have to choose your next dog from a small litter of not terribly good specimens.  You'd feel obliged to have one - but it may not be what you really want.

I know I'm painting a negative picture but at 10 years old, and with no history of show results to demonstrate he's a good example, your lad isn't likely to get his pick of suitable mates.  It's also worth thinking about what you are expecting of him.  A hip score at his age is probably a procedure he won't benefit from and by the time you've got results and found a possible mate your lad could be at least another 6 months older.  You have no experience of mating so it could be very stressful for him, to say nothing of possible injuries.  It's far from being an easy process and nature doesn't always 'take it's course' !! 

Just buy a puppy instead - it'll be cheaper in the long run and much safer for all concerned.  Sorry if it's not what you really wanted to hear :)

Hi Rachel, aside from all the pro's and con's people have listed here, a huge concern for me would be putting a 10year old dog under a General Anaesthetic for hipscoring.. some breeders have lost strong healthy young dogs through complications.. It's certainly not something I would even consider for an 'elderly' dog...

As a dog get older, he loses fertility, and many breeders retire their dogs around 8 years old.. The chances of any bitch owner wishing to use your boy, are not really those you would want, and most breeders will have the choice of the best

If he is such a wonderful dog, I would be inclined to go back to the breeder, perhaps she will have, or know of pups from similar lines..

Hi Rachel,
your boy sounds like he has proven what a superb pet he is that you want another just like him but like the others I would say don't do it!
ethical breeders won't want to use him at stud due to age/lack of show history/lack of health tests and you really don't want your next pup to come from the type of people who would want to use him without that as you can bet that type of person won't have a nice health tested bitch who has a good life but is more likely to be either a puppy farmer or else someone who is crossing fingers and hoping for best off a pet bitch-and theres loads that can go horribly wrong breeding if you go for crossed fingers approach.
if you did have the health tests done they are expensive and would hold a degree of risk to his health as mean anasthetic-not something to put a large breed older dog through unless its very importent.
finally think on this... your boy is currently a lovely member of your household... he has never had sex.  how is he going to feel once he has had a taste of that?  what you haven't had you don't miss but what if he constantly longs to repeat the experience after his one go? you could end up with a very fustrated dog with an altered personality.
one huge advantage with pedigree dogs is you can look at the pedigree and find a relation.. ok it won't be his son or daughter but it may well be a great neice so still a lot of your lad there :)

Hi Rachel

I can really understand your desire to have a pup from your boy, but you have been given some excellent advice.

I have had RRs for over 25 years and would be delighted to try to help to find you a lovely pup of similar lines or type to your wonderful boy. If you would like to pm me, please feel free :)

ok it won't be his son or daughter but it may well be a great neice so still a lot of your lad there :-)

Oh I can testify to this! I don't breed or show Cavaliers, but I had my Rufus as a pet for 15 years. I was heartbroken when he died a few weeks ago, and I knew I wanted another. I went back to the same breeder and got a pup whose Great Great Great Grandmother was the mother of Rufus, and it felt so RIGHT and despite it being such a distant relative, the lines are the same and I recognise Rufus in little Monty all the time. :)

Congratulations on the new addition Marrianne.
Just been to take a peek at young Monty, very nice puppy........ and obviously settling right in!

Thanks. He's great! :) Just this minute changed his web page as I had managed to put his grandmother's name instead of his mother's! <blush>

I was just going to suggest getting a relative Marianne! I'm so glad things are working out with Monty. I know when George goes (not for a LONG time I hope) hubby wants to get a relative.

>Oh I can testify to this! I don't breed or show Cavaliers, but I had my Rufus as a pet for 15 years. I was heartbroken when he died a few weeks ago, and I knew I wanted another. I went back to the same breeder and got a pup whose Great Great Great Grandmother was the mother of Rufus, and it felt so RIGHT and despite it being such a distant relative, the lines are the same and I recognise Rufus in little Monty all the time. :-)

Personally I wouldn't wish to put a 10 yr old dog under a GA for the purpose of hip scoring.