Hi all,
Can i please start by saying that i am a complete novice, therefor all the advise i get will be cosidered to its full....i am not out for a quick buck i am genuinely interested in doing this in the best and most competent way.
Right with that out the way....
I am the proud owner of a FANTASTIC 8 and a half month old Goldie called BENSON. he is an absolute star and both me and my other half have fallen in love with him, hes like our first child. He has a great life (i hope) and think it would be sa crime not to use all his attributes in breeding. We were going to give him the snip a few months ago cos he was a bit boistrous but now hes settled we've decided against this as we want to keep him a whole dog!!
We are both genuinely interested in using him to stud therefor any help suggestions would be extremely grateful. i dont want to rush into this, thers plenty of time for us all, especially him
thankyou
Gavin

Hi
maybe you could contact your local breed club and chat to other stud dog owners good luck

Hello Gavin and welcome to the Forum :) Do you show Benson at all? One of the best ways to use him at stud would be to be seen winning at shows , he will have ladies queueing up for him :D

You will also need to have all the relevant health checks done on him when he is old enough (Hips , eyes) . You may be better off going back to his breeder and asking him/her what lines they want to use ..its a complicated business :)

HTH

Melody :)

thankyou for your reply,
I'd love to show Benson but he's got the attention span of goldfish, all he wants to do is play (puppy class is an event in itself).
I'm gonna work on him and hopefully in a few months time i may be able to show him, enough people have asked if were going to!
As for the advice on getting in touch with his breeder i think that may just be the best option. i know that they work on both stud dogs and bitches (and having met the family i know there not producing factory puupies) so they should help me.
thanks again
Gavin

I would advise getting him to Ringcraft classes. goldens are shown stacked in the ring, that is with four feet placed and one hand holding the head and the other the tail, though there is nothing to prevent you showing freestanding.

Once he has learnt how to move on a loose lead at a nice trot, and learnt about having his bits felt for and teeth examined, and body touched all over by the judge, you will be ready to enter some puppy classes at Open shows.

There is also a certain amount of coat trimming to learn for the show ring.

Your breeder should be able to advise.

Far fewer males are used for breeding than bitches, so bitch owners will want to use the best males on their bitches, and their show or work record will be part of the decision as to if they will use him. Breeders can't be expected to use a dog they have not seen or know nothing about.

Don't worry about him behaving as a puppy, as so will other pups, that is why there are classes for different ages and levels of experience. there is usually a Novice class for dofgs no9t having won 3 first, as well as Puppy and Junior classes in a popular breed like goldens.

Thankyou for a very helpfull reply...looks like i found the best site for any doggie advice.
Ringcraft is certainly going to be an option...wether or not we decide to breed from benson i would really like to show him.
He goes to his local puppy class (where hes just passed his good citizens award!!) so hopefully his teacher will know where the nearest ringcraft class is.
God help us!
thank you lots
Gavin

As you are a novice, I would leave the stud work to the experts, it's a lot more difficult than you would imagine, enjoy Benson, have some fun with him.

Barbara

Er, experts started off as novices once. At least the poster is getting the guidance of his breeder, and seeking help and advice - AND committing to showing his dog. There are a lot of so called "experts" out there who haven't done as much.

There is a lot more to having a stud dog than just because you think he is wonderful. I am sure he is, but if you start to use him at stud when you take him for a walk he could well start to become a very dominant boy and be difficult with other males. A boy is also hard work when people have walked a bitch in season without having a stud that knows what it is all about.

Also unless he gets regular stud work he could become a nuisance. Did you get him from a breeder who is a retriever club member, I would really suggest that you have a long talk with the breeder.

Breeding done properly is a very serious business making sure everything is checked, knowing the line history, etc.