I have a lovely cocker spaniel bitch who is just about ready to get pregnant for her first litter. She has been checked over by the vet who says that she is in tip top condition.

Is there anyone out there who could give me some advice about how to go about finding a suitable stud dog to mate with our bitch (Sally)?

We do actually have some friends who we helped them to find and then buy a male cocker at christmas. He is a lovely dog (very lively), and we often take him for walks with us and our dogs so they are fairly acquainted with one another. The original plan was to use dylan as the stud dog for Sally. i am now concerned that this may not be a good idea. For one, neither my friend or myself have any experience in mating dogs and i have come to realise in some of the research that i have done on this subject that it isnt always straight forward and can be a fairly tricky excercise. i also have my concerns in that i do not know how much a stud dog would expect in payment and so on. All this taken into account i am thinking that to do this properly and use a recognised stud dog would be better all round.

So now i am in a position to learn as much as i can about this subject and to do the best for my Sally and have ultimately the best, happiest and healthiest outcome.

Any replies on this subject would be greatly appreciated!

Liffy

It is good that you are rethinking your plan to mate your bitch to your friend's dog as there are many things to consider when choosing a stud dog. It is not a good idea to use an inexperienced pet dog as a stud dog on a novice bitch when both owners are also inexperienced - you just do not have the knowledge to judge whether this is a good match & neither of you have the experience to manage a mating, not to mention the possible adverse affects on your friend's dog's behaviour if you were successful in achieving a mating (many dogs do alter in personality once they have been used at stud).You say your vet says Sally is in tip top condition & I'm sure she is, but if you plan on breeding from her she should be eye-tested for PRA (something only a specialist can do) & any stud dog you choose should also be eye-tested (eye testing should be carried out on an annual basis for all Cockers intended for breeding) You then need to have knowledge of Cocker pedigrees so you can assess what breeding lines would go well with Sally's - there are hereditary problems in the breed (like the eye disease PRA mentioned before & also the kidney disease, Familial Nephropathy) & you need to know what dogs have produced these problems in the past so you can avoid mating Sally to a dog with a risky or incompatible pedigree. If Sally came from an experienced, reputable breeder, then he or she is the best person to advise you on Cocker pedigrees & on what stud dog would suit her best. If a responsible breeder, she/he will also advise whether you should go ahead with breeding from Sally. You need to know whether she is a good example of the breed, does she have any undesirable breed faults for example? You need to do a lot of homework before you get ready to breed a litter & it may be that you should postpone for a while while you do the necessary research - it will be worth it in the long run :-)