Can anyone help me?Looking for a suitable bitch to mate my stud dog with ,with the view to retain a pup(Ridgeback)He has exellent lines and Hip Score.Have tried breeders I know but they only want to use their own dogs (which is fair enough).Any help would be appreciated!
Regards J.Turner

Hi guest, bit confused, if your dog is a stud dog, then why do you not just ask the next client for pick of the litter instead of a fee, providing that the bitch has the qualities you like, but then you would not allow them to use your dog if you did not think it a good match. Not sure about the practice within the R/R breed but using your own stud is not very usual and as you have a stud you must know that else your hound would not be a stud, if you see what I mean. May be those you have approached just do not like your dog.

Why not join and explain what your problem is.

There are many people who want their stud dogs used but these dogs no matter how good, do not get used, it could be fashion it could be the dogs have faults the other breeders do not like. The only way to ensure that you get a puppy would be to buy a bitch and breed a litter yourself, There are many disadvantages to this though, as you have the extra costs of buying a potential dam, and then if she is good enough and healthy enough you can have a litter. However there are bitches who never produce any puppies, there are bitches who have problems while carrying a litter, whelping could be a problem too. Then you have to find good homes for the other puppies.... Need I go on?
It's a tough choice and there are pitfalls either way. I wonder if you are pushing your dog too hard to other breeders? This can make people stop and think why are they so desparate?
I have been in your situation, I had a wonderful gentle dog who some nasty people in my breed spread rumours he was hard mouthed, noisy and bad tempered, so nobody would use him at stud, until (sadly too late) a breeder who was not prepared to believe any gossip she was told came to see him for herself, and she brought her dogs with her male and female. My dear old boy let all these strange dogs into our house and did not bother any of them.  Before he could mate her bitch he died. I bought in a bitch to mate to him in the hope of a puppy of his as he was an excellent worker. The bitch became very ill about her first birthday and her treatment included a high steroid dosage, which left her unable to be bred from. I couldn't have another  bitch as I had a 16 year old, my boy and his mother who was 11 years and my young bitch. So I never got a puppy from that boy. His mother only ever produced that one puppy, and his sire was never used by anyone else. so now due to some very unpleasant people, that whole breeding line is totally lost to the breed.

The only way to get your dog used as stud is let him be seen by breeders and the only practical way to do this is to show him. You say he has excellent lines & hip score, but is he a good example of the breed? Sometimes you just have to accept that however much you would like your dog's offspring, others will not agree with your assessment of your dog or take the risk of using an unknown. If you buy a bitch yourself & breed a good litter, you may find others become interested & will want to use him - by which time, of course, you won't want a puppy. Catch 22! 

I'd suggest you try entering him in a couple of shows and see how he gets on. That would also be the best place to meed other rr owners and maybe you'll find the perfect bitch there and an owner who wants to use your boy.

I wouldn't suggest that you buy a bitch and breed a litter yourself as then you'll have the 'problem' of keeping her after she's been 'used', as well as the puppy you desire. Then there's keeping them apart in the future etc, etc.

I'm sure you'll find the right bitch if you look hard enough - but she'll probably not belong to a breeder as they will want a stud who has proved himself.

The original post says that the dog is a stud dog, so I assume that it must have been used at stud. That is why I can't understand the problem.

I got the impression that he was looking for a first mating Maybe he would like his dog to be a stud or maybe he didn't like any of the bitches his dog has been used on?

Guest - why not join the forum and tell us a bit more?

True, I was only going by the fact that the dog was called a stud dog, most people only call a dog a stud if he is used on a regular basis. But if he is not a stud and is just a family pet the post makes more sense, still if the guest joins we will know. If it is a family pet it would be best to buy a puppy from his lines from his breeder, much easier and not nearly so risky.

:) True. If it's only the one pup he wants then it makes more sense but if he uses his dog then he gets the pup for 'free'.

Guest - just don't think that the new pup will be an exact copy of your own. Lots of things will influence his charactor from genetics to the fact that he will have a lower pack ranking :)