I AM LOOKING FOR A BLUE STUD DOG, MUST BE KC REGISTERED. MY BITCH IS DUE TO BE MATED 20TH JUNE
PLEASE CONTACT ME IF YOU HAVE GOT A DOG OR KNOW OF ONE

Firstly you've left it too late.
Secondly you don't say what breed.
Thirdly colour should not be your primary concern...health,breed type and suitability should be you're primary search criteria
Archer

Also has you dog had all the necessary health tests?  As the other poster has said you've left it way to late to be looking for a stud now.  How old is your girl/  Leave it until next time if she's old enough and do your homework into finding a suitable line for your girl. 

I had both the stud and girl at my house recently and could of mated them but I decided that it just wasn't the right timing for me so didn't do it.  There's no rush, I'm sure.

I KNOW WHEN MY DOG IS DUE TO BE MATED AND SHE HAS GOT ANOTHER WEEK YET, ALSO I DO CHECK THE DOG THAT IS AVAILABLE FOR STUD IT IS NOT JUST A CASE OF COLOUR, I HAVE BRED BEFORE I AM NOT A COMPLETE NUMPTY. MY BITCH IS A BLACK BRINDLE STAFFY SHE IS 2 YEARS OLD VET CHECKED IN GOOD HEALTH KC REGISTERED AND HAS GOT NO HEALTH PROBLEMS, I WOULD ALSO CHECK THAT THE STUD DOG WAS OF EQUAL QUALITY TO  MY OWN.AND IF I WANT TO USE A BLUE DOG THEN THAT IS MY CHOICE.

With my dogs that I breed from I spend at least a year thinking of what dogs would be best suited, still stand by me saying that a week is too short a time to be looking for a stud dog.  Hope that you find a suitable boy for your girl and that they've both had whatever health tests are needed for this breed.  A vet check is not always what's needed but I don't know what health problems your breed suffers with.

What are your dogs hipscores?

There are also her eyes to think about..

A week!!!!!!!!!!!!! It takes MONTHS if not longer to find a suitable stud.What are your bitches faults? What would the studs strengths need to be to compensate for these weaknesses? What breed lines are producing the type of dogs that most suit your bitch?
You also state its got to be local....GOOD responsible breeders will travel hundreds of miles for a stud.
Archer

Not only does it take months (took me a year or so!) but there is nothing to say the bitch will be ready to mate in a week, it can vary even between seasons, she could be ready tomorrow. At least wait until the next season!

Marianne

Ice queen, i think you will find It is unusual for breeders of staffs to hip score .

sarah
x

Is that because there are a lot of irresponsible Staff breeders out there?  Just looked on the latest copy of the BVA HD mean scores (10/01/05) and there were only 29 dogs scored - 29!!!! How many Staffies are there in this country?  When you compare it to the 10,516 rotties scored its a scary thought! Or the 35,567 GSD's or 27,367 Golden Retrievers or even the labs at 49,615! I think this is outragous!

Is it a test that should be carried out on Staffs then? I had no idea Staffs should be hip scorred. I knew about eye tests but not hips, any breeders/owners who know more?

The Staff breed council does not recommend hip screening as there is not a sizeable problem, unlike the other breeds mentioned. Eye testing is another matter, I believe that all Staffs should be eye tested as there is a known problem, but it is recommended by the breed council not compulsory. As with any non-compulsory scheme it is down to individual owners and their consciences! Perhaps one day the KC will require testing. Unfortunately many of the puppy wanting public are uninformed of the tests recommended for their breeds so awareness needs raising.

I am not sure they would know if there was a sizeable problem with scoring jsut 29 dogs?????

All breeds can get Hip dysplasia, and of those scored they have scored up to 29 so should be looing to find the overall picture in the breed.

A breed in my group doesn't routinely score, adn a few have been scored and had terrible scores, so in my opinion aqll dogs shoudl be hip scored before consdiering them for breeding.

One of teh best hip status wise are Siberian Huskies (average 7) yet they score to ensure it stays that way.

I agree with Enfielrotts, that is appalling! I think hip scoring should be compulsory for KC registration in ALL breeds, eye testing too.

Elfinrotts....what were the scores like?
Archer

they are 6-23 - not that high I know but surely if more were scored, at least 100 we would be able to get a better understanding??? Esp given the amount of puppies for sale etc, not a day goes by where I dont see a Staffy, not that I dont like the breed cos I think they are great I just think there could be further testing?

For instance, how often do you see a Leonberger in the street?  870 have been scored and although tthe lowest was 0 and the highest was 89 the BMS is 12, I wonder if it may be lower if there were fewer Leo's scored?? I hope you follow what I mean, basicially I don't think we can say there is not a problem with hips in the breed when only 29 have been scored???

Just found this quote on a mastiff site, very apt.

"To be serious now, if you don't hip score you can avoid knowing you have a problem. There is a poor correlation between the clinical signs of HD and hip status as revealed by an x-ray, but even if your dog does show symptoms you can always put them down to something less unpalatable than an inherited defect. Hip scoring might tell you something you'd rather not know. If I didn't hip score I too could claim "never had any problem with HD" as there'd be no evidence to the contrary"

Think some breed clubs really need to get their act together.

Agreed Husky :)

If there's a poor correlation between scores and symptoms what is the point of scoring? Can a dog have a high score and never have symptoms and vice versa?

I know a dog can have a poor score and be perfectly sound and fully active ... whether the same can be said the other way around I don't know.

The effect seems to vary from dog to dog - one dog with a score of 48 can appear perfectly normal, whereas one with a score of 45 can be in a lot of pain.

Yes they can, that is the point of scoring! You can't tell just by looking.

The issue with hipscoring is the testing itself is not without risk, unlike an eyetest, therefore I think you really have to justify its use within a breed before deciding it is desirable.

There is no risk in hip scoring....it can be done without full anaesthetic.That is IMO no excuse.
Archer

Sedation is not without risk either, or are you saying they need neither?

The BVA says that "It is NECESSARY to employ general anaesthesia, narcosis or deep sedation to enable only mechanical (ie non-manual) restraint for the positioning of the animal."

All of those procedures carry risk.

having a litter carries a risk also, not only to the bitch but the health and happiness of the puppies and their owners if they turn out to have bad hips.............

I agree, all the risks and benefits have to be weighed up but clearly those risks and benefits will vary from breed to breed and therefore the decision will vary.

Well with a mean of 12 and a range up to 23 of the few scored it certainly would seem prudent to start scoring to ascertain if there is a problem and if there isn't to ensure it doesn't become one.

It only needs the dogs with a score of 23 or higher to be ones well used at stud for the picture to very quickly change for the worse.

When there are very few scored I think the statistics can mislead as it may be that people who suspect their dog has a problem may choose to score.  Of course that does mean there are individuals with a problem but how small a proportion they are in a very large in number breed remains uncertain.  I think the best guide as to whether the risk/benefit balance of any particular breed is in favour of scoring is if the Breed Club recommend it as they represent the very largest consensus within a breed that you could possibly meet.

Hi,
My Inlaws breed and showed Staffs for years,
They had all there Staffs Hip scored.
My Father Inlaw is very up on Hipscores and Temprement,
in Staffs.
Lots of his Staffs were placed.
Regards
Denese

can you still have hips checked if your dogs are over 12 months?

yea they can be done at any age over 12 months, some people do not score until 18 months for their breed.

It's the earliest they can be done ;)

Teri

oops :rolleyes: typing with Tohme :P

They can't be done until 12 months at lest.  Scores can worsen with age if theya re poor but a good score is inlikley to be affected more than a few points by age.

Two littermates I bred teh bitch was scored a t a eyar or so adn scored 7 and the dog was scored at 5 years old and scored 8.  In the USA OFA gradings can't be given until over two years old, but tyey don't ahve ouyr rule about only being allowed to do it once so many have Preliminary gradings under two, and then redo them at two.  teh unfortunate side effect is that those who get bad prelims don't redo them so things seem better than they are.

Ok thanks for that information, I didn't know they wern't hipscored.  however surprises me as I have heard of many staffs who have HD.  Is there a reason for not hip scoring or is it just that it's not common practise in the breed like most other breeds?

Also a rfeputable stud owner would need more than a weeks notice in order to one ensure the dog was available,a dn two to check out the bitches pedigree lines to see it they suited his dogs, and also to ascertain the bitches quality prior to agreeing to allow their dogs to be used.  Reserching takes time.

Your bitch shoudl at least be eye tested,a dn preferably Hip Scored as there have been not so good scores in the breed.

Also - your bitch needs to be carring the blue gene to produce blue pups - or it not worth puting her to a blue dog.

A lot of blue dogs are not of good quality so please look carfully :-)

Jo

my friend just had a litter by her black bitch and a blue dog,she got a lovely litter of seven black staffys,
louzola

My blue girl had 8 black brindle pups - because the stud was not carring blue.

I new this but was not breeding for colour - only quality to show!

Jo