Hello
I have a beagle who will be six soon. Is he too old to breed now and if not whats the best place to advertise etc? I've always had intentions of doing it as he's a stud ;-)
Any help appreciated

http://www.champdogsforum.co.uk/board/topic/55104.html

This may be of interest.

Hi! He's certainly on the old side to start a stud career. I'm assuming he's KC registered and has no endorsements on his registration? Before being used he'll need to be DNA tested for Musladin-Leuke Syndrome and Neonatal Cerebellar Cortical Degeneration (information in links here, and it would be helpful to have him x-rayed and hipscored (the breed mean score is 22, when the ideal is 0, so there is a problem) as well. These tests will cost you a few hundred pounds.

As for advertising him; usually bitch owners see the dogs they'd like to use at shows; if the dogs are successful and their pedigree is compatible then they ask if they can use him. He's definitely senior to be starting a show career, but if he's good enough to be bred from then he'll be reasonably successful.

(By the way, you can't describe him as 'a stud' until he's been used at stud. At the moment he's just 'entire'.)

Like JG says, you get your dog seen and wanted when he wins at shows (or at trials of whatever sort, depending on what the breed is used for).  I would also add that it isn't really the "done" thing to advertise a dog at stud -few responsible breeders do, although some of course do exist, in particular the very top breeders. Most dogs you see advertised at stud tend to be pure pet dogs belonging to people just wanting to make a quick buck, and so responsible bitch owners would never even look at such adverts. As a breeder myself, I have never chosen a stud dog on any other basis than having admired him at shows. I have my eye on a dog at the moment that I have seen at a couple of shows, I will keep watching him with interest and then maybe ask his owner if I can use him in approximately 3 years time. Choosing the right stud dog often does take several years as the bitch owner wants to be certain they pick the right dog for their bitch. I'd want to see a dog a lot more than once at shows, and ideally also see previous offspring from him, although of course that isn't always possible.

Once you have been asked for your dog to be used, you need to make sure YOU know what you are doing. Your dog as an older maiden may well NOT. Matings aren't for the faint hearted and aren't always as easy it it may seem. Which I commented on once again just before Christmas when standing bent double outside in the freezing cold, my back hurting, arms aching, whilst helping to hold two tied dogs still for the 20 minutes the tie lasted. :) Then you need to be prepared for the fact your dog may start to cock his leg indoors once he's been used. One dog I used at stud was 6 when I used him, the first time he'd been used, and although he was winning well at shows before, after the mating it took his owner a full year to get him back into the show ring properly and be made up to Champion (he won the first ever CC available for the breed a fortnight after the mating but then everything went to pot), as he was too preoccupied with looking for bitches all the time and even peed up one judge's leg in the ring!!

The link provided should help.

Bear in mind that responsible breeders breed to have something to show or work in any breed, and it is the surplus puppies that go to purely pet homes.

They will therefore be looking for the best stud dog for their girls, and make their choice of dogs that they have seen, and that have been assessed as good specimens of the breed.

So it really is the bitch owners who choose which dogs will be used at stud, and they have the choice fo the top dogs in the country, and will be looking foe the best they can find with a compatible pedigree.

So is your dog doing well at shows or in the working arena.  have owners of top class bitches admired him?

If so I assume you are a member of one or more of the breed clubs.  These will produce year books, and those who are happy to have their dogs used will usually advertise the fact in their review (advert) pages.

Any breeder who approaches a male dog owner just to use their dog so their bitch can reproduce with no good reason for doing so, no serious research into, and knowledge of the dogs in both pedigrees is to be avoided.  This kind of breeder is motivated purely by financial considerations, who will have skimped on the important aspects of breeding (selection for type health and temperament) and will sell to the first suitable or unsuitable person willing to buy, and there end their responsibilities for the puppies produced.

Morally as a stud dog owner as well as the breeder should be responsible to help with re-homing any puppies if the owner no longer can or wants t keep them.

If he comes from reputable breeder, I would contact them to discuss. You would need to know as much as you can about
his background and his breeder should be able to give you an idea if he is of standard that right kind of breeders
Might be interested in him if you got him health tested&out to few shows so he could be seen. Also he might have endorsements on his pedigree only the breeder can lift. If he is not kennel club registered you should just enjoy him as a pet& forget the idea..

If he's now 6, and hasn't been used at stud, good luck!    But why?   Is he a top quality animal with significant wins, even a Ch. title, to his name.   Has he been through all the relevant KC/BVA testing for the breed?   What does he have to give back to his breed?   If he is a top quality animal, a Champion, people with equally good bitches will look for you - but again you need to know whether the bitch concerned is likely to 'nick' with your male.   And that means knowing the background of the bitches - it's not all about dominant faults by a long way (and they all hav faults) but recessives, the unseen, that if both are carrying, will come out in the puppies.   And the owner of the stud dog is 50% responsible for the puppies he sires.

If he's carrying endorsements, specifically not for breeding, which all reputable breeders will put on the immature stock they sell as pets, if the owner of the bitch wants to register the puppies she may have, this endorsement will have to be lifted first - by the person who bred your dog.

Finally, if he's lived to be 6 without being mated, leave him to remain the loved pet he clearly is.   Once allowed to mate, he'll be bitching - looking for the next one.   Also he could pick up a STD - happens in dogs, as well as in humans.