By Jackie H
Date 12.04.04 05:52 UTC
Accepting all the above I will deal with your question of money, sometimes a fee is paid for a first service by a well known dog from excellent lines but for an unknown it would be usual for the service to be without charge until he is proven to produce, puppies, and puppies of good quality. If neither you nor the dog has experience you may need to employ the services of someone who can help you with the mating who will require expenses at the very least. It is also the best plan to use an experienced bitch for his first time and you will need to check that the bitch has the best of ancestry and also the necessary health tests as both you are the bitches owner are responsible in law for what your dogs produce and morally liable to take back any pups should the bitches owner be unable to do so.
It is possible for a pair of inexperienced dogs to mate without problems and without help, but it is also possible for one or both of them to be injured either by the actual act of mating or by being bitten. You should also be aware that dogs once used at stud can change their character becoming difficult with other dogs, escape artists and on occasion dirty and difficult to handle within the home.
It can be that none of the down side of the studding business will happen to you but feel you should be warned because if it does it is not worth any amount of money to have to live with a dog like that, what is true is that, as the others have said, your dog must have all the health tests required by the breed and so must the bitch or you are laying yourself open to being sued by a puppy owner who finds their pup has a health problem, it happens even when the breeder and stud owner has taken every care so it is sure to happen to someone who has not. If the bitch is travelling some way to visit your dog you will need somewhere away from the house and your dog to kennel the bitch and a room for the bitches handler to sleep.
One last thing, do not go for a once only mating, make sure if you are going to use him then there are likely to be a number of bitches requiring his service.
By JReynolds
Date 12.04.04 09:08 UTC
As I have just found it, it's not as simple as that. Can you be certain that there is no PRA or GPRA carriers in his pedigree? Even if he eye tests clear, doesn't necessarily mean he's not a carrier, and without knowing everything about every dog in his pedigree you are not going to know. As JaneS kindly pointed out to me the only way to be 100% is to have your dog Optigen tested which costs around £200, it's a DNA test which will show if your dog is a carrier and ever likely to get the dreaded PRA. It's an American test, not sure if I'm allowed to mention websites on here, but it's www.optigen.com
If your dog is a carrier and he's mated to another carrier, you will produce pups with GPRA/PRA. I'm glad I decided not to use my boy as stud, I don't think I could bear the thought of producing puppies which would eventually go blind! - plus the come back would be on you!!
Think carefully before you venture into it, get this test done at least you know your dog will be safe and always make sure the bitch has been eye tested too.
Good luck