Stud Dogs and Stuff
It’s been a busy last two months. In early Sept. Phyllis and I spent a few days in Lexington,
KY, one of our favorite
spots. We visited horse farms, The
Kentucky Horse Park, and Old Friends, where they keep retired racehorses. In October Phyllis went to visit our
daughter, Alexandra and her husband in New York City. When she got back it was hard to tell who was most
tired. Our Daughter lives on a
fifth floor apartment with no elevator and I had to do the chores we normally
share for five days. Now you all
know why no blogs for a while.
Steve Field, my mentor and friend, was also the most astute
breeder I ever met. He realized
the importance of good bitches and finished several over the years, but he
always was in search of his next good young male. The reasons behind this are fairly evident at least to
me. Showing a good young male is
good advertising for your kennel and, if you own his sire and/or dam it’s even
better. A good young male until
old enough to hopefully have winning puppies sells himself by his wins and appearance
in the ring. Steve had a
powerhouse line of stud dogs starting with Ch. Silver Ho Parader, to Image, to
Venture, to Country Squire, to Reflection. Of Country Squire’s offspring, however, it was not Steve who
owned the most prolific. That
honor went to Ch. Two-Jays Hanover Enterprise.
Though I would never compare my dogs or success with Steve
Field, there were similarities in what we believed. Coincidentally the start of my kennel’s success started with
a dog closely bred to Steve’s Ch. Silver Ho Parader. I used to say that Ch. Gingeor Bellbrooke’s Choice could
carry the costs of the kennel with his stud fees. No doubt Steve’s studs did that or better and he also bred
and sold some darn good pups.
There are seldom more than a handful of really worthwhile
stud dogs in this country. If you
can own such a dog you have a profound impact on the breed. A bitch at most has one or two litters
per year. A desirable stud can
literally have near one hundred.
The price of a good stud’s fee used to be roughly the cost of a top
notch show puppy. Breeding a bitch
to a well trained stud takes a lot less effort than raising a puppy, but the
return is just as great. Remember
it only works if you have a well bred, top quality male with producing
credentials.
Today a lot of breeding is done by artificial insemination. When I was active the breedings were
almost 100% natural and a stud needed to know his job as did his handler. With a bitch ready to breed and without
any obstructions, a good stud would have a tie in five minutes or less. You had to have a bold eager dog who
probably started breeding at 9-10 months on a limited basis. For
safety the bitch would be muzzled and held until the tie broke at which point I
got a sample of sperm to put under the microscope. The stud dog was disinfected before and after the breeding
to prevent any transfer of disease.
The care, feeding, and exercise for a top stud could take a book and
many have been written so I’ll not try to compete.
In the dinosaur days of my breeding and showing hardly
anyone showed bitches past what it took to get them finished. The feeling was that their value was in
the brood box producing the next generation. The stress and exposure to disease, worms, and all kinds of
goodies just didn’t make sense.
The males were in coat longer and generally took top honors anyhow.
It’s beyond me to figure out if bitches today are better
than they were. I only know that
they are shown a lot more and go BOB much more than they used to in years gone
by. The dog show game has taken on
many changes over the years. The
people involved as breeders, handlers, and judges have gone from being largely
men to being at least equal numbers of women. Perhaps the ladies understand and can get more out of
bitches than men used to years ago.
More bitches may be shown today because less people want to
breed than to accumulate ribbons or titles. Over my years of judging I certainly don’t recall any preference
based on sex, color or anything but quality. Dog shows and breeding dogs have many issues, but preference
based on prejudice has never been
included. In Collies one of the
most respected breeders and judges years ago was Dr. J.P. McCain, a black
man. He was one of those few about
whom I have never heard a negative remark – ever!
If we as just people, whether dog breeders or not, could
just aim for such a reputation as his it would be a much better world.
Think about it!!
