Friend's parents breeding their GSD?

[Mink]

Okay, I know its not the most perfect situation - but my best friend's parents are going to breed their female GSD when she next comes in heat which should be around April.
They are going to do it, no matter what - her step-father is quite stubborn and her mom is enthusiastic. That being said - their dog is lovely, wonderful personality, fits the breed standard, has a pedigree and certified hips. They paid thousands of dollars for her, and she would be a good addition to the gene pool. They are only going to breed her this 1 time and then she is going to be fixed. They take very good care of her and their other animals, have a nice farm property, and have solid financials.

Anyhow, they have asked for my help and involvement because I'm a sponge for information about dogs, breeds, breed standards and especially GSDs. My mother (i was young) bred her GSD just once, and I was very involved with her pregnancy, birthing, and everything after.

They have been looking a little for a good stud, we found 4 and we have eliminated them for various reasons (hare feet, poorly shaped head, poor bite, out-turned hocks.. etc.)

I want them to get the best possible stud we could find, they are hoping to pay pick-of-the-litter and are looking for more Red coloring.

I was wondering if there are any resources - websites, etc. out there that I could use to find more stud candidates to choose from?

I KNOW its not the best situation, but if its going to happen no matter what - I would like the puppies to be the best possible merit for the overall gene-pool.

So you know I am not full of B.S. - here's a small pic of their female.

[Lucy Dog]

Check pedigreedatabase.com for studs... this website isn't for that.

[Emoore]

K9stud or pedigreedatabase.

[N Smith]

Well, I can't tell anything about the dog from the picture...so no opinion on that.

But, has this female been titled? Tested in anyway for sound temperament? Also, lets just get the "they paid thousands of dollars for her", out of the way, because that really means nothing. You can pay $10,000 and still not have a dog that is worthy of being bred. As for the hips being certifiied - this is a MINIMAL health testing I would require or what I would look for in a puppy I was purchasing. What about elbows, heart, thyroid, eyes? THese can all be OFA certified (eyes CERF) and can all have defects that are congenital.

I would not pick a male based on looks and color alone - if you are going to breed, be super picky and looks for the most amazing dog temperament wise and health wise FIRST.

I am not into showline shepherds at all, so hopefully someone who is will come on to talk about conformation and such. However, I think that there are many showline people (not all of course) that breed based solely on looks, they somehow forget that the look of the dog is not going to be enjoyable at all if you have a nerve bag with health issues.

So if you really want to help the breed, I would be looking for health, temperament, THEN looks.

Hope this helps!

[Mink]

Well, yes - the 4 studs we took a serious look at did have good health and temperament. One was even mostly black even though her mother wants more red coloring. There were 3 other people who I spoke to that had an intact male, and would actually breed it - when 2 had some form of allergies and 1 had an esophagus problem! Of course I practically dropped the conversations right there! It was shocking!

[GSDElsa]

I'm curious how they (and you) are evaluating potential studs? What is the knowledge of working ability and reading pedigrees? You mention ruling dogs out because of a bad head whenyou should be a lot more concerned about how pedigrees match up. At minimum.

I would tell them to make sure they have very good contracts that create a safety net for the dog throughout their entire lives.

[Rerun]

It's not really that shocking. The people with quality breed worthy males aren't going to breed to an untiled unproven female to produce a BYB litter. They don't want their males name, or their kennel name, attached to that kind of breeding program (I use that term loosly). So the quality of males they are going to have to select from aren't likely to be all that great. You're lucky they disclosed those issues at all. Most BYB's won't, so the only part I find shocking is that they told you (or them) about the issues.

[4TheDawgies]

A lot of studs that I would offer up as a suggestion have quite a few requirements of a female to be bred to. Most would involve more health testing, and titles and show ratings.

Good luck finding a stud worth breeding to, who won't mind breeding to your friends female.

[Lucy Dog]

One litter then spayed... I never understood the point of that. Maybe a "miracle of birth" thing.

Sounds like you're just excited for this breeding as the actual owner of the dog (your friend's parents?). Hope you guys know what you're doing in terms of temperament, pedigrees, etc as much as you seem to know about aesthetics.

[Dainerra]

the first step to getting the stud you want is to have a female THEY will want.

if they are going to breed her no matter what, then the best of the best are probably going to not be interested without titles, testing, work history, SOMETHING that will tell them what kind of a dog this female is.

So, check your studs for OFA, CERF, STDs (yes dogs can get them), what have they produced in the past?, etc. and not just for the stud dog himself, but his parents, any littermates, etc