Stud dogs

I thought it would be worthwhile to provide an honest opinion on a breeder's life living with stud dogs...

I have 2 stud dogs living in our house . I have them available to stud to other breeders but I am super picky on who uses them. The reason for this is because there are way too many people breeding and for the wrong reasons. Sadly there are Pomskies ending up in rescue centres because new breeders and puppy farmers do not have the time or space for them as they grow. Breeders are not prepared to take their puppies back and they didn't provide a contract to protect them. There are those who are not health testing their parent dogs leading to many issues. I have seen a number of people buying Pomskies, only to Embark test them to discover there are many other breeds in their DNA (sometimes no husky or Pomeranian!). 

Someone contacted me because they had recently adopted a female and she had come into season. They suddenly decided they would breed despite not knowing their female, not doing any health testing and they thought it would be easy money. Needless to say I refused my studs being used and they went to someone else for studding services. 

I wanted my own stud dogs so that I can raise them, socialise them, health test them thoroughly and I know what to expect with my puppies potential temperaments. Puppy owners can then meet both parents, get to know them and potentially get an idea of what to expect with their puppies. 

Despite this, there will be times when I need to use an outside stud. Keeper girls would be related to my stud(s) and if she is able to breed, I would need to use a stud from a breeder who I know and trust. There are a few amazing breeders in the UK who have fully health tested their studs, are open and honest about the temperaments of their stud and their previous puppies. 

Owning the stud dogs as well as breeding females has its drawbacks. When girls are in season, in particular around the fertile days, males will do anything to get to the female. They struggle to calm themselves down, are incredibly frustrated, may refuse to eat, will mark in the house and I know of males that have damaged crates to break the female out. The worst of all is the constant whimpering- they are too frustrated and it is hard to hear. It is ideal to have the male stay with a family member for at least 2 weeks to make life easier to and prevent them from being so frustrated. It will also prevent unwanted pregnancies.

Drake is a rare gem- he rarely whimpers when girls are ovulating and he can remain calm as long as there is a room and 2 doors in between him and the female. He still eats his food but now and again he cannot eat all of the food in his bowl. 

I did not think I could be so lucky again but Hendrix is similar. He does whimper a little but I can distract him with extra enrichment such as lickimats, filled kongs and meaty bones. 

I may have put people off enquiring about stud services but honestly, if you are health testing your female, deem her temperament worthy of passing on, prepared to socialise your puppies, will provide puppy contracts to protect every puppy, the owner and yourself, then I am more than happy to talk. 

I would love to keep in contact as I genuinely care about every puppy that my boys produce. I would love to meet the puppies and their owners are welcome to join my Facebook group for owners where we share updates and offer advice to help each other. I organise playdates with my puppies and puppies that my studs have produced with other females are encouraged to join us. 

P.S My studs are first and foremost family members. Their health and wellbeing always comes first. Thankfully they are healthy and I provide them with the best diet with supplements that support fertility and other areas. If at any time I think there is a medical issue or a potential genetic disorder comes up, then they will be unavailable for stud duties until a full investigation is carried out. 

Claire 🐾