How do I stud my Bulldog? General Chat

Hi I have a 4 year old British Bulldog called Buddha. Hes an amazing dog (as prob lots of owners say). He has never had any medical problems and is great with my nephews. Ihave never shown him but hes a great looking dog. I Really want to have one of his puppies and havent got a clue where to start. I understand Im going to face many closed doors because hes not put in shows. Can anyone help?

Why don't you put him into a few shows then? Everyone thinks they have a great dog but he could end up producing poor puppies who have problems even if he doesn't have any himself. You need to be sure he is worth breeding from, as much as I love all 6 of my lot, all happy and healthy dogs, none of them would benefit the future generations of dogs if I bred from them. I'm not sure what health tests a bulldog needs to have before it is used for mating but i'm sure someone here will be able to let you know.

hiya

its also worth reading two articles
http://www.dogsey.com/dog-articles.php?t=12589

http://www.dogsey.com/dog-articles.php?t=12882

Why do you want a puppy from your dog ? The puppy will not be exactly the same as your dog & using your dog at stud(not "stud"your dog) can change his total outlook on life in a way that you will not like.

A responsible breeder will not select a stud for their bitch simply for the stud dog's owner to have a puppy for free. They will assess your dog & pedigree, check that he has had all the available health tests done & thet he has done well in the showring or other canine activities.

Why not go back to the same breeder you bought your dog from & get another puppy related to yours ?

Otherwise contact the breed club & go to a good breeder for a puppy.

Not all stud dogs are successful show dogs however they must be excellent example of the breed when compared to the breed standard(which has recently been amended)

If someone was to use your dog, are you able to take responsibility for ALL the puppies in the litter for the whole of their lives as you as a stud dog owner are equally responsible for the puppies with the bitch's owner(s)

BTW your dog's breed is Bulldog not British Bulldog-there is no such breed ;-)

thanks for your advice, I understand the downfalls of wanting to breed and appreciate the liks you sent.
I guess my first line would be trying to show him.
If anyone has anymore advice I would really apprecite it. Thank you so much Si

wow you almost seem offended that i considered wanting a pup from my own dog,

I feel ashamed of myself for considering it.

bulldog, british bulldog, english bulldog. all the same

If you fancy having a go at showing your dog, you could try some local agricultural shows, or some KC 'Open' Shows...

I had a go at showing my youngest Boxer last year. First we took him to a Fun Dog Show at a local agricultural fair, where they have all sorts of classes, both serious and fun (e.g. working breed puppy and best biscuit catcher).

We then tried him at an KC Open Show (at another agricultural show). This was much more serious, as there are 'proper' showing people there. There are proper classes for various breeds (puppy, open, graduate etc) plus some group ones.

We had quite a lot of fun, and Murphy got some rosettes and I was a proud mum. I've been thinking of having another go this year - just for fun really, as I don't think I could show 'properly'.

If you contact your Breed Society or local club, they will probably have details of local shows you can enter, and maybe details of local ringcraft classes, so that you can learn how to stand your dog properly to show him off properly.

It's just that a lot of people often rush into using their dog at stud, or having a litter from a bitch without considering the consequences of either.

Having a puppy from a litter your boy may sire doesn't guarentee you a dog who will be the same as your boy, as you've got the dam's genetics etc to factor in. The entire litter may be completely different to your boy in looks and personality!

As an example, both my Boxers are from the same breeder. They have exactly the same parents. They were brought up in the same environment before we got them. However, you wouldn't know by looking at them! Both litters were totally different compositions (genders, colours, numbers etc). If we had wanted a Boxer the same as Max, we wouldn't have got one, as the puppies from the second litter were totally different. This is what you 'risk' when you want a puppy the same as your boy.

There is also the health of the dog to take into consideration - as I understand it, Bulldogs are a breed that can have quite a lot of health issues; so you would need to check with your Breed Society as to what health checks you would need. Some of these may be costly, and may require a specialist certificate etc. Having a clean bill of health from a vet is not the same as have breed-specific health tests. For example, Boxers are a breed prone to heart problems. They can be tested and graded by a specialist, and only those tested 0 or 1 should be bred from. If their score is any higher, you risk breeding puppies who have congenitial heart defects who may not live past a year or so.

Could you instead contact your breeder and see if they have any litters planned for the future, or look into the breeders behind your boy's parents and see if they have litters planned from the same lines?

Honeslty lol what good is showing him going to do ?? To see wether he is able to walk round a ring.

If your gonna breed get your dog tested in as many ways as you can hips, elbows, eyes, skin etc...And only breed from a good tested dog. Who cares if it's won shows I know I'd rather have a well bred functioning fully tested dog over a jumped up show dog anyday. Maybe if everyone was like this there wouldn't be so many messed up dogs about.

But showing can often tell a lot about temperament, build, conformation etc, things that a hip/elbow scoring test wouldn't necessarily pick up on...

My eldest Boxer would pass all his health tests with flying colours, yet would be a nightmare to breed from as he has quite a nervous disposition. My youngest would also pass his health tests, but after showing him, he is not exactly the correct breed standard for a Boxer; so also not an ideal specimen to breed from.

Not everyone who shows dogs has 'jumped up show dogs'! I would kill for a puppy from a certain kennel - I know they health test all their dogs, but also wins shows, as their dogs look the part in terms of correct conformation etc.

If we didn't look at these kinds of things, dogs would eventually not look like the breed they are supposed to look like.

What's the point of having a GSD that looks like a Labrador for example?

my thoughts also.
i wanted my lovely dog to have pups also so i could keep one or two of his pups.
so i went and got him and the bitch health screened for the relevant issues to the breed and they had puppies.
i kept one and my friends had the others.
one big happy family and its great.
so if the health screening is done then no problem.
also helps if you have friends who want the other dogs.

It's good of you to ask advice first and take it on board, some people are very sensitive about such issues and have a very low tolerance level to people who dare ask such questions. So many people rush into breeding and well, i'm sure you know how many dogs are in rescue.

If you do the relevant health tests (and going to shows help you to get other people who know a lot about the breed, different opinions on your dog), then that is a good place to start and can be good for your dog too, a day out socialising with lots of other dogs, i'm sure he will enjoy it!

Most members of the public haven't a clue as to what tests should be done on their dogs before breeding from them.

For example Border Collies shouldn't be bred from before they are 2 years old because one of the health tests(PRA clinical eye test)cannot be done until after then. Then there are all the DNA tests & ip & elbow scoring. Then they should also be from breeding known not to produce epilepsy or Glaucoma(no DNA tests for these yet). Yet every week I met people with pet & farm bred border collies whose parents haven't even had their eyes tested let alone anything else. These are the type of breeders who produce the dogs more likely to have one or more health problems.

All my BCs/GSDs/Cavaliers have had minimal health problems & most have lived longer that the normal breed expectancy.

They all came from people who bred for healthy dogs-yes 3 of my cavaliers had/have SM-one is asymptomatic/one has three "pain"events & the other stilllived a good life until he was 11 3/4. My new puppy comes from 2 generations of fully health tested parents & his father will be 6 years old this year & perfectly fit & healthy.

Bulldog bitches because of their construction can have problems self whelping & frequently have to have C sections & run the all the risks that involves-one reason to be extremely careful when breeding Bulldogs-ensuring that they fit the new breed standard of smaller less extreme heads & better contructed hindquarters.

As to jumped up show dogs LOLOLOLOL what a very biased point of view my current & retired show dogs are pet first & show dogs a very long distant second. The only thing that is "jumped up"about them is the jumping they do to get in & out of the car.

We went through this at one point, when we decided we wanted another dog, our first thought was, wouldnt it be lovely to have one of Diesel's offspring, I approached Diesel's breeder and she was quite happy to provide us with a suitable bitch and support us through the whole thing, however, she also pointed out how much it would/could change Diesel's personality, this was the one thing we didnt want, Diesel is a lovely laid back soppy boy but to have all that change for the sake of breeding a puppy from him just wasnt worth the risk.

We now have Amy, from the same breeder and she is closely related to Diesel (uncle and niece) and we couldnt have asked for a more similar personality, we are now glad we didnt go through with it, we still have our lovely laid back soppy boy and now we have a laid back soppy girl to match

Obviously the decision is yours at the end of the day but its something to think about, if you love your dog the way he is then maybe its not worth the risk of him changing, it wasnt for us.

ok ive taken it all in and decided against it. You have all been very helpful but I dont want my little man to change and I understand the risks. I think I will look into showing him could be fun! and I will look at rescue homes for a bulldog.
Thank you all so much.
love the site. thanks so much

Willy nilly breeding can be detremental to any breed. It is not just about health tests, it is an overall package.

Link here if anyone is interested:

http://www.dogstuff.info/to_breed_or_not.html

A very sensible decision....it shows you have the best interest of your dog at heart.
Definately have a go at showing....its great fun and the dogs love it!