Choosing the right breeding partner for your female
Titles are nice, but they do not say everything. Here are the seven questions to ask before you decide.
The most common mistake in breeding is choosing a male by his list of titles rather than by what the female actually needs. A dog who is exceptional on paper can be entirely the wrong complement to your particular female.
Start with your own female
Write down her three strongest and three weakest traits — in conformation, temperament and health. That list should drive the search, not the male's number of titles.
Seven questions to ask
One: which health tests exist and how old are the certificates? Two: what do his offspring look like — are there litters to go and see? Three: how does he behave in everyday life, not just on the competition field? Four: what is the inbreeding coefficient of the combination? Five: how many litters has he already sired, and how widespread is he in the breed? Six: does he complement my female's weaknesses, or reinforce them? Seven: what are the terms, and are they written down?
Go and look
Photos lie, not always deliberately. If you can, go and meet the dog. See how he greets you, how he moves, how he is with his owner. Ten minutes in person says more than fifty pictures.
Put the agreement in writing
Stud fee, a repeat mating if the female does not conceive, a puppy instead of a fee — all of it should be written down before the mating happens. It protects both parties and makes the rest of the process simpler.
In short
Start with the female, ask the questions, look at the dog and write down the terms. In ProBreed you find the males, the titles and the health status — the rest you agree on directly with each other.
