Proven Chessie Studs?

[Matt Duncan]

Looking to have my 3yo HRCH Bitch bred and trying to do all of my homework and cover all the bases as to what all is out there stud wise in the Chessie World. Within the next week or two I hope to have all her test and health clearances taken care of and hopefully I'll be ready to get a breeding lined up. So for all you chessie people what all is out there as far as PROVEN studs? I'm new to breeding so just trying to be thorough. Any suggestions? BTW I am not opposed to driving or AI. Thanks

[T. Mac]

Be a lot easier to know her breeding and DM status.
Also what you are looking for in the way of pups - gun dogs, show dogs, hunt test or field trial or dual or ?
Also what characteristics does your dog have a lot of and what characteristics is it lacking or could use some help with. ie. need more stamina, better marking, better attention, better memory, ....

You can get an idea of what is available from these websites:
http://www.amchessieclub.org/ads/stud.php
http://teamchesapeake.infopop.cc/eve...m/f/3641041781
http://www.chessieinfo.net/stud-dogs.htm

Also, look back at the test/trials you have been to, any dogs there look good to you? Check out the sire of those that looked good and see if they are still available.

You can also search Lisa's database for proven studs:
http://www.chessieinfo.net/search-database-2.htm
enter **** in the search string and set the search field to "pre title"

Hope that helps

T. Mac

[Angie B]

Good post T Mac!!!!

Also talk with the breeders that have been breeding the type of dog you're looking for, for a very long time. They can offer you a wealth of insight. Just make sure you have a cold one next to you when you're making those calls. You'll be on the phone a while.

Angie

[jd6400]

Not many straws left but I would give anything now to have a Curry pup.........Call John Ackerman......

Pm me if you make this X......would love to see your girls pedigree

[BonMallari]

Go West young man....well NW to be more exact toward Idaho and Linda Harger and Fireweed Kennels

http://www.fireweedchesapeakes.com/html/stud_dogs.html

[jd6400]

Also a good pick.. Jim

[dixidawg]

Gunner

A few folks on RTF have his pups....They may chime in.

[moscowitz]

It's hard in chessies to find a proven stud. Yes Curry has some pups running trials that are QAA. Chester is the only FC male but all his breedings are to young to tell. Julie Cole has a very nice male and then there is The Knapps male that is a proven stud. Comet is out of that male. Haven't seen many Gunner pups running but he is a nice dog. But maybe someone around your area who has chessies can give you some input. All these breedngs will be artifical and you might want aa natural for your first dogs breeding.

[Matt Duncan]

Thanks for the replys and I've gotten some really nice leads on studs through PM's. Here's the pedigree for my bitch. I'm not sure about whats safe as far as breeding within the same gene pool... How far does one need to go back? Defintely breeding gun dogs/hunt test dogs. Thanks again and any advice or suggestions are appreciated. Sorry but if I come off as ignorant it's because I am

Dam

By mattduncan82 at 2012-06-30

Sire

By mattduncan82 at 2012-06-30

[T. Mac]

Thanks for posting Koda's pedigree. It gives a much better understanding of your chore in looking for a stud.

The most important thing for you right now is to get her DM status checked. Go to the OFA website and order the DM DNA test kit. http://www.offa.org/dnatesting/dm.html
Be aware that based on her pedigree that she has a better than 50% chance of being a carrier. Looking at her dam's side of the pedigree; Bell was untested but Bell's sire was was at risk and Bell's dam, Tana, was untested but was from Tiger who was afflicted so Tana must be at least a carrier. Hence Bell must be at least a carrier and very good probability of being at risk. With the lack of health clearances in Koda's pedigree especially on her sire's side it is hard to get a good grasp of a health pedigree. So Koda may even come back as at risk for DM. For a link to Tiger's story and videos on DM got to this website: http://www.chesapeakebayretriever.info/dm.htm

So much for the good news. I've tried to find some way to sugar coat this but cant find the words to do it.
You will need to look very hard at what it is you are attempting to gain in breeding your bitch. Assuming that at best she has a DM carrier status, you will be severely limited in your breeding options as you will need to find a DM clear male. And DM clear males with a strong field pedigree are fairly hard to find. Odds are you will not find one in your general area. Even without this criteria in today's Chessie world the best pedigree you will find for a live breeding will be a Ch/MH or maybe a Ch/QAA dog. Keep in mind that even with her HRCH and if all other health clearances are good, Koda will be a tough sell with her pedigree and a DM carrier status (or worse) when you are trying to find a high caliber stud. So when you do find a stud there is a good chance you will either need to ship your dog to the stud or do an AI. If she is due in soon, heat limitations may limit/preclude shipping her based on airline weather restrictions either on your end or on the stud's end so you will be limited to an AI. With costs for all the health tests, AI or shipping fees, stud fee, etc. you are looking at a breeding/whelping cost of $3-4000 depending on stud fee and no unforeseen circumstances (c section, etc). Factoring in the whelp and post whelp care you will have close to $5000 invested in this litter.

Now the hard part, how much do you expect to get for your pups? Depending again on stud (assuming a Ch/MH or Ch/QAA dog) and a DM carrier clearances, and today's economy, and assuming all her other health clearances are normal, you are probably looking at the $6-800 range for a pup. Picking a stud with a lessor pedigree will further lower you price expectation per pup. This will result in you needing a litter of at least 6 to break even. This is very close to normal litter size for chessies. What do you do if you only produce a litter of 3? Or if she resorbs the litter at 5 weeks? Or you encounter any of a host of other calamities that might and do occur? (Ask me what I spent, both financially and emotionally, on an AI breeding to a DC that produced a litter of 1 delivered by c-section yielding a pup that I had to put down by age 2.)

Please believe me when I tell you that if you are planning this breeding looking for a free pup, you will be better off just finding a good breeding with good health clearances and pedigree and buying a pup.

T. Mac