Stud dog fees - What's included in a stud service
History
Having been involved with showing, breeding and training dogs for 30 years, I’ve seen the industry change drastically and stud dog fees have never been as affordable as they currently are. Traditionally a stud dog’s fee would be the price of a puppy or pick of the litter but in recent times with rising puppy prices (Covid 2020 & pandemic puppies) stud dog fees have not kept up with this trend. Stud dog fees range from $400 in the Trading Post to many thousands of dollars for imported and highly sought after genetics.
What’s included in a stud fee?
It’s important to consider what’s included in a stud fee. Ethical breeders carry out extensive health testing on their stud dogs and should be able to show you examples of puppies that the stud has produced. Most stud dog owners will offer either a refund or a return service on the bitches next cycle if she doesn’t fall pregnant. If a female doesn’t fall pregnant after attempting to breed over two cycles, during ovulation (ascertained by progesterone testing) with a fertile stud dog, she should be examined by a reproduction specialist vet. Sometimes bitches don’t release eggs, they can also reabsorb puppies and consultation with a reproduction specialist vet is advised.
Health testing –
- DNA tested and clear for all currently known diseases associated with their breed. For example our cavoodle stud is DNA clear of all diseases associated with the toy poodle and the cavalier king charles spaniel.
- Hip and elbow scored – our poodle & cavoodle studs are X rayed and scored by a specialist vet to rule out loose hips and elbows. Our studs have better than breed average scores for their hips and elbows. Not many studs have had hip and elbow health screening. Sadly, hip and elbow dysplasia does occur in designer breeds like cavoodles, groodles, labradoodles, spoodles etc.
Diet of the stud –
- Stud work can be stressful for the breeding male, particularly if he is used regularly. A responsible stud dog owner will ensure their dogs are fed a balanced, premium quality diet that includes fresh meats, bones, vegetables, vitamins and supplements to maintain optimal fertility.
- Our stud dogs receive a variety of human grade meat proteins in the form of fresh minces, raw meaty bones, vegetables, eggs, offal, premium grain free kibble and bone broth.
Frequency of use –
- An experienced stud dog owner will regularly have their stud’s fertility checked by a reproduction specialist vet and will be able to provide a report showing sperm count, semen quality, volume and sperm motility for their stud.
- A stud that is over used can still mate (tie) with females but is unlikely to be producing quality semen. A minimum of 200 million viable sperm is considered acceptable for insemination.
Artificial insemination –
- Does the stud dog owner offer artificial insemination onsite? Some breeders have experience with carrying out artificial insemination, this requires practice and many stud dogs will not feel comfortable having a semen sample taken, it requires training and a relationship built on trust between the stud dog and their owner. Many breeds, particularly toy poodles will not produce a quality semen sample at the vet, hence a stud master & stud dogs who are experienced with AI are invaluable in the breeding process.
Happiness & wellbeing of the stud –
- Consider the everyday life of the stud dog – are they loved, well groomed and generally happy? As you would when you buy a puppy, do your due diligence and see the conditions in which the stud dog lives and don’t support puppy farms or unethical breeders.
- Our stud dogs receive a thorough brush, comb through, nail trim and general tidy up once weekly and a full groom including wash and blow dry every 3 weeks.
- The health and happiness of our stud dogs is vital to their success, they are part of our family, go for walks, sleep by our bed and it shows in their loving temperament and positive outlook.
- We document the life of our stud dogs including what they’re eating, grooming, walks, training and how they spend their days on our Facebook page.