# Looking to breed Houston



## *JP (Aug 10, 2010)

Hello folks!
Houston is four and a half and I want to stud him out. He is very gentle and has a great temperament. What should I be looking for in a female and in the breeder to ensure intelligent and healthy pups? Are STDs a problem with previously bred dogs?

There is tons of info out there already but I do value the views of forum members. 

FWIW, health wise Houston is in excellent shape but has had two urinary tract infections previously.

I am located in the Ottawa Valley in Eastern Ontario. Thanks! JP


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## *tina* (Jan 3, 2010)

Have you done any health testing on your dog? Have you done any kind of conformation or other performance with him that he has some kind of title?


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## cbrand (Aug 9, 2009)

Well before we start talking about a bitch, let's talk about your dog. When I am looking for a stud dog I look for the following:

*Champion....* This is a good indication that a dog conforms to the breed standard in both structure and movement. Has Houston been shown?

*Performance..... *Pretty is as pretty does. Everyone likes to think they have a smart, well behaved Poodle. Well, I like to see proof. I preferably like to breed to dogs who have achieved some sort of performance title or who have performance titles in their pedigree. Have you done any sort of Obedience, Agility, Tracking or Hunting Tests with Houston? What titles do you have on him? Titles help me know that a Poodle really is trainable. Unfortunately, too many Poodles these days just can't focus on the work at hand. Do the dogs in Houston's pedigree have any performance titles?

*Health.....* I only breed to fully tested Standard Poodle. Has Houston been tested? This means the following:

Hips (OFA or Pennhip > .40)
Eyes (Every year)
Thyroid
SA punch
VWB test
NE
Cardio
DM
Color test

*Pedigree.....* A pedigree, that's Houston's parents and grandparents and great-grandparents, makes a huge difference because a pedigree influences the temperament and structure of the puppies that are being produced. Personally, there are some pedigrees I will NEVER breed into because I know what they produce as far as health and temperament. I'd need to see Houston's pedigree to see the dogs in it. If his pedigree is full of unknown, untitled dogs, it would be hard for me as a breeder to know what gene pool I'm breeding into. Do you personally know the dogs in Houston's pedigree? 

Now I'm sure that you could find a bitch owner who would want to breed her bitch to your stud who would not require the above. But, frankly, what type of bitch would we be talking about? Do you really want to breed your nice dog to some low-quality, skanky, backyard bitch? What will happen to Houston's puppies? Who will they be sold to? Someone who is not discriminating about their stud will not be very discriminating about who buys their puppies? How will you feel if Houston's sons or daughters end up in puppy-mills? What about kill shelters?

Good breeding is wayyyyyyy more than just mating two dogs together. Anyway, post his pedigree and some pictures of him stacked up and we will tell you what we think.

BTW... yes STDs are a problem. They can make your dog sterile.


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## Feralpudel (Jun 28, 2010)

JP, as the owner of another nice boy, let me share some hard facts about nice boys. There are a lot of nice boys out there sitting at home by the phone on Saturday night and washing their hair. Why? Because the owners of the nice girls can and do breed them to the rock stars (think Mikimoto). More generally, it is very easy for the owner of even a semi-nice bitch to breed to a stud of much better quality. That's what I would do if I owned a girl I wanted to breed. It is like a bar where a few of the boys leave with all of the pretty girls. 

An acquaintence of mine finished a handsome white boy with a lovely temperament. He has his AKC and CKC championships and comes from nice, well-known lines. She also put a CD on him. She advertised him in the Poodle Variety stud issue one year. She got *one* response to her ad--from a doodle breeder. Such is the life of nice boys who are not rock stars.


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## HOTW (Aug 31, 2010)

I suggest you go to yahoo groups an djoin standardpoodleprotegees Lots of good info and no judgements. YOu will need to get some testing done as the other posters have stated and learn about pedigrees. I myself am pretty abhorant of the popular sire syndrome and feel that it has led to some real issues in the Poodle breed. Best thign you cna do is educate yourself. I would also suggest figuring out why he has had UTI's there might be an issue there that is congenital and may need watching.


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## cbrand (Aug 9, 2009)

HOTW said:


> I myself am pretty abhorant of the popular sire syndrome and feel that it has led to some real issues in the Poodle breed.


Yes, popular sire syndrome can definitely cause a genetic bottleneck, however, there are plenty of "non-poplar" studs out there who are still tested, titled and from pedigrees that will produce predictable results.

As a bitch owner, why would I want to breed to less?


Edited to add...... Do you know who serve as the mentors on the Yahoo list you mentioned?


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## HOTW (Aug 31, 2010)

I don't know all th ewpeople on it but I know Julie Reed(ne Borst) posts advice and I have known her for years(online that is) and have found her to be a very sound educated breeder. I am more interested in genetic soundness with PROPER conformation(I have seen more than a few CH that I would not touch in a million years) and there are some breeders I wouldn't go near because I have seen the way they treat the dogs they work with and do not want to be anywhere near them despite their "reputation" otherwise.

I have studied dog breeding for a long time and have seen how very good lines have died out in t he rarer breeds because of poular stud overusage and once gone there is no way back to them. It has cuased major problems in some breeds who then had to spend years of hard work trying to recover the breed as it should be.

Right now there is a lot of breeders out there who will test but certain ones are not done(or results are hidden) because there is an issue. Honest testing and breeding are the only way to keep the Poodle breed healthy and disclosure of bad results is the only right thing to do. PHR datatbase is a wonderful opportunity for the breed to gain rather than lose and it allows al to see what is being produced and the possibility to avoid lines/matches that could have undesireable results.


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## cbrand (Aug 9, 2009)

Julie Reed(ne Borst) is a pretty controversial person.


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## HOTW (Aug 31, 2010)

I guess it depends on how you look at it..I can't stand a few top notch people out there one of which won Breeder of the Year a few years back(I can't remmeber the year) and who co-owns one of the "popular" sires but I know their "indiscretions" are overlooked by a lot of people. I agree to disagree ... hwell:


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## cbrand (Aug 9, 2009)

HOTW said:


> I guess it depends on how you look at it..I can't stand a few top notch people out there one of which won Breeder of the Year a few years back(I can't remmeber the year) and who co-owns one of the "popular" sires but I know their "indiscretions" are overlooked by a lot of people. I agree to disagree ... hwell:


Uhg! No arguments there. You just want to be careful not to jump out of the frying pan and into the fire.


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