Well my boy is finally growing up, and at 21 months, things have held together. Our early agreements with the co-owners were in hopes that he would turn out to have breeding potential.

Well this is my first male dog and my first real involvement in dog breeding. So I'm trying to go about this is all the right ways.

His hip and elbow prelims were good at 7 months.

His next set for certification (hips, elbows, cardiac) will be in December.

He has matured slowly but we've gotten some nice comments from the AKC judges and we're trying to get a German-style show so he can be critiqued. Anyhow, all the people I have talked to say he is a good example of the breed, conformation wise.

His temperament/working ability is promising. We were able to attend a seminar at age 10 months and he had a lot of prey drive and an incompetent handler (me). We're training for his BH, slowly with lots of handler mistakes, but hopefully he will get schutzhund titled.

Anything else I should be doing? When you have a male that you hope will develop into a good stud dog, what do you do?

Comments on stud dog contracts, approval of the bitch, etc are also helpful. Luckily I will not be the one handling the bitch arrangements or the actual breeding. That is the co-owner's responsibility. But I would still like to be aware <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Rott-fancier
I showed in AKC for 15+yrs and put 5 CHs on four different breeds. The only one that was used for stud was after a big win at the nationals. The realities of having a "good" stud dog are, 1.He has to come from a top breeder, no matter how good he looks, 2. He has to have lots of BIG wins, probably with a top handler$$$$$$$. 3. He has to prove himself by producing top winning offspring to be in demand as a stud. I could probably keep going, but you get my point. Oh yea, there are LOTS of politics in AKC. I'm not trying to discourage you, but having a "good" stud dog is hard work and lots of luck. I bet the working dog owners here will tell you pretty much the same thing.

Thanks for the reply. My goal isn't really to make him the stud dog of the moment, that everyone rushes to breed to. And I guess I gave the impression that I'm more interested in the AKC showring and working ability is secondary. I'm just less knowledgeable on the working side, and AKC shows are something I've done for a few years now with other breeds and there is a large availablility of shows in my area. He does have a very good temperament, and not the "oh he's so sweet with my kids I want to breed him" kind of temperament. I'm inept to describe him in the right words for working ability.

Working ability, working ability, working ability, working ability, working ability, a working pedigree, and working conformation/structure should be your list of priorities when considering breeding your dog. Not what any AKC judge or breeder says.

If I were you I would get very involved with the ARV and the ADRK and find out about their breeding requirements.

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I agree with your assesment VanCamp. From the first post, I thought he was leaning towards AKC, and I was trying to explain the "pitfalls" of that adventure. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

Rottweilers can have be both successful on the working field and in the show ring. I don't lean toward either.
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If you are talking about AKC show bred Rotts then you are absolutely wrong.

If you are talking about ADRK or ARV shows, which are completely different affairs then you are correct.

The working blood has been strained out of the American lines. There are good conformation Rotts that can work and do, but you wont' find them in any AKC ring. They are ARV and ADRK dogs, organizations that require working tests to breed. Have you heard of ZTP?

VanCamp,

So let me guess, your saying that working ability is important...right?

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I agree with Van Camp, working ability!! What kind of blood-lines does your male come from? If so, does it have Sch. titles on the male and bitches off-spring?? That will give you a idea of the background. Before you even consider your dog for stud he has to pass BST and if he does i would try to get your BH, ZTP. and then Sch. title him. This will tell you if your male is suitable for breeding. Just because your male comes from a good blood-line doesnt mean that your dog is suitable. Hopes this information is helpful <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />