The Kennel Club does not currently keep a register of stud dogs and therefore if you wish to use your dog at stud you should contact your local breed club for more information and advice.

• You will probably find that breeders or breeding kennels are not usually interested in using privately owned dogs for stud purposes, unless the dog has some special qualifications or show merit, or has the pedigree and health certificates that they require for their breeding programme.
• Before breeding from a dog or bitch, the Kennel Club advises breeders to investigate whether there are any possible inherited conditions that may affect the breed. Breeders can do this by discussing the matter with the breeder of their dog, the relevant breed club or clubs, the Kennel Club Health & Breeders Services Department or, possibly, their veterinary surgeon. There are several health schemes currently in operation to assist in the prevention or control of some diseases (including DNA tests), and where they exist, the Kennel Club strongly recommends that both sire and dam are tested.

Advice can be viewed at www.thekennelclub.org.uk/doghealth

• In order to register your dog’s progeny with the Kennel Club, you will need to ensure that the dog is in your registered ownership. You will also need to ensure that your dog’s Kennel Club registration does not carry any breeding restrictions or endorsements. If there are any, you will need to discuss this further with the person from whom you obtained the dog, as any breeding restrictions or endorsements will need to be removed before the registration of a litter can take place. In most cases it will be the breeder who has placed the restriction, and they will therefore be the person empowered to remove it.
• Find out about the Accredited Breeder Scheme. Although the main responsibilities of this scheme relate to the dam owner, there are responsibilities such as permanent identification required for the stud dog. Accredited Breeders are given high profile through the Kennel Club on it’s ‘kite mark’ quality for registering and breeding puppies.

Visit www.thekennelclub.org.uk/accreditedbreederscheme or call 0844 4633 980 for an application form and more information on the scheme.

• The terms and conditions of a mating do not fall within the jurisdiction of the Kennel Club. It is therefore advisable that any breeding terms or stud fees should be arranged by mutual agreement in writing between the owner of the dog and the owner of the bitch before the mating takes place.
• As a general point, if a dog has not previously been used at stud, the owner might charge a nominal fee covering expenses etc. Once the dog has been proven (i.e. has produced puppies), the stud fee may be reviewed for any future matings according to the value of the dog as a proven sire, and the quality of his progeny.
• A guide to an appropriate stud fee may be obtained from studying the advertisement columns in the canine press, as breeders may advertise their dogs for stud. Alternatively you can contact your nearest breed club, who may be able to give you advice on this and any other matters relating to your breed.
• The offspring are the result of any mating between father and daughter, mother and son or brother and sister, save in exceptional circumstances or for scientifically proven welfare reasons.
• Addresses and telephone numbers of breed club secretaries can be obtained from the Kennel Club.

Visit www.thekennelclub.org.uk or call 0844 4633 980

The following article was written by Mr M Stockman MRCVS and gives a further insight into using your dog at stud:

To the uninitiated it would seem that the best way of making money out of the dog game is to own a successful dog of a popular breed. You simply advertise him as being available at public stud and then sit back and watch the fees roll in! It costs no more to keep him than if he were not at stud, the bitches do the travelling and you get your fee when the mating is complete, not when the litter is born… what could be easier?

Doubtless there are people who try to do just that; and there are probably those who actually get away with it. But what should happen? What should the dog owner do in order to make certain that he or she is doing the best for the breed?

First of all let’s ask a few pertinent questions:

Is the dog fertile? Is he possessed of the libido to do the job effectively? The mere fact that he has a tendency to chase every bitch in sight whether she’s in season or not, doesn’t necessarily mean that he will have a clue what to do when it comes to the point; and if the owner hasn’t either, frustration of all concerned is liable to be the order of the day.

To be honest, you can read up just so much about mating techniques, but the experience of a knowledgeable breeder and stud dog handler is the most useful asset you can have. In truth, the only really fool proof way of finding out what your dog is like at stud, is to give him the chance with a sensible bitch (preferably not a maiden herself) and see that you enlist experienced help if you possibly can. As far as finding out whether your dog is fertile, you can take all the samples you like, but there is no substitute for the real thing in the shape of a litter in the nest.

But, that said, shouldn’t we be looking a lot further back before we get this far?

Have we checked with fellow breed enthusiasts about what hidden problems there may be within the breed? Has the dog been examined under the relevant health schemes which are appropriate to the breed. i.e. hip dysplasia, elbow dysplasia and inherited eye disease. In one or two breeds it would be sound policy to have the heart tested, and in addition, there are now several DNA tests available to help eliminate inherited diseases in many breeds. I am not trying to suggest that these examinations are universally needed, but most of us, if we are honest, know which problems occur in the breeds in which we have a special interest.

Even if the dog turns out to be a paragon of virtue, is he of such merit that he truly offers the future generation real benefit? It is undoubtedly very flattering to have somebody come up to you just after you have won yet another puppy or junior class and ask if the apple of your eye is available at stud. If the enquirer is one of the better known and successful breeders in your breed, it is usually a feather in your dog’s cap; if on the other hand, the question comes from the sort of person who runs to every new champion in the making, be careful. Used on the wrong bitches, he may well sire progeny which will do him no good at all. Be ready with an answer, which gives you a “get-out”, such as seeing how the pedigree would click, before the question is ever asked.

If you have done all the right things in relation to health testing, don’t let your dog down by allowing him to be used on bitches which have not had similar tests. I know all the stories about how “this person arrived with the bitch already in season, and she had never heard about hip dysplasia, and anyway it was only a pet bitch so they weren’t interested in all this posh Kennel Club stuff”!

And then they go on: “after all it’s better that they should use a dog that had been scored than one that hadn’t; and if I had refused they would have only gone to the next dog down the road”. Well let them!

There will still be those who will merely say: “Oh, that’s just Stockman rabbiting on about inherited disease; the vets are all the same.” But surely those who put their dogs at stud in whatever sphere ought to take some responsibility for what they sire.

However busy life may be for a breeder, it doesn’t take long to keep a reasonably accurate check on what a dog’s offspring do. It is lovely to see his progeny winning in the ring. In some ways it’s even better than doing the winning yourself. We all like to hear when the good news comes. It’s not so funny when we learn that one’s favourite has sired a cryptorchid, an epileptic, or a dysplastic. Note that I said that he’d sired it; that doesn’t mean he is necessarily the one who is responsible for the defect. We don’t know enough about the genetics of many conditions to be able to say whether or not both sire and dam must have contributed to the problem. So the sire should not be condemned unless it is positively known that the genetic input responsible for a particular defect has to come from both parents.

However, we blame bitch owners for mating their bitches without having any idea of who’s going to be in the queue for the pups when they are whelped, and rightly so in many cases. If the owner of the sire had questioned the mating, had tried to dissuade the eager novice-breeder, or would take responsibility for helping find the right homes, the rescue services wouldn’t be strained to bursting point.

Although this article was written several years ago, it is still relevant in today’s society, and definitely provides food for thought.

The Kennel Club Code of Ethics:

All breeders who register their puppies, and new owners who register ownership of their dogs with the Kennel Club, accept the jurisdiction of the Kennel Club and undertake to abide by its general Code of Ethics.

Breeders/Owners:

1. Will properly house, feed, water and exercise all dogs under their care and arrange for appropriate veterinary attention if and when required.
2. Will agree without reservation that any veterinary surgeon performing an operation on any of their dogs which alters the natural conformation of the animal, may report such operation to the Kennel Club.
3. Will agree that no healthy puppy will be culled. Puppies which may not conform to the Breed Standard should be placed in suitable homes.
4. Will abide by all aspects of the Animal Welfare Act.
5. Will not create demand for, nor supply, puppies that have been docked illegally.
6. Will agree not to breed from a dog or bitch which could be in any way harmful to the dog or to the breed.
7. Will not allow any of their dogs to roam at large or to cause a nuisance to neighbours or those carrying out official duties.
8. Will ensure that their dogs wear properly tagged collars and will be kept leashed or under effective control when away from home.
9. Will clean up after their dogs in public places or anywhere their dogs are being exhibited.
10. Will only sell dogs where there is a reasonable expectation of a happy and healthy life and will help with the re-homing of a dog if the initial circumstances change.
11. Will supply written details of all dietary requirements and give guidance concerning responsible ownership when placing dogs in a new home.
12. Will ensure that all relevant Kennel Club documents are provided to the new owner when selling or transferring a dog, and will agree, in writing, to forward any relevant documents at the earliest opportunity, if not immediately available.
13. Will not sell any dog to commercial dog wholesalers, retail pet dealers or directly or indirectly allow dogs to be given as a prize or donation in a competition of any kind. Will not sell by sale or auction Kennel Club registration certificates as stand alone items (not accompanying a dog).
14. Will not knowingly misrepresent the characteristics of the breed nor falsely advertise dogs nor mislead any person regarding the health or quality of a dog.

Breach of these provisions may result in expulsion from club membership, and/or disciplinary action by the Kennel Club and/or reporting to the relevant authorities for legal action, as appropriate.

Correct at time of print March 2010

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