Notes on Stud Selection

I often get asked for advice. Usually it's questions around stud selection or just a straight out recommendation for one of the studs I imported frozen semen from.

Sometimes it starts 'i like this dog, what do you think of him for (x)…?

More often it's "I have a bitch (with these DNA results), what have you got? "
This one grinds my gears and today I'm hoping to explain why.

Full Disclaimer: i don't profess to know all the answers or have the 'right' approach as there are a lot of ways to approach a breeding program.

But my musings led me to write my thoughts down and share them a few times now, so I finally made a blog post about it.

For those short enquiries, my response goes a little something like this.

 

Thank you for contacting me but I'm not confident i can help you. I did see you had registered a prefix and i wish you the best of luck with your future breeding endeavours. 

I'm going to preach a little so I'm sorry if your mentor has already covered all this. But if you haven't already, I'd give this some thought. 

1. Who are your favourite dogs in the breed? Both in Australia (or your country) and overseas.  

2. Do you think you can recreate that dog with the bitch(es) you have? If she's not going to help you get there, you should question whether you should breed from her at all.   

3. Could you get there faster by just buying your next dog from someone using that dog? Why not use that dog yourself?

4. Have you considered the live dogs available in Australia (your country) already? If not, why not?   
There are plenty of choices around the country. It's also far less risk. Without [me, personally] recalling her pedigree, your mentor should be able to talk to you about her pedigree.
What it's likely to produce, lines it's already been used with and the various outcomes of those combinations.

If you have already considered the local dogs and youve dismissed them all, there would have to be reasons. Those reasons will become the basis of your breeding program. 
In dismissing the various dogs youve started to create a picture or a list of the qualities you don't want. Either in the stud dog or the resulting offspring.  

Which means you should also have a picture of what kind of dog you do want. You should have an idea what he looks like but also importantly that he's likely to produce himself or what you like. 

Hes going to have a pedigree youve researched and you're in love with all the dogs in the first 2 generations and at least most of the 3rd and 4th. He's going to have offspring with the qualities you need. He's going to have good heath results and a good temperament. 

In choosing frozen semen you need to research the dog as well. You won't get the chance to meet him but you can still learn about him. The basics: pedigree, health results, show and trial results are usually available online but only tell part of the picture. Then there are blog and Facebook posts and pictures to read about the temperament and personality, as well as contacting the owner to learn what he's like to live with and any relatives they can tell you about.

At the end of the day, only you can decide what will complement your bitch. I cant tell you as I've no idea what you see as the perfect / ideal Finnish Lapphund and we're bound to have different taste.  In the end, I chose to import frozen semen from dogs I liked, and whom I hoped would complement my breeding program and ideals. This was based on my research for my bitch(es) and my vision. I haven't researched your bitches pedigree to the same depth I research my own and any suggestions I made would undeniably be biased towards the type and ideal in my head.
 

An extra note on choosing Fresh or Frozen

Live Mating / Fresh Cover or Side by Side (vet assisted Insemination).
You need to consider that with a live mating, if she doesn't fall pregnant, most stud owners will let you try a second time, for free. Generally (in the earlier days in my breed, though this could change) you don't pay the full stud fee until the puppies are 7- 8 weeks old, they've been sold and youve got the money to cover it.
The logistics can be made easier by earlier progesterone timing to determine the ideal time for the mating, and you'll be up for the expenses if the vet is required to assist.
Timing is a little more fluid as the semen can live for 5 to 7 days or longer inside the bitch (outlier cases in humans found semen survived 28 days in the female tract but this is not normal)

Frozen Semen (usually Imported)
If you elect to use frozen semen it's money upfront with no guarantees. Once it's used, its logistically expensive (or impossible) to replace so you generally pay the full stud fee before use. If it fails and you want to try again, you pay again.
Frozen semen needs more precise timing as the freeze and thaw process means the semen may only survive 12 hours with significantly reduced fertilisation potential after 12 hours.
It's not cheap to inseminate a bitch. Progesterone testing with increased frequency until ovulation which in some cases has been 18 days. Then the insemination procedure: Either TCI or Surgical.
Surgical seems to have more risk in the procedure, reaction to the drugs used, surgical incision infection risk, but needs slightly less precise timing than TCI. I prefer TCI. The bitch stays awake and the process takes about 30-60 minutes. In my experience the bitch isn't stressed at these appointments, but perhaps more anxious dogs wouldn't be so at ease. 

Reading the logistics involve, you are right in thinking you need a really good Repro vet. Not just one who tells you they're good, but whom you know has had success. A lot of vets will offer reproductive services, but the precision required for frozen, not to mention the expense, you want to make sure they've got a great reputation for success.

I hope this information is helpful. Good luck