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If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.

Stud Fees

161 replies

ConciseQueen · 09/01/2024 14:26

I have found my bitch a lovely dog to sire pups. The owner of the dog is pretty relaxed, doesn’t want a puppy but has asked me to make an offer of stud fees. He’s stressed nothing is guaranteed from the dogs’ meeting etc.

Neither dog is worth much (lurchers) but they are lovely so I will be able to sell the puppies to cover vet costs if the time comes. How much would you offer for the stud fee?

OP posts:
Cally17 · 09/01/2024 16:12

Your poor dog being put through this by you, her supposedly "loving" owner. You don't deserve her.

Kwam31 · 09/01/2024 16:15

Actually, I really love my dog and so do other people so I’d like to breed her.
Jesus wept, this is one of the most idiotic things I have read.
If you love your dog you don't pay someone to allow their male
to rape her then put her through a pregnancy and all the risks that can follow.
If you love her, you neuter and protect her.
Are you planning to sell the dogs with a contract that they must neutered at 6mths and must be returned to you if needing to be rehomed or are you just churning out lurchers that most likely will be in rescue by the age of 18/24mths.
Bull breeds and lurchers do not need bred, rescues are in their knees with these breeds.

Devilshands · 09/01/2024 16:22

OP…you are a backyard breeder. If you don’t even know how much to offer for a studding service (and think £150 is reasonable!!!) then you have no business trying to get your bitch pregnant.

FYI, my sister charges £3K for her dog when she studs him out. Which, I think, goes to show just how out of touch you are…

lightinthebox · 09/01/2024 16:25

Still waiting for OP to justify the completely unnecessary pain she wants to cause an animal she supposedly loves.

ConciseQueen · 09/01/2024 16:27

allgrownupnow · 09/01/2024 16:03

OP I think you're getting a hard time here.
It's fine to breed your dog, it is weird that it has become so taboo.
The owner of the dog doesn't seem fussed about money or they would have specified so I'd probably offer 100 and a bottle of wine/dinner or something.
Some considered breeding from pets surely is the perfect antidote to puppy farms. People, understandably, sometimes want a puppy rather than an adult from rescue. And, the clamour around 'full' rescues because of irresponsible back yard breeders doesn't add up because most rescues are full of dogs rescued from abroad. So taking laws of supply and demand into account it seems there aren't enough dogs in this country as they are imported in such numbers.
If more people had one litter from a special pet to pass on to friends and networks for a reasonable price to cover costs it would reduce puppy farming and harm to dog caused by it. Also, the genetic tests are needed because of inbreeding in pedigree populations, much less of an issue when breeding happens as OP proposes.
I understand why there was a strategic move towards more regulated dog breeding but it has led to unfortunate unintended consequences and we need to challenge current thinking.

Thank you for this calm and sane post! Absolutely appreciated and I really couldn’t put it better myself.

Yeah - I think we are in cash and some wine territory.

OP posts:
ConciseQueen · 09/01/2024 16:28

Needtogrowsproutsfordecember · 09/01/2024 16:01

A farm op? So an actual puppy farm then?

🙄

OP posts:
Iheartmysmart · 09/01/2024 16:31

Pages upon pages upon pages of puppies for sale online not to mention all the dogs looking for homes in rescues yet OP wants to breed more puppies. I seriously wonder if some people have any common sense.

beetr00 · 09/01/2024 16:35

@ConciseQueen fyi https://www.pets4homes.co.uk/stud/dogs/lurcher/

margotrose · 09/01/2024 16:50

What breeds is your lurcher made up of? Are you going to be paying to do all the relevant tests on both your dog and the stud? This can take weeks if not months, btw, and costs hundreds of pounds for each dog.

If not, then you have no business breeding your dog as you don't know what you're doing,.

ConciseQueen · 09/01/2024 16:54

beetr00 · 09/01/2024 16:35

Thanks for this. Our stud is very like the beddy-whippet here (£130) so I wasn’t too far wrong with a guess of £150.

OP posts:
FairfaxAikmann · 09/01/2024 17:01

ConciseQueen · 09/01/2024 14:52

Thanks for replies. I took my bitch to the vet to discuss with her and she didn’t give me any scores (is that breads specific) but seemed happy that she was healthy. We’ll go back again on Day 10 for a check before I take her to the dog.

Thanks for your concern about the puppies. They will be fine to home. Lots of people would love a rough coat lurcher puppy from a loving home. I know because I have had requests.

Does £150 sound too low? It is risk free from the stud owners POV.

The fact you are even asking these questions on the internet shows you have no business breeding.
Never breed for the sake of breeding, only if it adds something of worth to the population (nice dog is not in and of itself a good enough reason)

IngGenius · 09/01/2024 17:16

All lurchers should be tested for

DCM
Hip Dysplasia
Elbow Dysplasia
Eye screening.

If bedlington terrier in the mix you would need to do a COOMD1 test this is quite cheap about £60 I think .

Personally I would not breed my own bitch without checking all the above tests.

GA is needed for HD and ED tests costs over £150.0

DCM can cost between £90 -£325.00

The stud fee would have to cover these costs.

Anyone would be mad or reckless to breed without running these tests on both bitch and sire

Unluckycat1 · 09/01/2024 17:21

God I have to stop reading your flippant replies. I'll just join in with those saying, do not breed your dog. Obviously you still will, as clearly you don't care about a. your dog (breeding is of no benefit to her); and b. the fact that up and down the country there are lurchers needing homes, including an endless stream of puppies, including rough coated, including being gorgeous etc etc.

I have a beautiful lurcher cross. I would never breed from her for all of the above. I will just enjoy her, and if I want another, will rescue another.

Just to add, not that I think you care, lurcher puppies don't go for much. People who want to buy lurchers will sometimes treat them like like tools rather than pets (before discarding of them if they aren't good enough at hunting etc). Many lurchers end up neglected. Do you really think you'll find these puppies good homes? (do you care...)

loudbatperson · 09/01/2024 17:28

£150 won't even cover the studs screening fees........ why on earth would they take less than it will cost to get the needed checks.

Unless of course the stud wont be getting the appropriate checks, in which case they have no business breeding.

EdithStourton · 09/01/2024 17:51

On the one hand, people are (rightly) outraged at the number of puppies bulk-bred in actual puppy farms where there are 3 or 4 litters on the ground at once and the dams and sires barely see the light of day.

On the other, people who want to breed their pet to produce other pets are demonised.

People will get dogs from somewhere. Not everyone is equipped to take in a lurcher from a coursing bust or an under-socialised bull breed or cockapoo with serious resource guarding issues, which - when you read their descriptions - are the issues with lots of dogs in rescue. Hence all the ones where it says, 'has to be walked muzzled and on a lead', 'must be the only dog' and 'adult only home'. Not all, but many.

And many people also are completely unsuited to providing homes for working-line dogs (witness the number of batshit working-line spaniels that feature in threads on here started by owners who are at the end of their rope). I have working-line dogs. They are a huge commitment.

That leaves show breeders. Jesus. Yes, some of them do everything they can to keep COI down and not breed to the extremes, but a lot of them I'd not trust to run a whelk stall - look at the changes in the morphology of eg GSDs over the last 30-50 years, entirely driven by the bloody show ring. Added to that, there aren't enough of them to supply the market.

So, we get puppy farms and dogs imported from Europe, including from some very sketchy rescues.

OP, I do think you're getting a hard time. That being said, I would test for HD, and I'd also find out what breeds the two of them share. I'd then make sure that at least one of the dogs, either sire or dam, is tested for the main genetic recessive diseases that affect those breeds. And have a proper puppy contract in place, and be prepared for all eventualities.

Shannith · 09/01/2024 17:55

SweetPalOMine · 09/01/2024 15:39

The reason the 'usual price' for a stud fee is £800+ is because responsible breeders pay to get their dog hip scored/elbow graded (x-rated to check the grade of the hips, vital in breeds prone to hip dysplasia) so it can be mated to a bitch with appropriate comparative scores for healthy puppies, as well as other breed related health testing to prevent passing on conditions that might lead to problems in the future, eg, eye conditions, heart conditions.

Or, of course, you can just look into your crystal ball.

This.

I don't care how you rationalise it. What if she has 10 puppies?

What then? Are you going to find perfect homes for them and have a contract where you take them back if circumstances change?

Or is at least one of those puppies going to end up in rescue.

People who a proper dog people don't bred unless e.g. it's a working line. You know this.

Gettingcolder · 09/01/2024 17:58

If you are determined to breed despite all the advice you are recieiving, then please make sure both the dog and your bitch are health screened. There are risks to both, including STDs etc. The costs of proper health screening and doing everything right far outweigh any income you will receive from selling the pups, hence only bad breeders make money unless you have top show dogs.

Also, keep in mind that if a puppy is deformed or sick you may need to keep it yourself, with all the vets bills that will follow. A friend of mine breeding from her pet dog found herself in this position and it was a very expensive mistake.

nowthelighthasgone · 09/01/2024 18:00

lightinthebox · 09/01/2024 15:11

“I really love my dog” is an odd thing to say when you want to put her through an unnecessary pregnancy.

This completely

rumred · 09/01/2024 18:02

You don't love your dog, you love money. Awful.

Unluckycat1 · 09/01/2024 18:12

@EdithStourton The breed is relevant here. While some breeds are difficult to find at rescues, lurchers, including puppies, are not. No one can claim more lurcher puppies are needed to meet demand. I've seen lurcher puppies linger until they are full grown in rescue centres. I got my lurcher x at 10 weeks, but some of her siblings waited a good a month longer for a home (and were such a striking litter). There just isn't the demand imo to guarantee 10+ good homes (esp when the decent potential owners would choose to rescue over going to a backyard breeder), unless you happen to be pals with a load of hare coursers...

caringcarer · 09/01/2024 18:22

You need to get eye tests and hip test done for both dam and sure before you even consider breeding.

caringcarer · 09/01/2024 18:23

Also you do realise dogs often can have up to 10 puppies in one litter. Could you home them all?

lightinthebox · 09/01/2024 18:24

OP isn’t replying about getting health tests done or to confirm that they think causing pain equals love.

TooMuchPinkyPonkJuice · 09/01/2024 18:26

I bet that bastard channel 4 programme sets in motion lots of this. Owners with no fucking clue breeding because awww cute puppies. No thought to the environmental issues, massive overpopulation of dogs issues, no awareness of any health needs etc.

GreekDogRescue · 09/01/2024 18:28

Don’t be a dog breeder OP.
There are more ethical ways of earning a crust.