Choosing a stud hound

[Glomski]

I would like to know what everyone looks for when choosing a stud hound.

What is it that makes you breed to a certain hound???

What makes a Stud dog a GREAT one???

I have my opinion but was curious as to what others thought.

[Beagled1]

I would like to know what everyone looks for when choosing a stud hound.

What is it that makes you breed to a certain hound???

What makes a Stud dog a GREAT one???

I have my opinion but was curious as to what others thought.

Before anything else, I want to see good breeding behind a stud - he may be as close to ideal as possible but it could be no more than a fluke! To me, a stud dog is not just any hard hunting male. He must be a producer. His pups need to be as good as or BETTER than himself, even when bred to a mediocre bitch.
Personally, I look for a stud that has/throws good temperament, die hard desire, a failure to understand the word "quit"and good conformation. I prefer lesser known hounds from solid bloodlines over frequently used popular sires. I will not touch a stud that has or commonly throws certain health conditions.

[CORNERSTONE]

I would like to know what everyone looks for when choosing a stud hound.

1) I am not opposed to travel, but with work and all else that goes into a persons life I would have to say a big factor would be distance. More than once I have heard it said that the two studs were both close to being what they wanted but they took one over the other because of a few hundred miles.

2) Myself I look for hunt (Extreme Hunt) with the brains to use it and not just run in circles around the bunny patch. I like too see a dog work in an area where there are not alot of rabbits to see how he reacts to not jumping a rabbit and see if his level of hunt is maintained.

[CORNERSTONE]

What makes a Stud dog a GREAT one???

Someone can beat on me for this one


What makes a Stud dog a GREAT one??? The Owner/Salesman

He is marketing a product and maybe able to convince people it is THE GREATEST............... When it is just a really above average dog.

[Lone Pine Beagles]

Great Topic Matt,

I personally think people place too much of an emphasis on a hounds "title" or # of trials won. We as breeders and rabbit hunters need to look for what our line or bitch lacks and try to create better rabbit hounds by breeding to a stud that has the traits that we need!

I have bred to Rabbit Champions, Field Champions, and even 11 month old pups! You can get good pups with any of the above as long as the male and female do not have the same faults.

Personally, i want a hunting dog! No shyness, no hard over running, no overly tight mouths, no 20 degree noses. No trail runners, get in the brush!!

I want the stud to get checks on his packmates no matter what speed they are. It can be done! The stud must be able to solo a rabbit in a circle!! Alot of them have trouble at this. When turned loose go hunting immediately and find rabbits, no excuses. I want a dog that can run on old hard snow. Many can't!

Basically this stud is extremely hard to find so i have to develop a line of females that have these traits and as time goes by I can enhance certain areas that the line lacks with studs that have what i need.

I've only been at this for 10 years, and i figure i've got a long road ahead of me, but i'll have fun getting there.

Lone Pine Beagles

[beagler282]

Matt the things I look for in a stud dog are:
Brains
Desire
Conformation
Temperment
Style (speed in which they run a line and how well they control the line.)

As far as what makes a stud dog great is how well his offsprings do.If the stud can repeatatively throw outstanding dogs either line breeding or outcrossing then in my book he is GREAT!!!

[whiteriver]

#1 a lineage of producers behind the hound of traits i desire
#2 does the stud have siblings that are gifted and or producers
#3 and the obvious one ....HUNT !!!!! (REALLY THIS SHOULD BE NUMBER 1 AND 2,3,4 LOLOL)
#4 SPEED/ CONTROL AND NOSE DEPENDING ON THE BITCHES TRAITS ON WHAT TRAITS I WOULD LIKE OUT OF THE STUD
#5 WOULD LIKE TO SEE THE HOUND BE A PROVEN WINNER AND PRODUCER OF WINNERS IF VALID


TO ME DISTANCE IS NO BEARING OR IF I LIKE THE OWNER OR NOT ,I THINK BEAGLERS NEED TO BE LESS KENNEL BLIND AND IMPROVE THERE LINES TO THE BEST OF THERE ABILITY .

Mitch Gould
WHITE RIVER BEAGLES

[Waccamaw Beagler]

Since I run Beagle on Fox the two biggest things I look at are Speed and Desire/Hunt/Endurance. Another thing is definately the hounds lineage. You also want to look at what he brings to the cross. You want pups that are better than the parents or atleast thats the goal. So why breed to a male who isn't going to improve your breeding program.

[ron simmons]

I really donot care about what the stud has won I am more interested in what the off springs have won does he produce gun dogs and field ch and if so from how many differnt females there was a great coon hound one time that had about 2,000 pups 18 of them finshed in a grand nite ch but the were all from the same female just 2 litters i donot consider this a great stud but alot of people breed to him i guess its all in what you like just my 2 cents worth.

[warddog]

I don't do a lot of breeding but when I do I have to agree with whiteriver in his thoughts exactly. If #1 and #2 are there then chances are the gene pool that you are looking for is there to work with. Of course this all varies with individual taste as it comes to speed, line control and other subjective tastes but "HUNT" is a must as well. Minus #1 and #2 you don't really have much stacked in your favor and if you've got the hunt what I've noticed is you usually have a dog with desire as well.