how old can a male dog still stud - Page 1

i just got a male akc German shepherd from my brother he's 4 years old. never bred i want to stud him out so what do i need to do for that. and whats the age limit can he stud till . i'm going to get him ofa xrayed. and comes from good german  bloodlines.  he's black and red

Oh, my. I'm going to attempt to give you a constructive answer before you get eaten alive.

OFA hips/elbows is a good place to start. You should post his pedigree so we can see what you mean by "good german lines". I assume that he has no kind of working title.  IF he is german working line (i.e. DDR, czech), I can almost guarantee you no workingline breeder with no working title at all.  If he is German showline, no good showline breeder will use him without a working title and a minimum V rating in conformation.

So essentially, the only matings he would get would be to backyard breeder types.  And even people with untitled bitches are getting smart, they are at least using titled studs to raise the quality, and therefore monetary value, of their pups.  In the US (if that is where you're from), the stud market is very competitive, and even very top notch dogs often sit around with no breedings other than at the kennel who owns them.

I would recommend, in addition to the xrays, you do the following. Get yourself to a local GSD club, SchH club, dog trainer well familiarized with GSDs, something, and get a professional opinion what his aptitudes are, then get to training him. A GSD is a working dog, and a dog who has sat about as a pet may or may not be suitable for our already very corrupt gene pool- you won't know unless you do something with him. Schutzhund, PSA, tracking, competitive obedience, S & R, something. And if he excels, he will draw the attention of people looking to use a male.  You may also want to try him out in a conformation event and get a judge's expert and unbiased opinion in his structure.

If you post his photo and pedigree there are many knowledgeable people who might still come around this circus of a message board- someone should be able to give you some insight on this dog.

Good advice KC!

Kathy

Some are fertile right up till the day they die of old age. Others not. If you are worried and think its worthwhile, freeze some soon. If he doesn't turn out to be the dog you hope he'll be, you're only out the cost of the process and a year or two of cyro-rent.
SS