For the first time in my life, I bred to a dog I have never seen. I liked his photo and his pedigree. I was just sent a short video of this dog moving. It made my jaw drop. I don't think I have seen worse movement on the down and back. My pups are very young, but I don't think I could keep one, based on the movement I saw. Has anyone else ever bred to a photo? I will never do that again.

I have more than once. I will do it again I am sure. Never regretted it either. If you see the dog every day it still doesn't guarantee you'll get what you want in your puppies. It's always a gamble.

This topic repeats itself on here many times, like some others.

I bred my bitch years ago to a dog that had all the things I wanted for my bitch - but the worst front movement I have ever seen, moved like a min-pin. I knew what my bitch could do - and she did it. She held her front, picked up the positive qualities in the stud dog, and produced my first two homebred champions. I would not rule out keeping a puppy just because of the stud dog's movement. How do your puppies move? Decide using that as a factor, not the stud dog's rear movement. Would you keep a puppy with crappy movement, if the stud dog's was wonderful? Let's hope not...

If I only bred to dogs that I could see in person, I would have a very LIMITED pool of dogs to select from. So what's worse, doing that or breeding to a photo. Some of us aren't blessed to have money and time to travel the country or hope that a dog of note ends up attending our specialty.

I do try to use my network of internet friends to check up on a dog I am interested as one of them has surely run into a favorite dog of mine at sometime, so I can usually avoid mishaps like picking a dog with bad movement. I would be dually concerned if your pick that appears to have bad movement now has had some wins under his belt. You would think that if it was as bad as you think from the video, he would never have placed. I don't always breed to champions, but I do want a dog that's won at some competitive shows under decent judges.

How old are your puppies?

You would get rid of them because one of the parents didn't move well?

I've seen some pretty lousy movement that produced some pretty wonderful puppies. Take your time and enjoy watching them grow. You'll learn a lot.

A stud dog can be one thing and throw another. There is no guarantee your puppies will move poorly.

Wait and see what you get.

Just keep it in mind when/if you choose to run on a pup and, more importantly, keep it in mind one generation down. Isn't that what breeding is about?

I've done it many times, with Champions ,owner breeder handled , as the result. If you lack the confidence and knowledge to breed dogs, then you should get another hobby. Don't blame the stud dog for your actions. If you do not find a puppy that suits you , then you should place them all, but judge the puppy not the stud dog.

Now THATS a refreshing response. Thank you.

If you read the post titled Puzzled dated Feb 21st you would think the stud dog wouldn't matter anyway since all you should need for your girl is semen. Ironic isn't it?

Who was moving the dog, who was taking the video, what angle was it taken at, was it a show or something else... A short video of a dog moving could really tell you nothing. Watch the Westminster videos and see how many dogs look like they are sidewinding just because of the angle of the camera! When you bred to the picture, did you know anything about the show record of the dog? Did you know anything about his progeny and how they look and how they are doing and how their breeders and owners feel about them? If you checked out the progeny you are way ahead of anyone who just looked at the stud because you know how he produces. Don't second guess yourself. Let them grow out and see what you get. It could be gold!

What a sour grapes attitude you have there!
If anyone asked for your personal opinion, I missed it somewhere.
Since we're posting opinions, I went and watching the video myself. IMO, there were several dogs who looked like Nancy said and don't actually look that way in person as well as several dogs who look even worse in person! Some were shown "the gate" as you put it and some were chosen for the cut.
I think many people were very surprised by what made it, and what didn't it. It's all a matter of one judges opinion.
Video and photos can be deceptive.

... everyone has one and some really stink.

Forget those that only want to give negative answers - it's like "Yeah okay thanks - that helps".

Judge the puppies once they are old enough to move and if you like what you see then keep them.

Yes breeding to a photo has it's risks and so if you like a dog based on photo and pedigree and haven't seen him then ask someone in his area about him. It's good to ask more than one person - ask someone who you know has used him and ask someone who lives locally who hasn't used him. You will get pros and cons that way and can way them according to your bitch and breeding program. Seeing a video definitely helps.

I've seen quite a few of the dogs in the Westminster video and the movement is true to life.

Personally I would not breed to a stud dog that I have not seen in person. I have looked at many fabulous photos of stud dogs and then saw the same dog in a show only to find out that they have a weak rear or something that was not telling from a picture. IMO you need to go out and see the dog and make a decision. Photos can be fixed to make a pretty picture.

Photos can be altered to change the way a dog looks in real life. Doctored pictures are also used in some advertisements. Unfortunately, the latest and last issue of the JB Directory has an obviously doctored photo.