I don't own any studs but wonder what happens to the old men when their semen isn't any good or they are just plain old? Do they get placed? Neutered?

I know many of the girls bet placed after she's done breeding so wondered about the boys.

I have an old guy here, Lor-als Direct Deposit. He was ten years old when a friend of mine asked about using him. He hadn't been used in a couple of years. We took him and the bitch to the repro vet and he collected him. Said it looked like that of a three year old. We did a transcervical and she did have a litter. Since the semen looked so good I took him back and froze him about two months later. Being that he was ten it didn't hold up as well as we would have liked to the actual freezing. Still, I was able to get two breedings from him just the same. His semen also was fine chilled, but freezing it took it's toll. He is now 11 and I am glad I had him done.

whoops, forgot this. I didn't neuter him or place him, he is a fixture here and keeps my husbands feet warm at night. He is invaluable at telling me when the bitches are ovulating. He is better than progesterone testing.

I did place another boy in a wonderful home (that is starting to get arthritic in his back)with a friend of mine, and they are doing nursing home work. He is still intact.

I just bred to a 12 1/2 year old dog (not frozen). We had eight bouncing chocolate babies. Never discount the old guys!

Dian Welle

My ten year old recently produced a litter of 10. No plans on my end to neuter or place him even though I have way too many dogs right now! He too is a fixture in my house with all of his tricks and antics!

Johanne

I just used an old stud who was A-OK three months before I used him. When I recieved the semen, it was not good, lots of curled tails and not very many sperm period. This can happen to old dogs, one day they are good, then next their are not. I would have been smart to ask for the dog to be checked just before we used him. No puppies and a wasted effort. So dear friends, be carefully out there.

I believe old studs deserve a special comfy dog bed, extra belly rubs and if they still have it, a late night call girl to visit them once in awhile. My boy's last litter was 10 pups when he was aged 11. I froze him after that litter and his semen looked great and passed the freeze test. He was the king of his domain until this past April 16, when I had to help him to the Bridge and now he watches over from a handsome urn on our mantle. I would never place an old dog. I do place my females after 3 or 4 litters and they're still young enough to go off and enjoy a good life with a family of their own, the cottage, etc.... I figure if a dog has lived with me for say 8 or 9 years, then they're staying with me for life. Just my opinion, I am sure others have placed such dogs and they've had wonderful placements and good lives with their new familes. There's nothing kinder than the heart of an old dog. They've given us so much, we owe them big time.

Been there myself. The sperm was almost equilivant
of a sterile dog.. Yet produced a litter a few
months earlier. I repeated it, should not have
but I loved this breeding, no pups again!

Lots of $$$$ down the drain and no compensation
from the breeder whatsoever, sad.

To Linda, I just love the last two lines of your message about the kind heart of an old dog and how much we owe them.
I agree.
I have a soft spot in my heart for the "grey beards".

A younger dog should have their own home if you are not going to show or breed them. I still am sad when they leave even though I know it is a great home for them.
But the old guys deserve to be cherished until it is their "time".
Everyone, give your "grey beards" an extra belly rub tonight!

I completely agree with everything that has been said about our dear, precious older ones....they're the best! Having said that, I will add that I recently bred to an older "gentleman", who, at ten years of age, with one breeding, sired a litter of thirteen. Good Boy!!!

In January, my soon to be 13 year old, had 3 litters born. They consisted of 9, 6 and 3. His sperm was checked before inseminating and was good. He was double collected for each breeding, the bitches were progesterone tested with Camelot Farms test and bred 4 or 5 days in a row.

Of course it varies, but if you are using a stud dog and having semen shipped, at what age do you start to worry about age and possibly getting a bad shipment because of it?

Most of my friends keep their old boys :) Most don't bother neutering. I have a retired dog here and he is my offical Walmart greeter AND he helps keep the girls in line :). I don't know what I will do when he goes :(

I can't imagine the stud dog owner not checking the quality of semen before hand to make sure all is well. I would never ship and questionable collection.

One BIG thing I miss about my old boy is his nose and his common sense about breeding. If he wouldn't come in when I called him, the girl was RIGHT on. He always knew and would tell me when to do an AI with my younger male, (his son.) Mind you, he came from the generation of many natural ties in his lifetime, whereas I don't let his son breed naturally, just do AI's. He had natural breedings at shows, in hotel rooms, etc. Even later in his life, when he couldn't thrust hard enough to get locked in a tie, and even if I didn't do an AI, the females still had litters. He too sired a litter of 13 at age 10. For this and many other reasons, I miss him like crazy. One of my buyers, who has a grandson of his, recently told me that he had it on good authority that Mac is now enjoying his status as the chief stud dog at the Rainbow Bridge Labrador Retriever Spa and Resort. Of course, this brought a smile when I needed one.

Wouldn't it be better to freeze semen from a quality stud dog at a younger age and have that for later use? e.g. age 4 to 5 yrs or younger? It shouldn't matter how long it's been frozen, isn't it the quality of the semen at the time of freezing and then thawing? One never knows when a stud dogs semen could go downhill in the repro department even at a young age so to freeze for your own breeding program or others when younger sounds right to me. I know the costs of freezing and storing can add up but look what you have in the long run.

I am all for keeping the seniors boy or girl. They give us back 10 times what we're capable of giving them. Kudos to those of you that have them at your feeties night after night.

I think the answer to the 'original' poster's 'original' question is that the dogs can be bred much later in life than the girls and therefore much more often stay in their original home. We did however place a stud dog recently and he was only five or six years old, a champion, with all clearances but he was an optigen B and we have so many A's that are closely related to him that he was not used as much as the others. He was also the kind of dog that really just wanted to be 'Somebody's Dog' and now he is and I just got the most wonderful email from his new owners. I truly believe he is one of our best success stories. Its the best thing we have ever done for that dog- what a life he has now!!!
Judy

Absoluetey what Mary said in an earlier post, have the old guys checked out before the breeding! I did just that before my old guy sired a litter of 10.

Johanne