Is there any reason to collect a young boy besides wanting to find out if he has good sperm quality?

Yes. To train him to be collected. You dont want to find out you cant collect him on the day you are trying to do a breeding.

At what age should you start collecting? How often?

I start collecting my young boys between 9 months to a yr. Depending on when I have a girl in season I can use as teaser. Sometimes the very young boys won't have much in the way of fluid but they still get used to being collected and that is what is important if you plan on using him for your own breeding program, let others use him or decided to place him in another breeder home.

Realistically, how hard is it to collect on an unexperienced male? I have done one breeding with one of my males and my vet and breeder friend had no problems collecting my male with no prior experience. Was that luck? I don't bother "training" my males, I figure the vet should be able to get the job done when needed.

If you go to a puppy kindergarten class you will be told to handle your puppy's paws, ears, mouth etc. The obvious addition for a potential stud dog is to handle his private parts. That way he won't be shocked when you grab them when he is older.

Depending on his current age, 7 to 8 months the 1st time to check the sperm m. m. & m. Then every 2 months after to get him use to it and check for any discoloration or abnormality in the semen appearance. A clean out every 2 to 3 months at least is also a good thing for down the road.

If he tries to mount, don't yell at him. Distract him if this isn't collection time.

Good luck with a possible stud dog prospect. I have to laugh some times when some *breeders* buy a male pup and call it their new *stud dog pup* at 8 weeks. Same as the girls, we have no idea how any puppy will eventually turn out. If you're guessing the boy may turn out to be a stud dog eventually then sure, get him prepared. It can't hurt but don't bank on it until he's older and have been proven in several ways.