I have never kept any males in the past. I now have one that is finished with all clearances.
What criteria do you have when someone asks if they may use your male for stud? What do you look for as far as the breeder & the bitch is concerned?

The bitch needs to have all her clearances, obviously. I also look to see if the breeder does something with their dogs - conformation, agility, obedience, etc. I have refused people wanting to breed to my boy that have no clue about anything except to sell their pups to pet people.

Thanks. That is exactly what I needed to know. I have been approached by what I would call a BYB. They do nothing with their dogs, other than breed. thankfully they do OFA's.
I feel uncomfortable letting a BYB use my boy, and yet, I also feel uncomfortable being that picky. Guess I should go with my gut & turn these people down.
Thank you again.

If I'd refer people to them for a puppy, I'd probably let them use one of my boys... if not, then I pass. I do not subscribe to the theory of "they're going to breed anyway, at least by using a nice stud dog they're better off". You have no control over where those puppies (and offspring of those puppies) end up and your stud dog's name is attached to them forever, so there's nothing wrong with being picky!

If the bitch owner lives near you, you can go for a visit and check out the kennel before you service the bitch. I've learned a lot this way. One thing I have learned is that there are caring people who breed dogs for pets who love their dogs a lot more and house them more humanely than a lot of show breeders.

I'd check out past pup registrations of the breeder, were most on full or limited? I think this is so important! Many reputable field trialers sell all of their pups on full and then pups end in breeding mills.

I like would you refer others to them. If no, no. Be careful. Ask breeders in that area. I see what I thought were very good breeders letting dogs go to BYB and stud services. Ask someone you trust in the area. But all clearances, how many litters do they have, anything silver connected with them and yes do they do anything with the dogs.

I just thought about this discussion. The BYB is trying to do the right thing perhaps. She has done the clearances and is wanting to take her wonderful hunting companion or terrific family pet and improve on that girl's conformation.

Why should we not let her use our studs? It is how most of us started, and why be overly picky when someone wants to simply improve on a bitch she adores.

I adore my puppymill/probably mix bred dog too, it doesn't need to be bred. Labradors are not a rare breed, not every bitch needs to be bred regardless if you "breed up" or not. Whats the purpose? It and all offspring down the road will have a bitchline that didn't need to be bred. If someone wants to do it "correctly" and is willing to to all the health clearances and become active in the breed, I offer to help them find a correct bitch to start out with. Not everyone started with a BYB dog and just bred away! Some were smart enough to learn other aspects of the breed from that first dog and then when they were ready, got a nice dog. Or they learned first and got a nice dog (nice pedigree) from the get go.