I would think very carefully about using him at stud though - we all have lovely dogs but it doesn't mean we have to breed them. He would need to have the relevant health tests for his breed, which can wind up expensive, and maybe a little showing or working experience as well as researching his own lines in order to make sure he is the best that he can be for breeding.
He is stunning- I love setters- it was a toss up between a rescue setter (Gordon/Red) or a Rescue inuit type dog- we ended up with the Alaskan Malamute! But he's super cute!
He was bought with the aim in mind to use him as a stud dog and with that in mind, his lines were reaerched before buying him and we also looked at a few pups before settling on him. Nothing is set in stone yet obviously and things may change in the future. It will be around another 2/3 years before he's suitable to start using as a stud dog so yes, we'll be looking in to the best way to go about things and working from there.
He is obviously registered and both his parents as well as his grandparents are and were Crufts winners.
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He is stunning- I love setters- it was a toss up between a rescue setter (Gordon/Red) or a Rescue inuit type dog- we ended up with the Alaskan Malamute! But he's super cute!
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Thanks
I am a total convert having had Harley as well as meeting other Setters
Both me and my mum have wanted a Red Setter for years. My mum since she was around 12 years old and me since I was about 5 but it's only the last year that the circumstances have been right with time, finanaces and a settled home etc. So, although it was very tempting to rush in and buy the first one we saw, we took our time and it was 8 months before we got him.
With the the fact that we'd planned to use him as a stud dog in mind we also had a look around our area to see if there were any other registered Red Setter stud dogs and it turns out that there are not many at all so it's also not a case of going in to a saturated market.
Harley's breeder 99% of the time, has a waiting list for her pups and sells them the minute they are born almost depending on how many bitches and dogs there are in a litter.
So yes, we're definitely being sensible
But if it doesn't work out and he never becomes a stud dog it won't matter too much as he is a family pet first and foremost
He is lovely, and I think Harley is a great name. Glad you have done your research re stud work. In my experience a male has to be top quality (and usually successful in the show ring) to get decent bitches, and even then you have a lot of people wanting to bring inferior bitches to him. The last stud dog I had was a top winner but it was at the time of one of the all time top studs in the breed so he didn't get a huge amount of good bitches, and as we refused quite a few inferior ones he was not used regularly. He was a very laid back dog who didnt bother too much but some dogs can get bitch mad when they find out what their bits are for and then don't get to use them!