Posted: Sun Jul 17, 2011 6:43 pm Post subject: Stud Dogs & Brood B****es
Hi everyone
I've just found this website today and have had a lovely time looking at all your lovely dogs. I don't currently have a labrador, but used to have a lovely yellow chap called Whisky when I was younger and living at home, who I miss a lot - he's been gone for about 9 years now, and my Mum found it so hard losing him that they never got another dog.
We'd love a lab, but at the moment we both work, so we've been looking at the alternatives, and have been looking at Guide Dogs for the Blind. We obviously can't do puppy walking, but wondered about brood b****es or stud dogs. The website states that you should be at home for most of the time for brood b****es, so that is probably out. Is the same the case for the stud dogs? Although we both work, my husband works shift so is often at home in the day, and I work term-time only school hours, so I'm around at weekends and in the holidays. We also have family living in the next street who could pop in if necessary.
Is this something we can realistically consider? Do any of you do this already? We have loads of questions, but don't want to bother Guide Dogs for the Blind with them if it is totally unreasonable in the first place!
Don't know the answer but will try and find out....
I know that puppy walkers with jobs have been piloted and in certain circumstances depending on the workplace it has been a great success all round - although personally I treat my puppy-walking as a "job" albeit unpaid, and try to give the pup lots of different experiences to prepare it for whatever's in the future. Stud dogs may be a different story, never kept a stud.
Thanks...I don't think we coud puppy walk with our jobs - I work in a secondary school, and my husband is a police officer, so neither really lend themselves to taking a puppy along!
I'd be really grateful if you did manage to find something out though - think we'll probably have to either email or ring Guide Dogs and present them with our huge list of questions!
Bit confused..... if you have the time available to have a 'stud dog' then that means you have the time in place to have a dog of your own as their needs are exactly the same... or am I missing something?!
Have you put a dog to stud before, as generally they would probably expect you to do all the work, they either use known studs or they have their own in kennels, so sorry to be a gloom munger but really don't think you'll be able to work it! Sorry!
Thanks...I don't think we coud puppy walk with our jobs - I work in a secondary school, and my husband is a police officer, so neither really lend themselves to taking a puppy along!
The minimum rules for all doggy volunteers are that the dogs aren't left alone for more than 3 to 4 hours at a time, so with those kinds of jobs it doesn't seem possible. What you could do is get yourselves accepted as boarders and you'd be very popular at holiday times when the schools are off! We recently left Krissie with newly accepted Boarders who have always had pet Labs until the last one died ("never again!" - Ha! Heard that before...) They all had a lovely time.
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I'd be really grateful if you did manage to find something out though - think we'll probably have to either email or ring Guide Dogs and present them with our huge list of questions!
Why not ring them and have a chat anyway, I'm sure they would welcome your questions and if there's a way you can do something they'll talk it all through with you. Good luck!
Trina, I *think* they mean give a home to a stud dog / brood bitch belonging to Guide Dogs so they do not have to live in kennels at the centre between 'jobs'
Di
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The boys!
Read: Wylanbriar Dog Blog on the website: Updated! 1st February 12´!
Hi Trina - in some respects we'd have the time for a dog of our own, but due to our work commitments at the moment it would be impossible to have a dog from a puppy - that simply wouldn't be fair. Stud dogs & brood bitches tend to go out to homes at around 12 months I think. We'd previously looked into looking after the trainee dogs, as Guide Dogs like them to board with people in a home environment, but they had no requirement in our area and a long waiting list, which I believe we're on. However, when I looked at their website again this weekend, it has requests for volunteers to home their stud dogs and brood bitches, as they also like these to live in a home environment. The dogs are taken into the breeding centre (which we live quite near to) and are mated there. The more people who have stud dogs & brood bitches the more puppies, and therefore more blind people helped. The breeding dogs are normally taken from their puppy stock, as I understand it. There is therefore no requirement to have experience of putting a dog to stud, or even having owned a dog before in the case of the brood bitches, as they will provide support every step of the way.
My other half's shifts vary quite a lot, but if necessary I'd be able to come home in my lunch break. I only work 6.5 hours a day, so if I popped home half way through that would break it up a bit - plus my mum would love it and only lives in the next street and works part time.
To be a Stud Dog Holder you have to live within 20 mile (30 mins) of their breeding centre, which I think is just outside Leamington Spa. You also have to be able to get the dog to the centre at short notice, whenever they have a bitch they want covering. That could easily mean you having to take the dog there 2-3 days in a row for repeat matings.
I don't think Guide Dogs would place any of their dogs anywhere where they were going to be left for more than 4 hours a day, as the risks are too high (bored dog eats house, etc).
I think Dot's idea is best.... Offering your services as a Boarder, during the school holidays .
We have two kids aged 8 & nearly 11, so I don't think they'd be too happy about having no holiday to be honest! We can only go away during the school holidays due to the kids and also because I work in a school, so boarding just on the holidays wouldn't really work. I've just looked at the other half's shifts until the end of the year and there are 16 days where we would both be at work all day (by all day I mean I'd leave the house at 8.30ish and he would be back at 14ish, so about 7.5 hours. I could come back briefly at lunchtime, but my mum is in the next street and would be around on quite a few of these days. My other half would also be in bed after night shifts for some other days, but would be in the house and normally gets up at about 2ish on these days.
I know, I sound like I'm trying to convince everyone, I should just ring Guide Dogs and ask them, shouldn't I?
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