Stud Section
Home Our Dogs Litters Stud Section Murray Greys The Ranch Photo Gallery Alter Egos

It has been brought to my attention that someone has been spreading a rumour that Cedric, Ho Dog's brother in Germany, has sired litters and that most of the pups were dysplastic and had elbow dysplasia.  My thoughts on the rumour thing is that one should always consult the horses' mouth (the person who the rumour is about) rather than the horses' behind (the person spreading the rumour) before furthering the rumour.  I can assure you, Cedric has NEVER been bred, first off; second off, the very persistent rumour about elbow dysplasia in our line is simply not true; not one single case has EVER been either diagnosed by a vet or OFA, and the only possible suspected case turned out to be a strain.  People that have my pups will tell you, I keep close tabs on health concerns in my line.  And, if you visit the individual dog pages, you'll see exactly what each dog has produced or could possibly produce.  Information, when accurate, makes for the very best choices for breeders to make good crosses.  When inaccurate, a good dog who can do a lot for a bitch may be overlooked, wrongly.  With Morgan River, you will never have to ask; you will always be told the truth as far as we know it.  I depend on my puppy people to keep me up to date on health concerns and almost all of them do.  I thank them all for their help, and especially those who have contributed to health research projects such as the cataract project.

Here you will find our requirements for breeding to one of our stud dogs.  Our current stud dogs are Ho Dog (red/white) and Hoke (red merle/white) in the United States, and Cedric (red/white) in Germany.  Couper (blue merle/white/red factored) on the east coast has passed his OFA's and is now standing at stud as well, his first litter was whelped in March 2007.  The following is required from the bitch owner before the stud service will be allowed:

 

ASCA, UKC, IABKC, CKC (Canadian Kennel Club), AKC and/or any LEGITIMATE registration.  NO NSDR, CKC (Continental Kennel Club), WKC, SKC or other such registration is acceptable.  MASCA registration considered on a case by case basis
Minimum 6 generation performance pedigree with as many ancestor OFA/CERF's as possible
OFA passing grade hips/Normal elbows; PennHip accepted on a case-by-case basis
Current (less than one year) CERF
ASCA DNA-VP/CP and/or UKC/AKC DNA certification.  NO EXCEPTIONS!
Von Willebrands, Pelger-Huet and thyroid (UMich or Cornell); if accepted for breeding, no more than 48 hr current canine brucellosis
Copy of bitch owner's puppy contract, health guarantee and spay/neuter agreement for pet puppies that is given to puppy buyers
Bitch owner will agree to take back any puppies produced from the breeding to our stud dog should the need arise and re-home them after spay/neutering if needed
Bitch owner will demonstrate good working knowledge of the ASCA breed standard as well as basic genetics and cross-faulting
Video of bitch working stock; in lieu of that, I will take bitch to stock with owner's permission and observe her working abilities
Bitch must not exhibit undue aggression, shyness or sharpness towards people, other dogs or stock
Merle to merle breedings considered on a case by case basis when proposed by experienced Aussie breeders ONLY

These requirements are stringent for a reason.  There are too many people who simply breed to "let Prissy have just one litter so we can get a puppy from her" with no knowledge of the breed nor the desire to learn what's best for the breed.  The simple truth is, our breed is going downhill at an ever-increasing rate of speed due to ill-educated as well as "high class puppy mill"  people who have no desire to improve the breed but simply to produce puppies, either to make money or feed their egos.  Too harsh, you say?  Call any Aussie rescue organization (STAAR or ARPH) and talk to a rep.  Call your local  shelters and Humane societies and talk to the workers there.  These are the folks "in the trenches", fighting every day to find homes for the thousands of unwanted, ill-conceived, sick and unstable Aussies produced by backyard and unethical, uncaring and irresponsible breeders.

Our boys have a lot to contribute to the Aussie gene pool.  But they can only do that through the right bitches.  And we have the knowledge required to make the "right" match, but can only do so with the help of an honest, caring and responsible bitch owner.