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"However, what we do know is that great sires tend to be from great sire lines. In assessing these sires, appropriate consideration should be given to those whose sires were also great sires. Furthermore, it will not be surprising if their grandsire or both grandsires were also great sires. When you are dealing with such a sire line, it is known as the direct tail male line."
-Patricia Craige Trotter, "Born To Win"
In the world of canines any intact male over six months of age is generally capable of performing the duties of a stud dog, and most of them are more than willing.
But there is a BIG difference between a great sire and a good stud dog. Great sires in any breed are exemplary animals themselves who are capable, through either sheer luck or design, of passing on their virtues when bred to a variety of bitches. Good stud dogs are the guys that can get the job done with a minimum of fooling around. (Needless to say, they are not always the same animal -- many a great sire has been a less-than-spectacular stud dog, much to his owners' everlasting frustration....)
And a great sire needs to pass on more than good looks, although that is certainly important. At Bydand we believe the ability to pass on robust health, longevity and a sound temperament to be absolutely critical to a sire as well, as these qualities are every bit as heritable as are soundness and breed type.
Here at Bydand we have four generations of sires in residence. (The oldest two are now retired from breeding.). Few dog owners in this world, when picking up their new pup, have had the experience of actually meeting their puppy's great-great- grandsire, much less having him sit on their lap! We do not use outside sires in our breeding program, but have chosen to linebreed exclusively from our own, creating what is referred to in animal husbandry terms as a "closed stud." This sort of breeding program requires an unerring eye, a deep knowledge of what is in one's pedigrees, and a willingness to perform extensive health-screening. It is not a program well-suited to the novice breeder nor the faint of heart.
All in all, this program has worked well for us -- although we don't own any of them, the last three HSDAA National Specialty winners have all been sired by our dogs, and the most recent one (sired by Oscar) actually boasts FOUR of them in his pedigree!
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Height: 101/2 " Weight: 12 1/2 lbs
To view Keebler's OFA page click HERE
Whelped in December of 1999, Keebler is, without question, one of our all-time favorite dogs. Since he was a very little puppy we have called him our Alfred E. Neuman Dog (“What? Me worry?”) His temperament gives new meaning to the term “bulletproof".
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Supremely sound in both mind and body, Keebler simply sails through life. Whatever has been asked of him, he has always given 110%... all without any apparent effort on his part.
As a sire, he has been outstanding -- he has produced dozens of OFA-certified offspring, many HSDAA champions, several outstanding breeding dogs, and most importantly,a whole lot of ambassadors for the breed, all of whom have inherited his laid-back bulletproof personality and good looks.
At over 11 years of age, Keeb is still in spectacular condition, and remains in perfect health with a full set of flawless teeth, which even our vet finds astonishing. He earned his HSDAA championship easily in 2010 entirely out of the Veterans class.
Because he likes to swim, we finally broke down and put him in a pet clip for the summer...the result? A Bydand Microdoodle!
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Height: 10 1/2 " Weight: 12 lbs
To view Sonic's OFA page, click HERE.
Sonic is very probably the world's cheeriest little dog.
Apparently born without any dominance-seeking tendencies whatsoever, he has no reason to quarrel with anyone, and so never does.
Sonic has never met a stranger, and is totally indiscriminating about people and dogs alike - he just assumes everyone would like be his friend! As a watchdog, he's unfortunately a total washout. He might bark at strangers, but only until they greet him. And anyway, it's hard to bark when you've always got a stuffed toy in your mouth.
And Sonic always has a stuffed toy in his mouth -- he has an extensive personal collection of them, many of which he has had for years and years and all of which he can identify by name. Spidey is his favorite.
In spite of his all-around cheerful silliness, Sonic has been one of the most influential sires in the Silk dog breed, with over four dozen OFA-certified offspring and many Best of Breed-winning champions, including the 2008 National Specialty winner, to his credit. Many of his sons have been influential sires in their own right, having both inherited and passed on his short loin, his gorgeous shoulder layback and elegant neck, and his sound rear assembly.
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Height: 10 1/2" Weight: 12 lbs
To view Oscar's OFA page click HERE.
Whelped in November 2005 by Sonic out of our foundation bitch Panda, Oscar took the best from each of them both physically and temperamentally. (Basically, he inherited Sonic's cheerful disposition and Panda's brains.) He's an easygoing confident dog who fears nothing, learns quickly and is simply very pleasant to have around.
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Although he normally exhibits a higher degree of maturity than his sire, Oscar's "Sonic genes" come to the surface when there are puppies around -- he will play with them endlessly, and takes them out on adventure hikes around the property, being very careful not to lose any. Like both of his parents, he's a reliable retriever, but doesn't feel the need to carry toys around 24/7 like some dogs whose name we won't mention...
Oscar's record as a sire is pretty impressive, and counts among his many OFA-certified champions the 2010 HSDAA National Specialty winner. He's a compact little dog (as are both his parents) and possesses both a great set of shoulders and a nice rear assembly. Like all of our boys, he displays a scissors bite with a full 6/6 complement of incisors.
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