how old should a male be before you stud him out

Old enough to have passed all his official health tests. Most of those have to be done after the age of 12 months.

Dawn R.

Also old enought to assess his quality.  You can't tell if he wil mature into a good specimin until he is grown up, and certainly not know if he is a good worker until he is mature.

And in certain breeds, such as the cavalier, AT LEAST 2 ½ to ensure certain health problems that can develop with age have not developed.