Hi, He's probably a bit old to start now. Most breeders start their stud dogs very young. The first thing would be to get the relevant health checks done. No-one will want to use a dog unless it has a good hip score and clear eye certificate. The other thing is to make sure that his breeding matches up to his good looks. Is he from show lines? Are there show champions and/or field trials champions on his pedigree?
We have a young golden girl and are looking for a stud. We will probably end up going to a proven stud from a show kennel but they can be terribly expensive and we would consider using an untried dog provided everything about him was right. Bob.