I'm new! Breeding questions

 I joined a few days ago and want to try breeding wolves, but not sure where to start.

 What should I look for in a breeding male- should I buy a good one? I haven't picked one yet. What are the base genetics tiers? What are good markings, or does it matter? I assume you would want the most markings possible. Anything I should know?

The Grouse House Genetics Guide is full of helpful information! Feel free to ask if you need clarification on anything, but that's a really good place to start.

For a breeding male you'll probably want at least a Tier 2. Tier 3s, of course, are the most valuable, but also the hardest to get. I haven't gotten one yet. Generally speaking the 'best' traits - for markings or bases - is Breed Only or RMA exclusive, since you can't apply them to your wolf yourself (or, in the case of RMA markings, you could but it takes a LOT of luck and GC). Merle was super super popular for a while, but it flooded the market pretty badly and isn't really special anymore. A full 10 markings at high capacities is generally also better. I'd look around at studs to see what sort of things others are doing. You can check out the Stud forum under Stockpile, and you can look at how many pups a wolf has sired to get an idea of his popularity. High stats are also a big selling point for studs!

There is, in my opinion, a lot less pressure to find the 'perfect' breeding male since the implementation of pair bonding (you'll unlock that after you've played for 30 days). You can pick a breeding male to put up for stud without worrying so much that he isn't perfect for a female you want to breed with. All the same, you should hold off on setting one until you've got a good idea about what you want.