Im not sure if this is the right section for this question but here goes.I am looking after my friends puppy( her future stud dog) in  weeks time and although my girls arent in season ome of them has extremely irregular seasons so could possibly start during his stay here.Now i know he is only a puppy and all my friends think im being silly even asking this question but can a dog that young actually mate and produce pups? I only own girls and this is the first stud my friend has bought so she isnt quite sure and now ive got myself in to a state thinking about it.I was meant to have him last month but plans changed so i have him a month later than expected.Any advice appreciated.

How old is he?

I know a pup at 5 months old that got a bitch pregnant!...

it can depend on breed type too smaller breeds mature quicker so be carefull

If he can reach he probably can. Not a good idea though as he will be untested for the breeds required tests.

Now i am starting to panic! I do have baby gates up and he will never be left unattended,there will always be someone here,my girl probably wont come in to season but the worry is there.However there is no one else to look after him so i guess i will just have to be careful.He is small breed but not tiny,my girls are just a bit taller.

Dogs can & do stand on items to get to the right height to reach the bitch!

And through kennel bars LOL!!!

and gates LOL

Can you not beg, steal or borrow a couple of crates/cages if your bitch does come into season? I separate my dog from my bitches this way. They each spend time out of the cage, but never get to meet.

ETA: My M-I-L's 4 month old Papillon/sheltie cross caught my S-I-L's Cocker, so be very wary of letting them meet. (over 30 years ago ;-) )

Oh my goodness i had no idea they could reproduce so young,i just thought i was in a panic simply because he was male.So the baby gates i had in mind wont do then,i will have to use crates if necessary.

You haven't said how old he is ...

Sorry i didnt realise i hadnt mentioned his age,he will be 5 months old when he comes to say in a weeks time.

Then yes, he would probably be willing and very able!

> I separate my dog from my bitches this way. They each spend time out of the cage, but never get to meet.
>

That's how I work it too.  :-)

Other than the advice so far, I'm just curious about the terminology 'future stud dog' - a lot of people have that aspiration, possibly, for a nicely bred pup, but don't actually know until the dog matures, just how that will pan out.  To be honest, I was just worried about the bit where you say, this is the first stud dog your friend has bought, I don't know of any breeder that would sell a pup as a future stud dog?? 

At the moment, I have a rampant girl who is seperated from the others. She tried to force herself on her 11 yr old neutered grandfather, he was a bit put out. My older girl has just been spayed and is livid that she's not in season so she's really umpy, then we have the year old son of the one in season who is sitting teeth chattering and looking very confused and trying to work out where his mummy is so he is trying to mount the other two and being told off :(
Happy days, it will all be over soon and I can stop playing musical dogs.

On a serious note when the old boy was entire he tried it through the crate, where there is a will there is a way. You just have to be extra vigilant. If you have thought all this through and worried yourself to death probably nothing will happen and she won't come in for yonks.
Good luck.

> Happy days, it will all be over soon and I can stop playing musical dogs.
>

Sawheaties - thank you so much for the laugh!  It all sounds so familiar.  :-)  :-)  :-)

My friend has been showing her breed for years but has never owned her own stud,he will hopefully be her stud once he has passed all the aquired health tests,he has been carefully selected and she is very experienced in her breed but has always had girls but the question isnt about her,its about me looking after her little boy and making sure we dont have any accidents.Thanks to everyone for your helpful advice.

I wish your friend the best of luck in that case, hope he turns out to be exactly what she wanted :)

Thanks,she is keeping her fingers crossed,she has waited along time for him.

I was just thinking about this when doing my housework, thought I'd explain why I'd asked the question in the first place.  I know of someone who bought a pup that she planned to use at stud, the *breeder* was more than happy to sell the pup as a potential stud dog.  Turns out they were the worst of the worst puppy farmers, the dog (Labrador) developed hip dysplasia and required surgery before a year old, the owner was mortified to find out how naieve they'd been, and now campaigns against puppy farmers, working for rescue.  So it was just concern that your friend had been misled in any way that prompted me to ask, not at all meant as a criticism, but better to voice concerns (I think) than leave them unsaid, and it's nice to hear that's certainly not the case in this instance :)

Anyway, lots of work to do, good luck, hope you manage to find a crate to be able to manage them all while you look after him. 

Just as an aside, (as others have already answered the question and said a 5 month old dog may be capable of mating), at the moment this pup is simply an intact male dog, not neutered, I never understand why people call their young dogs their stud. He's just a puppy, he has to grow and hopefully fulfil his potential and prove his worth then he may be used at stud. Even then he's still just your friends dog, not her stud :-)

Tigger 2 I said her future stud,i know nothing about stud dogs,i didnt ask for advice on stud dogs just how safe would he be around my girls,does it really matter what i call him,thanks to everyone who havent looked for a fault in my post and have given me sound advice,im always a bit confused as to why people feel the need to make comments like that,it has absolutely nothing to do with my question.i was just being a good dog owner making sure my girls are safe!!

The only thing I would do if it were me would be to have an agreement with your friend that if one of your girls should come into season while she's away, and it became a problem, that you would be able to find somewhere suitable for him to stay. There are some very good home boarders out there who would take very good care of him.

But I'm sure all will be fine & your girl won't come into season, fingers crossed!

Thanks,thats a good idea and it would be peace of mind for me too.

JeanSW, I suspect that most people on here will totally understand and it makes me feel better knowing that I am not alone!!!
The things we do!!!! I'm keeping my guard up and will not be lulled ito a false sense of security by her because if it can happen, it will happen to us :(

> why people feel the need to make comments like that

Merely trying to educate you and anyone else reading this thread. I assume you joined this forum to learn more about dogs? Instead of your friends future stud, the correct thing to say would have been your friends dog, entire male dog for clarification :-)

> Merely trying to educate you and anyone else reading this thread.

And educating it has been, thanks to all who have posted, covering all aspects - hope the OP's girls don't come in, and good luck for the young chap in the future :)

Thank you,i will keep you posted.

How long is he staying with you ?