My male puppy will be visiting my mum next week to stay with her while i go on holiday for 3 weeks,its been planned for a while,he is just a few days away from 6 months old.My mum has just contacted me to say her bitch has come in to season 2 months early and is unsure if she can take him now,obviously im in a bit a of a panic.What i want to know is can a dog thats only just approaching 6 months produce puppies?I wouldve thought he was too young but i do want to know the facts before i send him to mums and she is very wary about taking him.Does anyone have any experience of a male dog this young siring a litter?Im hoping he is still too young but dont want him to be stressed for the holidays.thanks

I'm afraid your mum's right - he's quite old enough to sire a litter; you'll need to make other arrangements for him. Sorry!

He is definitely NOT too young.  Your mum is right to be concerned.

To be fair it depends a lot on breed, a 6 month old borzoi for example would be fine and probably not even notice the bitch was in season but smaller breeds would be a real problem. I do feel for you, the best kennels will be fully booked at this time of year now :-(

Try your pups breeder most will take them back for a short while as long as they do not have a bitch in-season and there is not aggressive behaviour when you try to introduce him back into his original home

My mother in laws dog (sheltiexpapillon we think) sired a litter at 4 months old. :-( They thought he would be too young but they were definitely his babies.

I have dogs and bitches and have to crate them when in season, but it is hard work and not something I would recommend to anyone :-) You always have to be aware of them, and make sure that every member in the house is aware that they are not to be allowed out together at any time. ;-)

Not too young at all! Perfectly possible and even probable :)

I have both sexes here since 2006 and have no problem keeping them apart or not mating, the girl wears hygiene panties when not crated and I am present. Less upset if both dogs can actually see each other,seperating in seperate rooms can cause howling and hunger strike from the males.

I packed Rhuari off to my Mum for the first season here, he was back in 3 days as he refused to eat [even his favourite scrambled eggs with strong cheddar] and whined constantly under his breath and lay by the front door, this when I bought my first crate and she was happy to be confined provided he was in the lounge and not confined out of sight.

I use vanilla extract on the bitches tail end and the males nose and chest to mask the scent, the lads would drive me nuts before someone suggested this as a way to keep everyone happy.

I live alone so no one around to accidently let the 2 get together.

> >but smaller breeds would be a real problem.

My young male male even at 9 months wasn't interested, he was petrified.  Most I know of small breed havn't been interested lol.  

Could your mum use the hygine pants

I would absolutely NOT trust hygiene pants as a form of stopping a mating -not even if I was in the same room. They are not hard to get off and are only made for catching blood.

Your right, a friend uses pampers as one was pulling them off with his teeth :)   

I've never known a young dog to be that interested, n i wouldn't risk them being unsupervised and i prob take for a quick visit to see how he reacts before deciding to leave him

I use the Mikki hygiene panties and never had a problem, I wouldn't leave them unsupervised and when crated the female isn't at ground level as I have heard of matings taking place through the bars, can't see how this is physically possible but don't want to take any chances.

I've never known a young dog to be that interested,

The dog may not be but when backed into a corner by the bitch they soon get the hang of things so personally I would not risk it, have always had medium to large dogs and they are happy to try from about 4 to 5 months.