When club regs say that a bitch should be over 2yrs for her 1st litter, does that mean at time of mating or at time of whelping??

Thx

Whelping, as it says litter not mating. 

Our breed club has this in it's code of ethics:

"Bitches should not be expected to whelp under 2 years of age. All whelpings should be acceptable to The Kennel Club. However, it is recommended that bitches do not whelp on consecutive seasons nor after the age of eight years. It is further recommended that a bitch's first litter should be whelped prior to the age of five years. No bitch should be expected to produce more than four litters. "

At the time of mating because once mated, a pregnancy will begin and that's when any strain on the b itch begins.   And actually when Hip and Elbow scoring etc needs to be done, that shouldn't be done before age 2?

And regardless of what's said, the age of breeding would be different breed to breed.   And actually b itch to b itch so when would be up to the owner and what they consider is right, for their b itch.   Testing notwithstanding.   I suggest that with some bigger and slower-maturing breeds, the bitch shouldn't be MATED until she's between 2 and 3.

Whether it's mating, or whelping is a bit immaterial - there's only 9 weeks difference from mating to whelping in any case and it would need to fit in with her cycle!!

And actually when Hip and Elbow scoring etc needs to be done, that shouldn't be done before age 2?

That's America, not UK. It's 12 months here.

Requirements for the BVA/KC scheme
Age and identification
For  submission  to  the  British  Veterinary  Association
(BVA)/Kennel Club (KC) Hip Dysplasia Scheme, dogs
must be at least one year of age in order to ensure skel-
etal maturity, although there is no upper age limit. For
dogs intended for breeding, it is essential that the hips
are assessed before mating to ensure that they are free
of dysplastic changes or only minimally affected

'At least one year of age' .........    I'd suggest when this is best done would depend on the breed and bloodline development?

'At least one year of age' .........    I'd suggest when this is best done would depend on the breed and bloodline development?

You will never get people even within a breed to agree on what is best -the rule is the dog must have had its first birthday. I've had dogs hip scored the day after their first birthday. In fact one bitch I had scored the day after her birthday ended up with a score 6 points lower than her sister who was scored later (closer to 2), so I'm happy to do dogs I am sure I want to use for breeding once they have turned one. If I am still waiting to see how they develop further as regards show results, temperament etc I will leave it until later.

Not talking about hip/elbow scoring - have done that :D  (At 1 yr and 1 month, with good results :) )

She will be 2yo at the end of March and around Feb-time she is due a season I'd like to breed from her in (due to having a summer litter, and benefits for socialisation of pups going to new homes in the summer - and also being able to let the litter be outside sometimes). 

We could wait a whole year but are also going to be renovating the house after that, and it made sense to have the litter before that.  Building work always takes longer than it is supposed to!

I'd mate her if the timing is better, remember leave it an extra year and then she misses and she is getting a big long in the tooth.

Actually I prefer the winter litters as by the time they go to new homes it is Spring Summer, and they have so much longer being outdoors during the housetraining and destructive stage.

Also rearing in the months with shorter daylight is easier with neighbours as pups wake later and also people are more likely to be behind closed windows so not as likely to be affected by puppy yapping at the 5 + week stage when they really need to be able to play outdoors.

Mien of course are more than happy to be out whatever the weather especially if we get snow.

My 'O' litter were out enjoying the snowy outdoors at only 4 1/2 - 5 weeks.

In fact that bitch had her pups just a few days after her second birthday.