Hi all

Just wanted some opinions on the age a dog should be when it is first used at stud. I have always thought that a dog was not capable of producing puppies till it was approx 10 months old and should not be used for stud until it is about a year and a half. However I was talking to someone the other day with a different breed from mine and they said that they have had their 8 month old puppy on their bitch every day for the past few days, so they expect to get a good litter of puppies. Both dogs are from tested parents and are hereditary clear for all the health tests and the bitch has been hip scored with a very low score. I just wondered if I was wrong and it is possible to use a young dog at stud.

Thanks

Alli

The big problem as far as I can see is that the dog will not be hip scored and because of his age the owners will have no idea of how he will be when adult.

Hi Jackie

Thanks for replying

i have to say that I disagree completely with this dog being used for stud as I feel he is far too young and as you say his owners have no idea how he will turn out as he matures, especially as he is a fairly slow maturing breed. I just wondered if it was possible for him to produce puppies as I said to the owner of this dog it was unlikely he would. I'll probably have to eat humble pie in 9 weeks tho.

Alli

At his age he will be fertile & very capable of reproducing.

My first Border Collie's father was 5 months old when he produced her(not an intention mating as the shepherd had been told his bitch was barren after several failed planned matings) This was in 1970 mind you

If the male has tesicles & can phyisically able to mate he can become a father

Ethics aside, the rules of  sod work like this.
If you have planned this mating, and are desperate for it to take, it wont
If however, your fool partner has left the dog gate open, and you come across an unexpected tie in the middle of the lounge, your bitch will whelp copious quantities of puppies and require huge amounts of vet bill money spent.  despite all your quick thinking and antimate jabs LOL
BTDT!
JaneA

There is another way of looking at this - if of course the dog's parents have been hip scored and the dog himself has had all the other relevant tests for his breed.

If he looks very promising then using him young for one litter will allow people to see how his pups turnout and then by the time he is a few years old they can think of using him for themselves - if you wait till a dog is three or four and fully mature for his first litter then he will be five or six by the time they are mature and he may not get as much exposure.

The above is for well bred dogs, regularly shown or competing - not for "the dog next door" type breedings.

Hi Christine

Both dogs are shown and the bitch has her first CC. The dog in question is from a very good kennel and both parents are proving themselves in the showring, so I suppose if the mating is successful all will probably turn out well. I was just unsure if this was possible or the ethical thing to do. As I said in my previous post I thought a dog wasn't capable of producing a litter until he is about 10 months old.

Oh well I suppose I'd better start eating humble pie now then lol !  :)

Thanks all for you imput.

Alli

not sure I agree on it but at the same time the dog is willing and able!

however I fail to see how the more two dogs mate the better the puppies will be!

Personally I wouldn't use a dog below 18 months at stud but thats JMHO

Rox

Im sure he would be capable alot of breed clubs have a lower age limit for dogs to sire a litter ours is 18 months ;)