I have a litter and didn't intend keeping any. We have got so attached to one of the boys and can't bear to part with him now. The thing is I am not sure how things will work out, keeping a boy and mum together. Has anyone done this and had any problems ? My friend had to get rid of her boy as they started fighting. Will obviously get one of them spayed/neutered too.Any advice greatly appreciated.

My seven month old mini schnauzer is a result of a mum and son getting on a bit too well!!!!

We kept a daughter.  Mum and daughter get on fantastically (SBT), but I know that this doesn't always happen.

I kept a boy from my last litter. They all get on really well and I have never had any problems. In fact if anything the boy is hen pecked!

we had a mum and son pair before, adored each other

I have a mother and son here. The son will be 6 in July and I've not had a problem with them at all, except for the usual 'timely' one ;-) Mum is now spayed, but I have 2 other girls in the house so 'timely' intervention is still needed :-D

It is very rare for a bitch and dog to fall out, the only worry is that a male pup can sire a litter very young and breeders have been caught out when the bitch came in season again which can be as early as four months after the pups are born, of course there will still be the issue of keepign him apart from any otehr bitches you own.

If the bitch is not going to be bred from again you could have her spayed when pups are about 12 weeks as long as the milk has dried up, this should just be long enough before the next season is due.  I have done this with my bitches last litters.

The only issue of course is if you haven't already kept a bitch to continue the line (the purpose for breeding in the first place), keeping a dog for this purpose is fraught with uncertainty as no matter how good he turns out to be you have to wait until someone wants to use him (which may not ahppen or teh bitches you most admire are not the ones whose owners will consider him), and then be top of the list for a puppy from him.

I have kept a son on two occasions, 2 different bitches, they all get on very well, one of the boys was castrated as we kept him only due to the fact that he had a stroke at a few days old and after nursing him back to full health there was no way on earth i was going to part with him. The other is a stunning boy and i plan to use him in the future on another of my beautiful girls, never had a problem with mother son relationships, obviously the uncastrated male is seperated from his mum completely when she is in season.

If you want to keep your little boy then do so as i doubt very much you should have much of a problem, other than the season issue but if you get one or the other neutered then that eliminates that all together

Good luck with him

Mother and son pair here and they get on great!  Though unfortunately due to trauma, Lana lives most of the time at my parents anyway and comes here when my old girl is in season as I then swap them round!!

i hve 3 sons with their mothers...but...why would you have a litter with no intention of keeping a puppy? whats the point in that???

Most males and females do usually get on

Sam, I can honestly say that I had no intention of keeping a pup from my last litter (now 1 year old) I did keep one, but only because the man never came to collect her. I don't really have the space for any more dogs but wanted to keep a bitch puppy from a future mating. I didn't use my own dog this time, which is why I didn't want to keep a pup. I really want a daughter of his. However, the bitch would have been 4, maybe 5, before I did mate her to him. As I had problems in the past with a bitch whelping at 4 years old (first litter) I didn't want to wait that long to breed from her. Perhaps this is one reason why people breed without keeping a pup. It's so much easier to whelp when the bitch is young. The bones haven't set in place, which is why I think my older girl had problems.

I can't answer for the OP, but I would breed again and not keep a pup if I had to. My breed has limited gene pool and I feel that we have to keep it as open as possible. If that means breeding and seeling ALL the pups in a litter then so be it. At least there is always the possibility of getting a pup back.

> i hve 3 sons with their mothers...but...why would you have a litter with no intention of keeping a puppy? whats the point in that???

With you on that one Sam.

In Response to LindyLou

Have to agree with you Lindy Lou.  I too can only keep a very limited number of dogs (6 would be an absolute maximum, but prefer to leave that one space for emergencies like a returnee).

My breeds gene pool is also small so some litters I will be looking to breed something that II may be able to use later, or one of it's offspring if bred on from.

I too will be in the situation of needing to prove a bitch before I am in a position to keep a puppy from her, but when I breed any litter I like to make it count for something.  I am very keen to get new owners involved more seriously in my breed, as should we all, as without dedicated new owner/potential breeders are breeds will be in trouble.

I certainly don't agree with breeding just one litter for the experience for owner or bitch.  The purpose of going down the breeding road should be to found a line for yourself to augment the work of other dedicated breeders in keeping the breed going in a healthy typical manner for future generations to enjoy.

Sam's breed also has a very small gene pool, but homing her breed is rather more specialised undertaking.

I kept a boy from my girls last litter, they get on really well, play, eat together etc:
BUT I have to be VERY careful when she comes into season as he does not care that she is his mum!!!! If he can get to her he would have her!!! :) :)

I have another un related female that has been spayed too, they all live really well together, and my boy and his mum seem to have a little more of a special bond to each other, its sweet.

BUT I do stress again, a male entire dog will not care who he mates as long as she is ready!!  so be careful when mum comes into season, I am lucky as I have friends that take on my male at their house to avoid any 'accident' matings!

i hve 3 sons with their mothers...but...why would you have a litter with no intention of keeping a puppy? whats the point in that???

I'm not keeping one from the litter I've just had, though to be truthful if there had been more to chose from I was going to!!

Depends n the breed in many ways.  In a new breed many of us will breed to try in improve on the breed with dogs with good health tests etc.  I can't remember what breed the posters is, but I must admit in a more popular breed I would only breed if either I was going to keep a pup, or b that there were people interested in a pup and who were going to continue the lines and show the dogs.