I have a lovely beagle who is from good lines and has been doing well in the ring. I am looking for advice as to what age i should consider having a litter from her. I would be planning on keeping a pup from the litter. I was told from an experienced breeder that it is best to let the dog have a litter at 18months, but i was looking for some more opinions on this. Many thanks.

Personally I wouldn't consider having a litter before a bitch was two years old, preferably three.

I would ask the Breed Club their opinion.  Unfortunately they do not stipulate an age in their Code of Ethics but I am sure they will be able to advise.

Personally I would not mate any bitch before the age of 2, whether it us my toybreed or my large breed.

for me i wouldnt have a litter before 2 but some do at 1 ,carnt be good for the dog !!

My last litter came from our girl at the age of 3 years 2 months, her first.  She didn't have her first season until 2, then her second at 3 years old, she went on to have 9 pups from this season (our biggest litter ever) and was the most fantastic mum, a lot more mature and took to motherhood like a duck to water, plus she whelped problem free.

This was after my vet told me she was probably infertile!!

I would not mate a bitch before 2 years, But! a lot of breeders do say 2years or third season.
You have to remember the bitch will become a mom and you want her mature enough to care for the pups,
If a bitch has a litter at 18 months she is only up to 16 months on mating in my opinion to young.

Denese

Think really it depends on the advice from the breed club.  Some breeds are different for the first time mating.  In my breed the norm is at 18 months or third season.  In others at 2 years, in others even more.  Try asking the breed club what their advice would be.

I wouldn't mate a bitch until at least 3 years old.  That way you have a chance to collate information on her siblings to see if any recurring problems are coming through from that line eg. elbows, hips, eyes etc. and then evaluate whether she is good enough to be bred from after that, that she has the necessary good conformation & temperament.  

I my breed it is considered the norm to breed between 18months to 2 years for a first litter, which is usually the second or third season.  But I think all dogs are individual and mature at different rates and it is really up to you when to breed.  But I think everyone would agree to not breed before 18months at the earliest even though the KC will register pups as long as the bitch is 1 year at the time of mating, which I think is something they should change.

Emma

> the KC will register pups as long as the bitch is 1 year at the time of mating, which I think is something they should change.

The Kennel Club only brought in that rule in the last few years, as there were far too many litters registered from supposed (or actual) accidents with young bitches on a first season.  In this day an age there is no problem stopping a pregnancy without affecting future breeding potential so a minimum age at whelping of 14 months that the KC have imposed seems reasonable, as in actuality with bitches coming into season at 4 to 10 month intervals with average of 6- 7 month intervals there will be few that actually would be that young when whelping, it means most would e on at least a second season.

Hi Beagirl, welcome to CD's I to have beagles.

I personally wouldn't have litter from a bitch until she was 2 years or over, this is an age I would feel comfortable with. Have you asked her breeder for advice?

hello beagirl,

I think that 2 years old is a good age as I believe that at 18 months the bitches still need to go through many body changes and are not stable enough nor ready to rear a litter. If she has been doing well in the ring why would you want to breed from her so early? the event of having a litter may on some occasions improve the look of the bitch however it takes a long time for them to recover after which you have missed a lot of potential showing time.In cavaliers which are ofcourse different to beagles, when they have a litter, they lose their coat for several months and they do not look their best and in my personal experiences can not be shown until 6 months after having the litter, even then their coat hasn't fully come back, I know beagles don't have any coat but i am giving you an example of the body changes that can occur. Before even thinking about breeding you MUST ask yourself some of these questions. there are so many more to ask yourself than this but I am giving you a few questions?

* have I the time to spend with the puppies and be at the bitches side 24/7 until the puppies find their new homes?

* Do i have the finances to pay for the bitches/puppies vet bills, food (once they reach weaning), litter registrations, stud fee etc (all costs can easily add up)

* Have I the time or money to keep back a puppy that a buyer hasn't been interested in and find it a new loving home?

* Have I the dedication of choosing the correct buyers for your puppies until you find the right one (it is easy for people to pretend that they will look after your puppy but do they really mean it?)

Buy the Book Of the bitch, read it and then that will help you to know everything the bitch needs, breeding, choosing the right stud,owner you name it. You can buy it online or in Waterstones.

I wish you much luck

And I would add:
* Have I the knowledge to give advice to the people that have my puppies if they have problems at any time in the future?
* Have I the facilities to take back one of my puppies if anything goes wrong?

Hi there,
Thank you for all of your opinions. I have bred before, although a different breed, so an aware of all the pro's and cons with regards to this and my other bitch was 3yrs old. Everything went textbook and the pups have all gone to fab homes and i hear about them regularly.
I was unsure of the 18mth first litter that i had been told about, although i know in some breeds it's thought ok. The reason the breeder gave me for the age was so it would stretch the bitch out inside before she totally matures and would help her self whelp her litters. Haven't worded that very well, but you get the idea. :0)
I am by no means planning on breeding my bitch this early, but just wanted others views on breeding age.. :0)
Thanks

Our vet advised me never breed on first season, so we bred on second season with our first litter. We had a litter 3 months ago, our bitch was two and a half.  (we tried breeding from her last year when she was 18 months, but it didnt succeed as they only tied for 30 seconds, and after that the dog wasnt interested, we had heard that even without a proper tie, it could have resulted in a litter) we didnt want to put her with another dog incase she was pregnant and we didnt want two ''daddys'' to the pups

> think that 2 years old is a good age as I believe that at 18 months the bitches still need to go through many body changes and are not stable enough nor ready to rear a litter. If she has been doing well in the ring why would you want to breed from her so early? the event of having a litter may on some occasions improve the look of the bitch however it takes a long time for them to recover after which you have missed a lot of potential showing time

I must point out that in Cavaliers both parents should be over 2 1/2 years old when they are bred from & not any younger. This is advice from the Veterinary Experts in Cavaliers & not the breed club, although I would hope this will be changing to be the same age of 2 1/2 years old