We are in contact with a breeder with a 13 puppy litter, the Bitch is almost 2 yrs. old and this is her 2nd litter, the breeder confirms that the bitch is AKS approved. I thought AKC can't apply until the bitch is fully grown?
Please let me know.

Thank you.

This is a UK based forum so most of us won't know anything about how the AKC works I'm afraid. In the UK you  can register pups from a bitch aged 12 months with the KC, but the breed clubs tend to have their own code of ethics that members must adhere to and I find it hard to imagine any club accepting litters from 12 month old bitches. Especially in a breed large enough to have had 13 pups -clearly not a toy breed!

uuummmm.......... Again I am also not completely aware of the AKC rules, but would not think them too much different to our KC.

Here with the KC a bitch has to be 12 months of age at the time of mating, to register her pups, so it is quite possible that this bitch has been bred twice since 12 months of age, and her pups have all been AKC registered. It is pretty unscrupulous to breed a bitch twice in a row, (without good reason) though not illegal, moralistically is another issue. Although they say this bitch is 2, she could actually also be 2.5 or over.

The bitch probably is AKC registered, but check the paperwork for that! (she will have had that status from birth if born of two dogs of AKC parentage) Or when you say she are you meaning the pup? In which case yes, the pup will also be AKC registered if born of AKC parentage and the breeder has registered them. So you may not have anything to worry about in that respect.

But anyone breeding from a bitch so regular, I would definitely want to know why?  And you must check that they have carried out all health test and have documentation to show hips, eyes, or whatever else this breed needs.  Go to the breed club to check which health tests are needed. :-)  And if they have not been carried out, steer clear. ;-)

Depends on the breed although for any breed it's pushing it.  What breed is it?  Asking as this is not an advertisement so you can put the details on.

I don't care what the breed is, nor whether it is AKC approved :  to have had a SECOND litter of 13 before the age of 24 months is most undesirable.    By the size of the litter, I would imagine we are talking about a large-breed dog - and the bitch herself would hardly have reached maturity.

Stay away and Long Barge Pole are foremost thoughts in my mind.

Margot

In the USA Hip scoring with OFA cannot be done until two years of age, though preliminary x-rays can be looked at earlier.

Wouldn't touch a puppy from such an unethical breeder with a barge pole.

Find the AKC website.  they have links to the breed clubs for your breed, most of these will have regional breed contacts.  Contact the breed club for a list of reputable breeders in your state.

Often these badly bred pups are no cheaper than a pup bred with care from health tested parents.  Even if they are less it is false economy when shortcuts have been taken in these pups breeding.

Most definitely yes.  With anything but a toy breed two years is usually the minimum age for a first litter.

Gosh, actually until I re-read this I didn't realise that the dog wasn't even 2 yet!!  That's me, only look at half the story :d :d

As others have said for a large/medium breed many people here and in the US if they are breeders who care for their breed wouldn't even have a litter until the age of 2!

Having a toy breed, that is normally mated at the 2nd season, and normal litter size is 1-3 pups, I would not expect any bitch of mine to have whelped twice at this age.  It's obviously not a toy, and I am sat here thinking how very unethical it is.  Anyone with so little care for the welfare of their bitch is not someone I would go to for a dog.

The word 'bargepole' comes to mind.