lionqueen Posted May 25, 2013 Share Posted May 25, 2013 Hi all, Just wondering what the general consensus is regarding an acceptable age for a bitch to have a litter. What is considered "too old". Does it depend on her health, previous amount of litters etc? Thanks in advance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowanbree Posted May 25, 2013 Share Posted May 25, 2013 I personally only breed bitchs up to 6yrs of age as a matter of rule. I have considered mating a 7yr old but decided in this situation there were just too many cons and she was desexed, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alpha bet Posted May 25, 2013 Share Posted May 25, 2013 There is a minimum age for first breeding however don't think there is actually an upper age limit given... I believe that if a bitch is to have more than 6 or 7 litters (can't remember which) then you have to have inspected by a vet prior to mating. There are a number of factors to be considered as to when to stop breeding for example: How many pups in each litter? How long between litters? What is the breed? How fit is the bitch kept? One of my bitches has just had her final litter at the age of 7.5 years. This was only her fourth litter and she is very fit... when we took her to the vet clinic for AI they thought it was her first litter she looks so fit and strong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trisven13 Posted May 25, 2013 Share Posted May 25, 2013 I'm about to mate a bitch who turned 6 last month. This will be her second and last litter. She was easily mated and easily whelped BUT for me and this bitch I think that 6 is old enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WreckitWhippet Posted May 25, 2013 Share Posted May 25, 2013 depends on the breed and how the bitch has been cared for. Nature determines when they are too old Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christina Posted May 25, 2013 Share Posted May 25, 2013 depends on the breed and how the bitch has been cared for. Nature determines when they are too old It does depend on the breed & the individual dog however nature can be an idiot. Someone enquiring for a puppy a few months ago asked the age of my mum to be. The reason was they were shocked after a call to someone else to be told the mother of expected pups was 12 Pregnancy is too much of a burden on a dog that age IMO. 6 is the oldest I have bred from however a little older seems acceptable as my breed often lives to 15 or more. With mine I prefer to breed a few litters when they are younger rather than leave many years between & then desex them. Proposed legislation for some states of limits of 10 years for a female & 6 years for a male seem stupid & doesn't make any sense, the other way round would be better & make more sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebanne Posted May 25, 2013 Share Posted May 25, 2013 Proposed legislation for some states of limits of 10 years for a female & 6 years for a male seem stupid & doesn't make any sense, the other way round would be better & make more sense. that's only for small dogs, for my breed it is 5 for a bitch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragonwoman Posted May 25, 2013 Share Posted May 25, 2013 Hi all, Just wondering what the general consensus is regarding an acceptable age for a bitch to have a litter. What is considered "too old". Does it depend on her health, previous amount of litters etc? Thanks in advance Are you talking about a first litter for this bitch? If a bitch has previously whelped I feel they can have further litters at an older age than a maiden Depends on the breed too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted May 26, 2013 Share Posted May 26, 2013 Back in the dark ages where no one was telling us how old a bitch should be before she shouldn't have a litter it was nothing for bitches to be mated and have wonderful healthy lives and superb litters well into their teens and every sign showed they thrived on it. There isnt any science to say they should stop at any given age or time in their lives and in all honesty unless you have actually had a bitch that whelped in her teens how can you assume its too hard on them? So much is dependent on breed and its about her health not her age. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WreckitWhippet Posted May 26, 2013 Share Posted May 26, 2013 Back in the dark ages where no one was telling us how old a bitch should be before she shouldn't have a litter it was nothing for bitches to be mated and have wonderful healthy lives and superb litters well into their teens and every sign showed they thrived on it. There isnt any science to say they should stop at any given age or time in their lives and in all honesty unless you have actually had a bitch that whelped in her teens how can you assume its too hard on them? So much is dependent on breed and its about her health not her age. you'd be crucified for doing it now, regardless of the bitch being up to it or not. Of course there's no science, it's pen pushers and animal lib drawing the lines in the sand these days, regardless of them being wrong. But hey, they have to protect the dogs from the puppy farmers some how Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted May 26, 2013 Share Posted May 26, 2013 Back in the dark ages where no one was telling us how old a bitch should be before she shouldn't have a litter it was nothing for bitches to be mated and have wonderful healthy lives and superb litters well into their teens and every sign showed they thrived on it. There isnt any science to say they should stop at any given age or time in their lives and in all honesty unless you have actually had a bitch that whelped in her teens how can you assume its too hard on them? So much is dependent on breed and its about her health not her age. you'd be crucified for doing it now, regardless of the bitch being up to it or not. Of course there's no science, it's pen pushers and animal lib drawing the lines in the sand these days, regardless of them being wrong. But hey, they have to protect the dogs from the puppy farmers some how Indeed. Progress. I have seen lab bitches fit & healthy whelping into double figures Exercising, running alongside horses, hardly noticing their pregnancy :) Those were the days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldielover Posted May 26, 2013 Share Posted May 26, 2013 In my breed, 6 to 7 seems to be the 'norm' for bitches to have their final litter. From personal experience (and i've only had 7 litters), i agree with this as i've had friends (also same breed) who have mated older bitches and had a lot of issues - could just be coincidence but 6 or 7 years is enough for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hilaryo Posted May 26, 2013 Share Posted May 26, 2013 I believe it depends on the bitch. My girl who is very fit had her last litter at nearly 8 with no problems. We did get a full blood screen before mating just to be on the safe side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdoubleJ Posted May 26, 2013 Share Posted May 26, 2013 I have not long had a litter from my oldest girl - she will be 9 in September - however she is fit as a fiddle, can run and play all day. This is her second and last litter, she is a great mum and bounces back easily. I always say she is 8 going on 2! LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancinbcs Posted May 26, 2013 Share Posted May 26, 2013 8 is quite common in my breed for a last litter, with 9 not uncommon and even a few 10 year olds known to have whelped with no problems. All of these bitches would have already had at least one litter easily before. I know of several who have not had their first litter until 6 years but most prefer to breed the first litter between 2 and 5 years. Back when I started in dogs, breeding 12-18 month old bitches was common for a first litter and males were usually used for the first time between 8-10 months. Fertility problems were rare back then. Our breed clubs imposed a recommended age of 2 years for breeding either sex to try to eliminate breeding from dogs affected with the fatal hereditary condition CL, that doesn't show up until 16 -20 months. We now have a DNA test to avoid the condition but somehow the mindset of never breeding under 2 years has endured. We have a club COE that requires hip and elbow scoring so no matings until that is done after 12 months with bitches recommended to be 18 months for maturity. The proposed ages in Vic are ridiculous. Who the hell came up with 6 years for a male and why? In a breed that doesn't often mature before 4-6 years and therefore get looked at seriously as a stud prospect it makes no sense at all. I know of many 12 year old males who have been used successfully and even a few 14 year olds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mini girl Posted May 27, 2013 Share Posted May 27, 2013 Six year the very maximum - I bred one of my girls just a couple of months before she was 6 and lost two pups - never happened before - so never breed them that late again - only pups I ever lost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lionqueen Posted May 27, 2013 Author Share Posted May 27, 2013 Thanks everyone! I am just looking to the future really... My girl has had two healthy litters, she had her first litter at 5 years, and the second one in March at 7 years. I am just debating whether it would be viable for one last litter next year or not. She is a very fit and active girl, so I guess it would be worth getting my veterinarians opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
espinay2 Posted May 27, 2013 Share Posted May 27, 2013 My breed is known for having litters later in life - 6 to 10 years or so and interestingly there are historical anecdotal stories about well known brood bitches (famous in old pedigrees) who 'refused' to go into whelp until 6 or older. I know of a recent years 'oops' litter overseas too (which produced some truly wonderful dogs) where the bitch was 11 if memory serves me right and every attempt to get her in whelp prior to that age had failed. Both bitch and pups strong and healthy. In general I would probably say 8 years on average is a good age for a last litter in my breed, but I really hate the idea of arbitrary limits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
temperamentfirst Posted May 27, 2013 Share Posted May 27, 2013 THe ANKC has age limits for bitches, and if the bitch is older, she has to have a current health certificate from the vet and the breeder has to get permission from the relevant state body before the mating - I think that is a good compromise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirislin Posted May 27, 2013 Share Posted May 27, 2013 Pennys (whippet) mother was 9 when she had her. She went on to live until 14 which is a good age for a whippet. Penny herself had her first and only litter when she was 5 1/2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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