best time to mate a dog

[gwenfrewi]

I have a staffy bitch that I want to have a litter of pups before we have her spayed (is that how you spell it??) she will be 2 years old in december and will be ready for mating in december also. We have a male staffy who will be 18 months old in december to mate her with. My question is, is this the right ages to mate our dogs? any advise?

[jules77]

First of all, what is your purpose of mating the dogs, are they both good specimens of the breed, and you want to keep a puppy back yourself, and you have 'good' homes for remaining puppies. SBT are a status symbol, and far too easily get into the wrong hands, are not treated correctly, and we all know where that leads to.

[gwenfrewi]

jules77, thankyou for your quick reply but I find it a little condescending. I have had staffys most of my life (in my family that is) and I was just asking what a good age is to mate my bitch and what age is a good age for the dog to be to produce good strong healthypups. I am a dog lover and I am completely aware of how sbt CAN be status symbols, I, fortunatley am not one of those people and nor would ever consider selling my pups to anyone in that catagory. I would keep them all myself rather than let them go to bad homes! Can anyone give some proper advice please?

[lankeela]

The following comments are given with the best intentions. If you are easily offended, do not read any further.

Did you know there were 12,729 Staffs registered at the Kennel Club last year? Thats without all the unregistered ones.

Did you know that Staffs now outnumber greyhounds as the most numerical breed in Battersea and rescue homes in general?

Have your dog and bitch been DNA tested for the two hereditary diseases that Staffs suffer from to make sure they will not pass it on to their puppies? Do you know what these diseases are?

Have you studied the bloodlines to make sure the dog and bitch are compatible? Have you discussed the proposed mating with the breeder of your bitch?

Do you have the itme and resources to care for the bitch and her litter and to pay for a cesaerian should the bitch need one (can cost up to �800)?

If you can come up with the right answers to all these questions and still want to think about mating them, then I will give you a link to a couple of websites. One I hope will put you off wanting to breed for good(!) and the other will give you the answers to your questions above.

Please take this advice in the spirit in which it is intended.

[lankeela]

http://www.dogstuff.info/to_breed_or_not.html

http://www.spinillons.com/Thingstoread.html

http://www.staffords.co.uk/sbtvet/breeding.htm

[gwenfrewi]

who do you think you are? I am not offended by your questions nor am I gonna answer them because I shouldnt be under scrutiny for asking a question. I love my dog dearly, infact I love dogs more than I love people and I am offended that anyone would think otherwise. Of course, you dont know me but maybe you should think about the way you word things, thankyou for your time

[lankeela]

Oh well, did what I could. If you'd have bothered to look at the last link I gave it would have given you what you were asking.

[jules77]

sorry you were offended, but reasonable questions I thought to a question from someone who is hoping to have a litter of puppies. You really should think long and hard about what you are about to undertake, and why you want a litter from your bitch in the first place.......and take the time and trouble to read the links Lankeela has posted. I have two bitches, one from whom I would love a litter from, she is a good specimen of the breed and I know of a lovely stud that is compatible with her line, and apart from wanting to keep a puppy myself, her breeder and a friend would want one......but.......having seen my friend lose three puppies within two days of birth, the mother was quite poorly, her milk dried up, - she had to hand rear the remaining puppy, had no sleep for almost 4 weeks other than the odd hour here and there, numerous trips to the vets with both mother and puppy, I am not sure I am able to commit to that physically or mentally, are you? Being a dog lover is not enough reason to undertake this kind of commitment lightly - and as this is your first time, which I assume it is, it would be a good idea to have someone with experience close at hand.

[leelapops]

gwenfrewi-lankeela and jules77 are both, from what I know, very VERY experienced with dogs, to the point of being experts!
There's no need to feel patronised-they are asking you the questions you yourself should be thinking of. SBTs are so often discarded, after new owners find they are more of a handful than they are deemed to be worth: is that something you want to have to live with? Would you offer a lifetime guarantee, and always be able to take dogs back if their owners could no longer keep them? I am sure you are knowledgeable on the subject, but you asked for people's advice: people who answered you love dogs, and want to see what's best for all breeds.

The first link lankeela gives is saved on to my favourites list, and I send it to anyone I know who plans to breed-there are so many hidden costs and unexpected problems: not just financially either; imagine losing your dog due to complications during labour. I would really recommend it as a read, whether you plan to breed or not.

This subject is often raised, and always receives a broad range of responses. Don't expect people to mince words on here, especially on a subject so close to people's hearts.

[lankeela]

Thanks leelapops, couldn't have put it better myself! I am long past being upset by people's responses to my answers, which say more about them and their intentions than they do about me.

Its not a totally lost cause, I can remember one person saying they had read the links and decided against breeding.

[leelapops]

That's good to hear lankeela. The problem with words is that they can be misinterpreted, but I think in situations like this, that isn't possible. And you have to be blunt on subjects such as this one, because if you are all sunshine and love, people don't take your words seriously!
If you can get through to one person, that's a start. I was looking through the rescue pages recently, and there were SO many SBTs and SBT Xs, a neighbour has a lovely SBT bitch, and wants to breed off her, but I really want her to read "To Breed Or Not To Breed" first.

I can't see a justification for breeding a dog already so misunderstood and often-discarded, unless it's a truly spectacular standard: the risks are so high, pre-birth, post-birth and throughout the puppies' lives.

[jules77]

I am no expert - I do a lot of research, I listen to others, take advice, and use common sense. At the end of the day, we all have to start somewhere, I have lived with dogs all my life, and been involved in showing for nearly 20 years, sometimes successfully, sometimes not, but that is showing for you!! However, I think if you have to ask how old your bitch needs to be to have a litter, that is pretty basic stuff, and I would want to have a lot more knowledge before I even though about breeding, and would also want someone with experience close to hand. I just thought it was a reasonable question to ask why you would want a litter in the first place, there is no quick buck to be made from dog breeding, regardless of what people may think.

[Annlinda]

Could I just add my twopennyworth by saying gwenfrewi you really should take notice of previous postings. Your response seems to be typical of staffie owners. You just don't want to admit that your breed really should be controlled far better than it is.

[jedimistress]

I think people jump to conclusions a little on here. I am opposed even to the Kennel Club itself I see it as only a money making administration machine. Issuing bits of paper for a fee on people's say so, no checking to see if 12 pups were really born, never minding the inter breeding which the system itself causes. KC must be KC mum and KC dad to be KC!

The conclusion I jump to is that your name sounds welsh. I was in wales today and all I could see everywhere was chavs, tattoos, muscle men and SBT's. In the valleys, it is full of people on the dole but breeding dogs to earn extra from the pups. And unfortunately those dogs all seem to be ones people in certain circles think it's cool ot have. I keep a close eye on some websites and see allsorts coming out of Wales. Bull terriers X Dogues de Bordeaux X Akita X Rottweilers. I also keep an eye on the rescue centres and indeed they are full of bull terriers. It's a damn shame. Why people breed dogs when there are so many in need of homes is beyond me.

[wolf63]

I have nothing against SBTs they are lovely little dogs, the must be popular as the rescue centres are full of them.

My feelings are that unless you really know what you are doing as regards to breeding you should have your cat or dog neutered. It is not as easy as the majority of us think - picking the correct dogs, looking at their genes and genetic history etc is a complicated issue.

No matter what breed you are thinking of breeding - it really should be left to those who know what they are doing.

[DEBZ0000]

hi everyone , this is a heated discussion!!!!im a staffie owner myself my little girl is nearly 8 and i love her dearly ive never mated her due to the fact that her mum died having the litter which she came from and also i was terrified that someone may buy a pup of hers and fight it,which would be on mind and i couldnt live with that.i think that if gwenfrewi wants to mate his dog then im sure he/she wont b irrisponsible as he/she has asked a logical question in the first place for the dogs safety.i do resent the term typical staffie owner as i find it condescending myself .There are too many people who judge the breed with their looks and storys that are told by dumb press,im not having a go at anyone , and by the way my mums yorkies are more vicious than any dog ive met lol xxx