River Birch Run
UKC Forum Member
Registered: Jun 2007
Location:
Posts: 1176 |
Taken from the Whitney veterinary webpage
Estrus and Mating
When will my dog be old enough to breed?
Some males will start to have sperm by 7 months, but 10 months is more usual. Most have sperm by the time they reach 1 year. This early sperm is usually of a lower quality than sperm obtained from an adult dog. Adult dogs between the ages of 18 months to 4 years are usually in their prime and deliver the most viable sperm for impregnating the bitch. The quality starts to drop off after that and by 10 years old, the sperm of most stud dogs is of such poor quality that it will fail to produce a breeding.
The female dog, or bitch, also has an immature reproductive system at this age. The old adage of breeding the bitch during her first heat cheated a lot of puppies and mother dogs out of full health and vitality. Some bitches will come into their first heat around 6 months. They don't reach physical maturity until between 1 year to 2 1/2 years. Their bones and joints are still developing. If you want consistent, healthy litters, wait until your bitch is physically mature. This is something that you should talk to your dog's veterinarian about. She will need a good physical exam - before breeding - anyway.
You also need to be aware of the mental maturity of your bitch. You're going to be asking her to be responsible for 1 or more extremely tiny babies! Is she still a baby herself? Many of the smaller breeds seem to become mentally mature more quickly than the large breeds.
It is fairly common practice to breed the smaller females during their 2nd heat cycle while the larger breeds (such as Mastiffs, Wolfhounds and St. Bernards) need to wait through 3, 4, or more cycles. When you add to the physical immaturity the possibility of larger litters for the larger breeds, it's pretty easy to understand the importance of waiting a little longer. Breeding the larger bitches before they've reached physical maturity can produce severe "swayback" and bent legs.
If I pass up her first heat, when will she come back in?
The female's cycle length will be as individual as she is. Most come into season for the first time between 6 and 12 months, but the larger breeds may not come into season for 2 years. Wild canines only come into heat once a year; but, our domestic canines usually settle into a cycle of around 5 to 7 months. There are some small breed bitches that come into heat 3 to 4 times each year! Whatever her cycle settles into, she will likely maintain that into her old age. She will not experience menopause. Her fertility will simply drop off as she gets older until she will no longer "take".
The reproductive (heat) cycle of the female goes through several stages. Not unlike the human.
This is from a vet/researcher from Cornell Veterinary Medicine . Which is the leading University in K9 research. They research K9's to help find answers for human abnormalities.
Meyers-Wallen VN1.
Author information
Abstract
The molecular steps in normal sexual development were largely discovered by studying patients and animal models with disorders of sexual development (DSD). Although several types of DSD have been reported in the cat and dog, which are often strikingly similar to human DSD, these have been infrequently utilized to contribute to our knowledge of mammalian sexual development. Canine and feline cases of DSD with sufficient evidence to be considered as potential models are summarized in this report. The consensus DSD terminology, and reference to previous terminology, is used to foster adoption of a common nomenclature that will facilitate communication and collaboration between veterinarians, physicians, and researchers. To efficiently utilize these unique resources as molecular tools continue to improve, it will be helpful to deposit samples from valuable cases into repositories where they are available to contribute to our understanding of sexual development, and thus improve human and animal health.
So I guess I must be wrong LOL.
__________________
Home of the Original Whiskey Hounds!
Rebecca Agee
Report this post to a moderator | IP: Logged
|
08-03-2016 02:01 PM
