# Age to breed?



## marii

Hi,

How old should at least be a dog in order to breed?

I just talked to this lady i know, and she said that someone she knows took their dog (3 months old male) to another dog today.

Is that healthy? Can a 3 month old chihuahua get another dog "pregnant"; and have healthy puppies?

I'm in shock here...:doh:


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## plumcrazy

If the 3 month old chihuahua hasn't reached sexual maturity I can't see how he'll be able to mate... Usually sexual maturity doesn't occur until at least 6 months old, but then yes, a sexually mature male can impregnate a female - not that it's recommended or even remotely wise to do so...


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## marii

thanks for your reply.

i really think it's weird that they are doing that to a tiny little pup.


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## plumcrazy

Some people have really twisted agendas... They believe the fallacy that breeding puppies is a "get rich quick" scheme and the ones who suffer for it are the animals! I used to try to explain to people like this that the expense of having a litter (and doing it RIGHT) should eat up most of whatever profits they're planning for... if a breeder breaks about even (with maybe a little extra for their efforts) they're doing it right... if someone throws two dogs of different genders together and doesn't do any testing, vet visits, purchase good quality food, etc... then, yeah, unfortunately they'll probably make some $$...  And, of course, they're probably thinking "the sooner the better" in your specific case...


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## marii

plumcrazy said:


> Some people have really twisted agendas... They believe the fallacy that breeding puppies is a "get rich quick" scheme and the ones who suffer for it are the animals! I used to try to explain to people like this that the expense of having a litter (and doing it RIGHT) should eat up most of whatever profits they're planning for... if a breeder breaks about even (with maybe a little extra for their efforts) they're doing it right... if someone throws two dogs of different genders together and doesn't do any testing, vet visits, purchase good quality food, etc... then, yeah, unfortunately they'll probably make some $$...  And, of course, they're probably thinking "the sooner the better" in your specific case...



I agree with you 100%.
(probably i'll be judged by this part...but i'll say it anyways)

We had a female toy poodle at home and i bought miniature male poodle... we didn't get them fix soon enough and one day...[ .......... :scared: - you know what happened]. I'm sure that if we had fix them, she wouldn't have been pregnant; but either way, there were puppies on the way... 
I got over-prepared (according to my vet); he was in shocked how much i know and all the things i done and bought for that moment. 

As prepared as you are, there is a lot of money, a lot of risks, and consequences from breeding dogs.

At the end, everything went well, but i wasn't able to sell the pups (not that we were planning on doing it). But i was horrible to me just the thought of "selling" "my babies" to someone and not knowing how they are and if they are treating them right or just as good as we could.

So, we kept them and we have 4 dogs now; and we adore them!

My point is, i learned my lesson and got them fixed but i would NEVER, EVER in my life see my dogs as a "puppy-machine"...


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## bigredpoodle

I think that according to AKC rules a regs the dog has to be 6 month old .


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## plumcrazy

bigredpoodle said:


> I think that according to AKC rules a regs the dog has to be 6 month old .


Unfortunately, these don't sound like people who follow rules... :fish:


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## Fluffyspoos

... three months? That's disgusting. x_x That's like sending a twelve year old to make babies, he may be sexually mature.. but is it right?


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## Harley_chik

This is awful no matter what, but we are talking about a breed w/ serious temperment issues. That just makes it worse. At 3 months, his owner has no idea if he is naturally aggressive towards people or other dogs. It's also possible that the dog will grow to be quite large, which means the owner or the female is putting her at great risk. These are the people that AR groups need to go after, instead of show people. 

I can't help but wonder why the AKC regs say 6 months. I know small breeds mature faster, but really is there any breed where 6 months is acceptable? Oops litters happen, but that doesn't mean the AKC should register that litter. Then again I think the AKC should make some health testing mandatory.


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## KPoos

People lie to the AKC all of the time. How would they know unless they start demanding DNA.


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