**HOW OLD IS TOO OLD TO BREED A FEMALE? THANKS!!**

[Dre21]

Any advice/experience, both good and bad, with this would be helpfull!!

[Officially Retired]

The best dog ever out of Missy, Silverback, came out of her just before her 10th birthday ...

Jack

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[Dre21]

So would you say that it's based on the condition and not so much the age of the bitch?

[Officially Retired]

Absolutely.

[CitySwamp]

Bred a 12 year old bitch last year got 5 pups and she enjoyed her 13th birthday about 3 months ago with a Bison meat Cupcake.

[SICKBOY]

http://www.apbt.online-pedigrees.com/pictures/204100.jpg (http://www.apbt.online-pedigrees.com/modules.php?name=Pedigrees&file=printPedigree&dog_id=204100) she just had 13 pups and raised 11 on her last litter in may. I belive it has alot to do with the health of the dog when your breeding and how well she was maintained all throughher life

[Dre21]

Thanks for the input! Shout out to Ch. Little Murk!! Looking good.

[Officially Retired]

Great looking dog for her age, congrats to you on that :)

[H.C.B.A.Kennel]

thank you very much for the info on the issue

[Nash]

Here in the Netherlands you can't register a litter which was out of a bitch bred after her 8th birthday. This simple rule makes a lot of people here believe you shouldn't breed to a bitch after she turned 8.

[Officially Retired]

That is ridiculous.

Silverback came out of Missy when she was 10-11.

Not only wasn't she "too old," but Silverback was the best dog she ever threw.

The ridiculous "rules" people (who don't know shit about dogs) make up in their heads ... and then repeat as if it's gospel :lol:

Jack

PS: Who is "the governor of litters" you're talking about in The Netherlands?

[realpitsnobull]

Here in the Netherlands you can't register a litter which was out of a bitch bred after her 8th birthday. This simple rule makes a lot of people here believe you shouldn't breed to a bitch after she turned 8.

I think that is a good rule to go by around 8 or so is what a lot of kennel clubs will go by for papers yes it does depend on the dog and how well she was taken care of etc. But remember the older the dog the higher the risk for something to go wrong will be. But its your dog an your call if u don't care about papers

[Officially Retired]

I have bred more bitches (and smaller bitches) than 99.999999999999% of the human population on the face of this earth, and I have had no more problems with older bitches than younger bitches.

That is a flat-out wives' tale.

Jack

[FrostyPaws]

Not only ditto what Jack said, but you're at risk for something to happen breeding ANY bitch of age. There are a number of things that can go wrong, and age has nothing to do with many of those things. There's no reason to stop breeding a bitch at 8 years old unless you simply want to. If the dog has been kept healthy her entire life, and you want to breed her again at 9, you're not going to because someone told you that 8 was too old? I laugh all the time when someone tells me their female is too old to have pups, only to find out they're anywhere from 7-9 years old.

That's just silly.

[CRISIS]

what about breeding an older bitch for her first time?

[Officially Retired]

I was going to say, I am more nervous breeding a first-time young bitch than I am breeding an old war horse bitch who knows the drill :idea: First time bitches are often nervous and restless, and don't know what to do, whereas the experienced mama has the routine down and does everything right.

The only exception I would say would be older bitches that have gone to hell, are decrepit and horrificly-fat, because their stomach muscles are ruined and they don't have the oomph to push sometimes. But an older bitch at a good chain weight, or even slightly fat, are no problem at all.

To answer Crisis, an older bitch that's first time is no different really from any other first time, so long as she's active and in decent shape.

[Officially Retired]

I would like to also add that, as an example, my tiny bitch Cherry Cola needed 2 c-sections when she was young, because she was so small, and (because she was inexperienced) she didn't let me help her push. By the time she was 7-8, I was able to get pups out of her naturally, but I would always lose most of them, because the vets were using injectibles rather than gas.

By the time she had her last litter she (in 2009), she was 9 years old and I got both pups out of her alive, and with less hassle than ever before, because by then Cherry knew the drill and let me help her without trying to stand up and "see what I was doing." Cherry was in great shape ... and her age, maturity, and experience allowed her to relax and let me get those massive pups out of her tiny, small-hipped self.

Jack

[S_B]

I have a bitch who I just had a litter off of this past April. She will be 11 March 2014.

She is a house dog, and unfortunately we give her unnecessary "treats" lol But she has more than earned it and is a spoiled brat! So she is a bit chunky, but still very athletic and can hang with the pup we have off her all day long romping and playing about.

She did have 3 pups in her, the first one was stuck and was extremely HUGE, we had to make a trip to the vet @ 4am and he did not make it. The 2nd pup came out with ease and the last was a struggle. The 2 surviving pups were good size, but my pups usually are so nothing out of the ordinary.

I really want to breed her again, she's in heat now, but I'm a bit conflicted. And concerned she will have trouble again, she looked like hammered dog shit after her delivery last time, and I felt horrible. but she sure looks great now!

[EWO]

It depends on the dog. If the last one was tough for her I would imagine this one would be as well. It is a tough call. There is no age that is too old. Some dogs are too old at 8 others still doing it at 12-12-13. I have a bitch now that I bred when she was 10. I was planning to breed her again because she did so well at ten, when she cam in heat she bled for about two or three days and dried up. Vet check said she was not 'in' and she has not been 'in' since. She is going on 13 now.

Best of luck. EWO

[S_B]

Thanks EWO, she has been whining to be let out and wants so badly to got to the yard and select a male herself! So she's having a good strong heat cycle, not to mention flagging us every time we pat her on the butt! :rotflmao:

[BKNGAME]

I haven't seen anything posted on the male side on this topic but I have heard older dogmen swear against breeding a 10yr old stud. If he's able to produce should there be any differences of opinion?

[EWO]

The male dog is a little different as he does not have to carry the pups or give birth, or the real toll can be feeding them. Lotta stress on the bitch during these times. There are lots of dogs who produced successful litters after the age of ten. The odds of having a male throwing at the ten-eleven-twelve stage has a lot to do with the life they lived as younger dogs. It is not 100% but it does put the odds in ones favor.

If I had a stud dog that was throwing dogs for me I would breed him til he could no longer produce, have him collected, etc..etc..., regardless of his age. EWO