Age limit - Page 1

Dear list member, Could you give me information about upper age limit of a healty breeding female and stud male? Best regards, Igor

I know of bitches who have whelped (small) litters at AGE 9 or 9 1/2 -- That is really pushing it . I would be reluctant to breed my own bitches past the first season after their 7th Birthday. So that could be 7 years, or up to 7.5 years. The hardest point to make to "new" breeders is "Don't breed a bitch you're not willing to lose !" Because that is the bottom line -- Anything can happen. If you have enough litters, EVERYTHING will happen, eventually. Males can breed past 10 or 11 -- The AKC (and I'm sure other registries) have RULES about documentation past a certain age -- I believe the AKC is okay up to 11 - and after that you need special paperwork, or signatures of someone who viewed the mating, or something--- someone will correct me if I'm not up to date on this.

With males, there's really no limit, aside from the documentation requirements of the various registries; keep in mind, however, that an aged male which has never been used at stud may not respond to a bitch in standing heat, and be unwilling to get the job done...so don't hang all your hopes on using an untried 10 or 11 year old male. Behavioral conditioning over the course of the dog's lifetime can override instinctive behaviors. When considering upper age limits for brood bitches, there's more to consider. As Pineridge points out, there is always a risk involved for bitches, and that risk does increase as the dog ages. For a proven brood matron, however, that has never encountered problems during whelping and subsequently raising her previous litters, it's not unheard of to continue to use her for breeding for as long as she continues to have regular, normal heat cycles, and her owner is committed to keeping the bitch in top physical condition and providing the very best of pre- and post-natal care for her. Breeding a maiden bitch after age 6 or 7 is a much more questionable practice; waiting beyond that age to have a bitch produce her very first litter is more likely going to bring you complications with conception, gestation and whelping, and more likely than not you'll end up in the vet's office having a C-section done in order to preserve the life of the bitch...and very well may lose the pups despite the emergency surgery.

My first purebred dog was from a litter of 7 whelped by a bitch of 9 1/2 years. She was a working dog and in excellent condition. However, she was an exception. I would never recommend breeding a bitch over 7 or 7 1/2 at the oldest although I do know of a number of breeders who have done it successfully. I agree with Hexe about breeding a maiden bitch. If you're registering your litter with AKC, there is a cut off for the males, I think someone on the board said 11. After that age the breeding must be witnessed by a vet I believe. I'm sure those rules are listed at AKC.ORG. I was lucky over the years, never had a bitch that need a section, never a dead puppy. Same to be said for their daughters.

My mentors from, Von Batu and Von der Hohen Eiche(both in Germany)both tell me 8 years old is the magic age for breeding females. I took a female back this summer for a breeding and really wanted to breed with Ursus Von Batu(he was back from Italy). Both mentors told me, I would be taking a huge risk breeding with a male 10 years of age, because the sperm is not as mobil as that in a younger stud. They said I could have gotten one puppy from a dog that old, and it was not worth the trip for a breeding with a dog that old. I bred with Ian Von Fidelus(son of Ando Vom Altenberger Land) instead and was pleased with the results.