What age is a female ready to breed?

[yorkie41]

My female is in her second heat she is 1 year 6 months old.

[yorkiekist]

Most females are ready to breed by 18 months of age. Alot of it depends on the maturity of the dog. I she is still very puppish, wait until 2 years of age. How big is she? I will not breed a female that is 5 lbs or under. Is she a good specimen of the breed? (great silk and color, dead-level top-line, correct bite, champion blood-lines, etc) Do you know what her back-ground is and what they have produced? Was her mom a free whelper? And the big question: do you love her more than anything she can produce? Alot of medical problems can crop up and you might loose her. Can you live with yourself if she dies???? I am assuming you have never bred a litter before. Lots to think about. Hope this helps, Lynn

[lisatodd]

1st question is, why do you want to breed her? if it is for her to experience being a mommy, or you want one of her babies, or you want to give one to a family member or friend, or you want to make money is not a reason to breed. like the post above, there is a lot to consider and the biggest factor is you could loose the mommy. if you read on the past post here in the breeder section, you will see where people who have lost the mommy and/or the whole litter.

the other thing is the market is flooded with yorkies and mostly of poor quality. is she a good quality of the standard? any defects she may carrier down to her offspring. were her parents of good quality standard?

to answer your question.....18 months is of good age if she is healthy, no genitic defects, and of good standard quality.

**** this all goes for the stud as well ****
there will be many heartaches if she or the stud has genetic faults that may be passed on onto the offspring....you sell them, the owner will come back to you.

read all you can, read this forum under the breeder section. learn all you can. make the right decision.

[Yorkiekids]

Is the rate of losing the mom high? I see this often posted when questions arise about breeding. I'm thinking of it, because I think Penny has the qualities and the champions in her blood line, but I'll never do it if there's a risk I could lose her. She's my best bud.

[tiggerr36792]

Originally Posted by yorkie41

My female is in her second heat she is 1 year 6 months old.

How much does she weigh?? If shes under 4 lbs she will never be ready to breed.

[tegamom1]

Has she been evaluated by a judge, experienced exhibitor/breeder or handler?
Many people suffer from "kennel blindness", which simply is not being able to see the faults in their own dogs. Please understand, I'm not saying this is you, I'm just saying it is a major problem among a lot of breeders.

[red98vett]

Originally Posted by Yorkiekids

Is the rate of losing the mom high? I see this often posted when questions arise about breeding. I'm thinking of it, because I think Penny has the qualities and the champions in her blood line, but I'll never do it if there's a risk I could lose her. She's my best bud.

There's a risk. I used to think I wanted to breed - once I fell in love with my girls I knew there was no way I could live with myself if something happened

[YorkieRose]

I do not try to scare people away from breeding by saying they can lose their bitch...of course you can, but in 35 yrs I have lost one...so the percentage is very low.

In order to keep your percentages very low you have to prepare and do your homework. Use the correct stud with a breed size, quality bitch..work hand-in-hand with your vet..(You must have a breeder friendly vet for a good outcome). Invest in the right equipment, know what to do to insure the best results in the breeding, gestation, whelping and raising of the litter...this is accomplished by reading, studying, talking with other breeders, going to dog shows..that usually stumps people when I say it, but how can you learn to breed a good dog, if you skip the basic's?

[Rubi]

The previous posts are giving you great advice. I agree with YorkieRose, there's a risk a losing the mom but I don't think it's too high as long as she gets veterinary attention if something goes wrong.
I think she can be bred at that age as long as she's not too little. If you decide to go ahead after having weighing all that conciencious breeding involves, I'd advise you to have a good vet or experienced friend you can count on in case there are labour problems. Many years ago I almost lost Sally (she's already dead now) because she couldn't whelp, she was increadibly big carrying seven puppies which was far too much for her size and unfortunaley I had the misfortune to be refused help by the vet when I called him. It was a miracle she made it after all. She needed a C-section and these undesirable people at the clinic kept telling me all the poor thing had to do was dilate more and she would whelp by herself. It was almost 48 hours after the onset of labour that she was finally operated on. All her puppies died and as I said she miraculously survived.
I'm sorry if I've scared you but I just would like to stop anybody from going through what my family and Sally did during those days.

[sadiegirl]

Hi. My Yorkie just finished her first heat. She is 1 year old.
She weighs 5lbs. I would like to breed her at least once. I know she should be between the age of 18mths to 2yrs. Thank you for giving me the right advice. thanks.