I want to breed my Shetland Sheepdogs and need some advice?

Question

She's almost 6 months and he's a little over 3 months. The vet said she could get pregnant now even though my male is so young. He also said if she got pregnant under a year that it could be dangerous. He said it would stunt her growth amongst other potentially serious health risks. Is this all true? We keep them together so it'll be hard to keep them separate.

Answer 1

Shelties carry a few serious genetic defects and should be screened for them BEFORE breeding. Most health clearances are done at 2 years, but eyes can be done earlier and have to be certified YEARLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It is a BIG expense to breed. If you are not going to do it right and well....do not do it at all.
If you cannot seperate them, you are going to have litter after litter and that is not good either.
Chances are you have 2 pet quality dogs that should not be bred anyway. Making money off the dogs is never a good idea. Becoming a backyard breeder is not a good idea either. That is exactly what you become when you breed without much forthought and caring about doing it the right way.

Answer 2

Hi,

To even think about breeding your sheltie at this point, is way out. Sorry to put it so strongly.

Both your ***** and your little dog should be at least 2 years old, they should also have passed an eye test, declaring them free of CEA and PRA, as well as Hip-displasia. These are common genetically inherited diseases in Collie type dogs. The male dog should also be checked for Monrochism.

To leave the two of them together, and risk a possible pregnancy, would be like purposefully letting your 10 daughter get pregnant.

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www.looknorth.com.br

Kind regards,

Liliane Morriello

Answer 3

YES

WOULD YOU LET A 13 YEAR OLD GIRL GET KNOCKED UP?????


NO DOG SHOULD BE BRED UNTIL THEY HAVE PASSED THE EXAMINATIONS FOR HEREDITARY HEALTH PROBLEMS

Hips
Elbows
Patella
Thyroid - shows up after puppyhood
Cardiac
Eye
von Willebrands Disorder - blood disease - can be fatal

The dog can look fine, move fine and have hip dysplasia, elbow dysplasia etc. The visible symptoms won't show up until later.

The hip, elbow and patella xrays can't be done until they are 2 - OFA won't certify results until then.


GO BUY A CRATE OR TWO. You must keep them apart when she is in heat until you know that neither dog has hereditary health problems that can be passed on.

Do NOT breed until you have a waiting list for the puppies.

Article on "Should I Breed My Sheltie"

http://www.assa.org/ yellow section near middle of the page - 1st link in red with a blue dot

She can die in delivery or from nursing. It happens more often than someone who has only been around 1, 2, 4 litters in their life knows.


The Sheltie Breed Rescue is filled across the country with pet quality Shelties in need of homes


http://www.assa.org/

Answer 4

Yes it is true. Females start their heat cycles at about. 6 mo and males can breed as young as 3 mo. depending on the dog. If she does get bred this young she can have serious health problems. Some of them being: loss of calcium from bone, liver function, kidney function. That's just while she is bred, after whelping there is a whole new slew of disorders she can have! Please reconsider why you want to breed your dogs. It seems like your vet is very polite, ask him is honest opinion if you should breed. Don't forget to ask him about all the test you should do before you breed your dogs!

Answer 5

well first of all my vet says a male cant produce pups until he is aprox. 8 months of age when his balls drop. secondly he is right you want to skip the first heat because not only can it cause her to have bad health problems but chances are the puppies may all die as well. there are diapers you can get to put on her when shes in heat and i think there are sprays you can use as well to keep them from mating. hope this helps!!!

Answer 6

get them both fixed and tell you prospective customers to adopt from a local shelter. thousands of dogs are put to sleep every day. be a responsible owner, not a back yard breeder.