Appropriate breeding schedule for female and male pugs?

Question

I am not a breeder, but have several people ask me about good breeders and I would really like to give them some solid information. One of my concerns is over breeding, and I would like to know what is an appropriate schedule for breeding a female pug (and also a male pug). I realize AKC allows one littler per year, but have seen breeders register a second litter in the same year with CKC. My concerns are stress on the female pug, and how many litters and how often should they be spaced apart, and how many litters would be proper without over breeding or hurting the female pug's body. The same question holds true for the male, how often and what is the maximum amount of time one bloodline should be allowed to reproduce.
I will never be a breeder, but want to help direct new pug owners to breeders that aren't into it just for the money.

Concerning the maximum amount of times males breed: I have seen a couple of our local breeders use one or two males to breed 7 female pugs (at least) and also advertise stud service. One of the males came from a poor breeder who tried to stunt his growth at an early age by removing him from the mother at 3 weeks of age and this male pug developed serious health complications as a small puppy. He is okay now, as far as I know, but this is not my idea of a good stock male stud, what do you think?

Answer 1

This is a good question.

General wisdom states the following (true for Pugs, as well as any breed of dog):

1. Neither a female nor a male should be bred before the age of 2 years, by which time all of the breed-appropriate genetic testing can be performed.

2. A female should not be bred more than once a year -- skipping at least one heat cycle between breedings. A responsibly-bred female will normally never be bred more than 2-3 times in her lifetime -- unless she is an uncommonly excellent producer (i.e. her puppies all go on to their championships, are excellent examples of their breed, etc.)...then she may be bred 4 times in her lifetime.

3. A male may be bred more often than this (since his body doesn't have to endure the carrying/whelping/raising of a litter) -- however, unless he is an excellent specimen of the breed, with several show titles (in the case of a Pug) and a very high profile among breed enthusiasts, there really is no reason anyone would want to use him more than a few times in a year.

Thank you for asking, and hope this helps!

ADDED: If you'd like to direct people interested in a Pug puppy to a responsible breeder, this is a great resource:
http://www.pugs.org/indexbreeder.htm

This page leads to a list of Pug breeders (in the USA) who are members of the Pug Dog Club of America, and have signed this Code of Ethics:
http://www.pugs.org/ethics.htm

Take special note of the "Breeder Selection Tips", as well.

Answer 2

The typical breeding schedule that most responsible breeders use is quite spaced out. It's usually anywhere from every 2 heat cycles apart or approximatly 1 year. Alot of breeders of smaller dogs only breed their females every other year. Do not breed them before 2 years of age, and retire them from the breeding program at the age of 5 or 6. A responsible breeder is someone who is well educated about the breed they raise. They also are more than willing to answer other peoples questions. As for a male they are usually bred on about the same schedule as females, unless they are used as "stud" dogs. They should typically only be used as a "stud" dog if they are of champion bloodlines, and have a history of producing champion pups.

Answer 3

A female should never be bred consecutive heats; her body needs time to recuperate fully, so you should always skip at least 1 heat. Also, I don't believe any female should under any circumstances have more than 3 litters. If, as a breeder, you know what you're doing, she'll have produced a female puppy who is better than her, and a breeder would be using the younger one. If she hasn't, she's not a good producer and shouldn't be bred anyway.

A male is much different. I know of males who were at the height of their winning, as in being in the top 3 dogs in their group, and top of their breed, who would have bit ches coming to them to be bred a couple of times a week for a period of time.

I don't know what you mean by the maximum amount of time one bloodline should be allowed to reproduce. A breeder works within one bloodline, doing line breedings or inbreedings, occasionally maybe bringing in a dog from another line which carries a trait he needs in his dogs.

Answer 4

Well I commend you for asking this question. Males once they are 9 months old can Father a litter but that doesn't mean they should. I would suggest the wait until they are at the very least 12 months old. Males can mate with out harm to them every 24 to 48 hours.
A female should not be bred until 2 years old. Then once bred and if the breed was successful and whelping went very smoothly and if she is found to be a good mom. I would not breed her again until she is back into tip top shape. Usually it takes at least one heart without mating and then if she is healthy then you can consider mating again.
Over breed can occur if the females is allowed to breed every heat which is very bad on her and the pups.
If you have 2 pugs of different blood lines they can remain breeding partners for the time you wish to breed the female. However with small breeds like a pug I would not breed the female after her 4th or 5th birthday. It just takes too much out of them.
No one should ever line breed if they are inexperienced at it. It can lead to disaster.I hope I have answered your question. If not then you can e-mail me.

I would never breed or use a dog for breeding if it had any type of health problems past or present. It is not bettering the breed to do so. Just passing on health problems.
I sounds to me like the person breed this male pug is more of a puppy mill type person. No reguard for the breed at all and only interested in pumping out puppies.

Answer 5

My family and I have been breeding, competing and rescuing our breeds for 40 years. I have never bred Pugs but I understand there can be complications with breeding them so it should be done very carefully.
There general rule from most of the "breeding code of ethics" is never breed the ***** before 2 years of age and never more then 2 breedings in her life then she should be retired and spayed to avoid any possible health problems, including pyometra, from occurring(a potentially life threatening infection). There should be a spacing of at least 2 years between breedings to let her body recoup.
With dogs(males) the breeding can begin by 1 year but it would be best to put some sperm on ice to avoid any problems during a mating. More and more breeders are doing artificial insemination in order to avoid injuries or rejection during an actual mating.
Over breeding a ***** drains her and can kill her in a few short years. Most puppy mill/commercial kennels over breed and the ***** is bred out by about 3 or 4 years old.
A responsible breeder will not breed unless all health checks have been done and are excellent in results. This means OFA's on hips and elbows, CERF's on eyes, X-rays and blood work that will tell if there are other, breed specific, congenital problems.
A responsible breeder will not produce many litters and you may have to wait for a good animal. I don't know what you mean by maximun times for bloodlines. You don't want to produce so many pups that you lose control on who is doing what with you lines. You want to cull the pups so unwanted traits will not continue. That would be a pet quality animal with a spay/neuter contract. All bitches of quality sold should be co-owned in order to keep control on your lines.
There are too many, really great, unwanted animals that are dying everyday. To produce more should be done with the greatest care and thought. If you go to a breeder, do your research and ask the questions. If the breeder is worth their salt they will love you for it.
"If it is not showable or competeable, it is not breedable. If it is showable then it is debateable. Breed to improve you line not line your pocket"

Answer 6

As a first litter and undoubtedly pet quality, they shouldn't be bred. The female is nearly too old to be bred. Pugs often need c-sections, the puppies can't be delivered naturally. C-sections can cost 700-1200, more if it is an emergency at an emergency clinic. Do your pugs a favor, and don't breed them.

Answer 7

AKC does not dictate how many litters per year that can be registered out of any certain *****. I would find someone that breeds responsibly, like 1 litter every so often. Someone that takes the neccessary health precautions with their breeding animals. Someone that provides a good guarantee as well.

Answer 8

A reputable breeder will not breed more often than every other year and only when they are wanting a pup for themselves to show, they will ensure the female and sire to be are health test and free genetic disease first.

a great place to find breeders is right from the health registry records highlighted in blue on the left side http://www.offa.org/
most breeders include their kennel name in the dogs name
if I look at the records under pugs I see common names crop up such as CALINOUR, ATLANTIS, BLAQUE, BRANLEE, MIKSAS HUGGA, ZARMITZ, BRENICH, RUN-A-MUCK'S ,
CELESTIAL, etc

Put any of the names above along with the word pug in a search engine I may find the breeders website or other show breeders that bought their pugs for example this breeder has several Blaque dogs http://www.wrinkleranchpugs.com/index.htm

Branlee is a breeder in BC who does not appear to have a website
http://www.canadogs.com/BreedPug.htm

Miska Hugga is also in BC http://www.top-pugs.com/

http://www.brenichpugs.com/

If I find another breeder who bought one of their dogs I can then enter the names of their dogs to see if ofa records exist for them this allows me to pre check a breeder

It will let you know if they have pups or are planning a litter if a litter is planned that is the time to get on the waiting list as most pups are spoken for before they are born with the top quality breeders


I can search for Pug Associations for help in finding breeders though I still have to check them out
Pug club of canada http://www.pugcanada.com/
for Ontario there is a ph number and email address
Pug Dog Club of Ontario.
Contact: Noreen Talbot, Secretary, R.R. #16, Thunder Bay, ON P7B 6B3
Phone: [phone] Fax: [phone] E-mail: [e-mail]


check the AKC and CKC websites may help in locating breeders but remember even a puppy mill can register a purebred pug as long as they havea registered sire and dam ( an their is no guarantee the named parents list are the tru parents when dealing with some types of breeders so best to look for well respected show breeders, so you have to check a breeder out and ask for references if in doubt asking in particular for names of show breeders they sold to, as a good breeder is breeding mostly show quality pups not as a goal to provide pups for the pet market.. and a good breeder will interview the buyer as well to see if they think they are deserving of one of their puppies, they does not sell on a first come first serve basis they have to approve you beforre considering selling a pup to you. Ana another sign of a good breeder is their strict purchase contracts, if there ever comes a time when you no longer are able ro don;t wish to keep the pup it must be returned to them and often penalities of court action is written right in the contract for failure to do so, it will likel insist on certain foods to be feed to maintain the health of the dog and will often outline the vetting schedule especially for those sold under pet contract.
Going thru even the best show breeder you can usually get pet quality pup(maybe growing to fast, colouring markings are not quite right, very slight deformity which a good breeder will admit the reason why a pup is being sold as a pet will cost less than if you bought a pup from many backyard breeders and most definitely petstores and you get the guarantee of good breeding to go with that pup.

Answer 9

1 per year, max 3 times, pugs body is not adapted well for more than that, hernia"s are most common problem which puppies would have to be c-sectioned, and hernia repaired. very costly.