German Shepherd Males Reaching Maturity - Page 2

With all jokes aside - much of what was said about the original topic does make sense when I think of how my own son and daughters have all (grown up) matured over the years. I am particularly interested in Handmutter's comment which was, "I do wonder about this - whether the longevity of the particular 'family' of dogs is in any way a factor; does a slow-maturing dog usually live, on average, for more years, or doesn't that make any difference?" That, to me, is an excellent question. I know there are many factors that determine longevity in German Shepherds such as living conditions, feeding, overall health, inherited problems, etc. What I just said, though, doesn't answer Handmutter's question as his question is about whether or not slow-maturing dogs have a longer lifespan. 

The maturity rate of canines is related to body size. "Large dogs grow considerably faster and take longer to reach adult weight."(Kirkwood 1985:Favier et al. 2001)

 

We conclude that large dogs die young mainly because they age quickly.

http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/669665?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents

@ sffwheat - unless someone does some proper research in that direction, I guess we'll never really know. I just wondered if anyone's experience over time with a lot of GSDs had led them to conclude that it might; have been thinking back over dogs I have known, but cannot find any obvious connection between slower-maturing dogs (or females, for that matter) and the dogs i've had in my care who were particularly long-lived. I have been very lucky in that many of mine have 'gone into double figures' so the right environment was being provided; but having said that, not all their offspring (where they have had any) have always been so lucky, even when these stayed home rather than go to live with other people.

Linda.

Hey Lynne
This is Lori in Baton Rouge with sam. And I wanted u to know when I spoke to peggy in Michigan back in February she told me that her dog Troas is ten now and can still sire a litter naturally. The dogs in our lines have very high sperm counts. If sarge were mine I probably would not worry. Nothing like a little xtra advice tho

Thanks Lori. I always appreciate any advice or news I can get!

My experience in 30 years of breeding is that males are their best at around 4 years of age. The old adage of 7 years dog to 1 year human seems spot on to me. A 4 to 4.5 year old GSD can be likened to a 28 year old young man, 5 year old to 35, as the dog reaches 6 and 7 there is a plateau in maturity, then a slight decline starts at around 8-9. Various lines develop differently, however. My experience has been that lines that mature too quickly, the dog is not structurally as good at middle age. I am talking strictly conformation, and with American lines. Seems dogs that mature fast, load up in the front and are not as athletic in middle age. Bottom line it is normal and good that your dog is starting to body up at this age, he is reaching his potential. Bitches mature more quickly, probably start looking good at around 3- 3.5, again depending on bloodlines.

Yes, it's safe to let a 1 year old male stay with his mom-in-heat.

Nothing's gonna happen.

Swarendu why would you say that.  Giving junk information to someone who needs help is not just not right just because you don't like the question.

No do not leave your male with ANY female in heat unless you want puppies.

Admin, what was the question that you felt I didn't like?

My post was in response to the previous poster's over generalization of relationship between dog & human years, that too after 30 years of breeding experience.

If you believe THAT post, my post also stands. If you don't, I didn't see anything from you to confirm that.

It's not my fault that PDB doesn't have a sarcasm font.

I wish it did too,

I was worried that someone would actually believe your statement and did not want that. You know we have a lot of beginners here with little to no animal husbandry knowledge.  We could have puppies galore if not careful of the information that they read.