Should this female have been mated - Page 1

I saw in the Nachrichten that a female in Germany has been mated 12 days before her ninth birthday.   When the litter is due which is around mid March she will be in her tenth year.  Her last litter was born in August 2012.   In my opinion she is too old and has already had many litters.

Some people may argue that in the wild she would breed every season, however, this does not hold water because not many dogs in the wild survive to become nine years of age.

Mackenzie

Although female dogs do not have a menopause like humans, I have read that older female dogs have a greater chance of their eggs not being of good quality and consequently more chance of birth defects or abnormalities coming out in the litter.  

If the female is in good health and was kept up well, I don't see why not.  While not done often, it is done.

Nowadays the UK Kennel Club has a cut-off at 8 years,
although I think there is dispensation to register pups
from an older bitch in certain circumstances ?  So it
would no longer be likely to happen here;  at least not
with Registered stock.  Although I've known of several
cases, years ago.   I don't know how unusual it is
in Germany, maybe Susie or someone can tell us ?
[How old was Palme W on her last litter ?]

You don't say how many previous litters this particular
bitch already had.  I'd tend to agree with Xeph;  depending
on circumstances, and how well conditioned the bitch is, it
could be worth a risk of less viable puppies.  But is it really
necessary  ?

bitch mated 12 days before 9th birthday, will be 10 when pups are born???......i know not the point but something doesnt seem right she gonna be prego for a year?

I don't think this should be done all the time, but it does mean you are breeding for longevity -- you know she didn't die of cancer at age 5 or bloat at age 3 or kidney issues at 18 month or any other of a number of issues. If she conceives, those pups have some good genetics behind them. As long as she is well cared for, it needn't negatively impact her health.

I think it's a mistake to try to make "one size fits all" rules when dealing with living creatures--some females can't get pregnant after age 5; other dams are such poor mothers or poor producers that no one would want to breed them at age 9; some dams are in fantastic shape and recover quickly from litters; others have trouble recovering from one litter. Hopefully, her owners have her health and well-being in mind and made the best informed decision in this situation.

Christine

Mario, well spotted;  but I think the OP means she will be 'into her
10th YEAR' when she whelps,  (i.e. not 10 yet, but on the way towards
that birthday - even if only by a month or so).  Don't forget, everything
except racehorses (!)  is BORN  at 'nought', not ' age one'...

Christine....the voice of reason....I agree wholeheartedly.

Also agree with Christine.