my 16 month old female German Shepherd - Page 1

My female German Shepherd is turned a year Old September 30th prior to turning a year old she had to 2 heats. She is now in her third heat and going on 16 months .The woman I bought her From has a stud who was studded to my two year old female and she says to go on the forum which I am and to see what peoples opinions are because she thinks it'll ruin the reputation of her dog her stud and the female in question if I breed her before she's 2 years old I have never ever in my history of breeding shepherds or any dog have ever heard of anything of this matter.Stating that she must be older ...please give me proper feedback because I disagree.

The Kennel Club, of the UK, has an absolute rule that it
will not register puppies from a bitch mated before she
is ONE year old - but the KC has to cover best practice
for dogs of all breeds, and there is a variation as to how
quickly some breeds mature, over others.

If you talked to any Member of the KC about the issue, I
am pretty sure most, if not all, of those experienced 'dog
people' would say that GSDs are one of the slower maturing
breeds, and that bitches are generally not physically or psycho-
logically ready to have pups until their 3rd season at the
earliest, which usually brings them well over one year old
as indeed is the case with your 16 month girl.

Frank Jackson - a long-time breeder [of Border Terriers], a
KC Member, Judge, and well regarded canine writer and
journalist - has this to say in his book "Dog Breeding - The
Theory and the Practice" : "Out of concern for the welfare of
dogs a number of kennel clubs around the world have imposed
limits on the lower and upper ages of breeding bitches, and on
the number of registered puppies or litters they may have. These
limits are often reinforced by the Codes of Ethics which Breed
Clubs impose on their members (as) a response to concern about
the large numbers of ill-bred, badly reared pups being produced
by breeders who make use of Registration to give their products
an often spurious stamp of quality. These limits are primarily
concerned with population control and welfare considerations, ...
they are welcomed by all caring breeders."

Breeders are most likely to be truly successful in their breed(s) if
they use the most vigorous, healthy, top quality stock. Very many
GSD breeders would argue that bitches under two years, even three,
would have too much 'taken out of them' by being put in whelp, and
should be given time to grow up before being used for breeding.
Added to which, it is difficult to get in all the health tests and results,
and much in the way of either Work or Show titling, that justifies a
bitch as 'breed-worthy' before she is two years old. What do you
have already on your young bitch ?

I will leave you with another quote, from Pet Owners Guide to GSDs,
by the late Dr Malcolm Willis, who was the UK Breed Geneticist,
who says: " A bitch may be capable of breeding from 8 or 9 months
of age i.e. at puberty, but it is not normal to mate her at that time ...
Most breeders recommend having the first litter when the bitch is
about 24 to 27 months old; this means mating her 2 months earlier
than that to allow for gestation, and usually on her third season."

I could find you a whole raft of people who have written or said the
same thing, if I had time; so it is hardly an outlandish view by the
breeder of your dog, and I find it hard to believe you have never
heard of it.

Do you health test your dogs? If so, you would know that OFA won't give a final grading until the dog is 2.
You should at least wait until your girl is 2 years of age, AND is health tested.
Ideally one should breed a dog that is health tested and has title(s), as this is a working breed.