Help on new dog, on behalf of friend..

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walkandtrot

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Hi, another post!! but for a friend this time...
She has a 4 year old Golden Retriever entire dog, and is looking to purchase another of the same breed,.. she would like to purchase a bitch, and have one litter, before nuetering. her question is could they be kept together happily until she is old enough to breed, or are the chances are he would pester her etc, he has never bred before... whats your thoughts??
 
Why do they need to breed a litter?
It is a myth that is is healthy or 'good' to take a litter from a bitch before neutering.

They should not be bred unless both male and female are good examples of their breed (not just 'nice' and 'friendly' - there are plenty of those about already!). Also Golden Retrievers are prone to hip dysplasia so both should be x-rayed and only bred from if they have suitably low scores after being submitted to the BVA.
Not sure whatever other health tests they need but to breed without all the required tests is irresponsible IMO.

He will probably pester her when she comes into season, even if she is too young to be bred from, ie still a puppy/youngster, which obviously is not desireable.

I'd suggest she talk to some more experienced breeders etc if a) she is asking those sorts of questions b) if she really wants to breed.
 
To be honest I would ask why she wants to breed. Is there anything exceptional about her dog (temperament, looks, ability) that should be passed on to the next generation? There are a lot of unwanted dogs out there and unless she is serious about breeding and does her research I would suggest that she does not breed.

As for the question, I would imagine that as soon as the bitch had her first season the dog would get extremely interested in her and they would have to be kept apart. I would suspect it would be back to normal after her season although to be honest I don't have much experience with entire dogs/unspayedbitches.
 
Ditto the above, as well as hips I think GRs also would need elbow score and eye tests, but could be wrong, none of these are cheap. Also, if the dog is 4 now, and presumably she is thinking of getting a bitch pup, it will be 2 years before the bitch is old enough to breed from, so even if all tests are good that is several seasons of keeping them apart, and in 2 years time the dog will be 6, quite old for a first time stud, he may not have much idea and also could well be losing fertility. I would just try and talk your friend out of it tbh.
 
I agree with the rest, also if the bitch is caught young, say at her first season, the owner risks losing her if she has the litter or increasing risk of a pyo and bringing her back into season is she has a misalliance injection, it's a very risky game if you are literally jsut doing it for the sake of it and she has no experience at all.
 
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