Is my dog too old to have pups?

Question

My dog is 11yrs old and shes a doberman cross with a greyhound, she doesn't act her age, she has so much energy in her and she loves to run, my step dad wants to breed her but is worried that the pups will die or even she will die and we don't want that to happen, any Suggestions

Answer 1

An 11 year old dog would be like a 70 year old woman having a baby. Yes she is too old. Her health could suffer at least. At worst yes she could die. Responsible breeders retire their dogs at 5-6.

Answer 2

A Doberman's life expectancy is 10-12 years. A Greyhound's is 10-13. So the short answer is YES, SHE IS WAY WAY WAY TOO OLD TO SAFELY HAVE PUPS.

The long answer has to do with how your step-dad is stupid and irresponsible for even considering breeding her, and all the all-too-obvious reasons why (hint: it's not just because of her age), but I won't go into that since it won't make any difference anyway.

Answer 3

she is way too old to have pups and she may find it hard to conceive anyway. she could possibly die if she had pups at her age it would be like an 80 yr old having a child. Hard.  

Answer 4

Would you expect your gran, or even great gran to have a baby (given that dogs don't go through the menopause!) ....... forget it!

Answer 5

Yes she is way past her prime for pups.  It would be very dangerous for her to have pups now.  She is a senior dog by many, many years!  

Answer 6

a dog lifespan can reach up too 18 years or so.. she is only 11.. of course there is a chance the pups or she could die.. but there is always the chance of death..if the dog is 5 or 10 there is always a slight chance of death..

good luck =D

Answer 7

A ***** cannot be bred at that age, no, whether she should be bred or not depends on her health and the advice of the vet. For a first litter I would choose not to breed at such a late age. There are risks involved with any breeding but moreso with an older female - a reason many breed clubs state in their code of ethics - special care should be taken with the aid of a vet when breeding older b*****s (or b*****s past age 6).

If the female has been tested & certified free of genetic health diseases, is an exceptional example of the breed and has been give a perfect bill of health by a vet, then and only then should a breeding be considered and only by someone knowledgeable about breeding, whelping and lifetime care of their puppies.

Why do you want to breed a cross bred dog?

Answer 8

She is too old.

That would be like a human grandmother being pregnant.

Answer 9

JeSsiCa, I haven't had any problems with my greyhound.

Answer 10

The person who said that dogs reach age 18 has demonstrated that they  are not qualified  to  answer questions in this area.

SOME indvidual members of smaller breeds can reach that advanced age and some unusual individual dogs of the medium and large breeds, but that age is considered exceptional for the average medium to large breed dog.

A doberman has a life expectency of 10-12 years and a greyhound is around that.

Your dad would be putting her life and the lives of the pup at risk and doing a great disservice to a dog that is still full of life. Even if she had pups without a major health problem, he would be shortening her life and impacting her quality of life. That young-acting energetic dog would be gone and you would have a dog that acted her age---or older.

IMHO It would be mean and hurtful to do this to your dog.  

Answer 11

yes she is to old. why would you want her to have puppies when there are so many dogs in re-homing centres. its more that about earning extra money!!!!

Answer 12

First of all...YES, she is WAY TOO OLD to be bred. Not to mention the fact of why you would want to breed a mixed breed dog!

Answer 13

1. Yes, much too old. Dogs probably shouldn't have puppies over the age of five or six. This could have a serious effect on her health and the puppies' health.

2. She's a mutt. There are too many mutts in shelters right now, we don't need any more.

3. Get her spayed and she will be ten times healthier.

Answer 14

Sorry she is WAY past her breeding age,she is now being classed an old/older dog!

They normal age for this size dog is about 2-3 years old and no older than 6-7 years max.My old King Charles Cavalier Spaniel didn't act her age right up she died,she was 13 years old,very old for this breed,her sister died a 9 years old the normal age of her breed.There's a chance she isn't as fertile now,your dog,but if she was breed many complications could/would arise.

Sorry,but i hope this helped. x*x

Answer 15

vets have told me that once a dog hits 7 it is then classed as a senior dog. the only way you would know for sure is to breed her and hope for the best if she doesn't survive then keep one of the pups if they survive. but the older they are over 7 the less chance you have of all of the pups surviving