meeting new dog breeds for the next litter

A female dog's heat cycle, also called estrus, is the time when her body is ready to reproduce. Most dogs begin coming into heat between 6 and 12 months (earlier for small breeds, later for larger breeds) and typically have a heat twice yearly.

If you’re breeding dogs for the first time, and haven’t seen them mate before, you may have questions about what happens, why they become ‘tied’, how long they stay joined together and how you can know if your mating has been successful. Find out all you need to know about dog mating below.

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meeting new dog breeds for the next litter

What age can you mate a male dog?

Male dogs can technically mate as soon as they’ve become sexually mature, but we often advise waiting until they’re a little older before using them for breeding. This gives them more time to mature and grow in confidence and gives you more time to understand any negative traits they may have. Many breeds also have health tests and screening schemes that should be used before breeding but require the dog to be of a certain age, i.e., the hip and elbow dysplasia schemes both require dogs to be at least 1 year old. Before mating, you may need to wait for the dog to be old enough for certain health screening schemes and have the results before you decide to breed from them.