tegan was just over 2 years old when she had her litter

Holly is 2.5 and I still feel she is too mentaly imatrure to have a litter yet, i looks like she will be over three by the time she has a litter...

so much will depend on the dog itself. some dogs within the same breed will cope at a younger age than others within the same breed.

I would never consider breeding any of my bitches before two years of age, I can see no benifit to myself or the dog in doing that, I would never buy a pup from a bitch that was mated before that age

Two at the absolute earliest for me, a dog needs time to mature mentally and physically itself before having to contend with having a litter to raise.

All health tests are a must also of course.

If you breed correctly it can cost an arm and a leg. Isla has had attempts at having her hips scored twice now, the first time the pre op blood tests showed a raised WCC, so she came home with ABs. That was over £80, then she went back again. Another raised WCC. She came home and had bloods sent to an outside lab - bloods were NAD £70. So now we're going to try again tomorrow, if successful the hip scoring will cost at least £200 and there's the yearly eye test (£30), PRA DNA test (£50) and Glaucoma eye test (£30) to add on top of that. Not to mention the £100 it cost to see a canine cardiologist.

If done correctly and for the good of the dog, breeding really ain't cheap, trust me!

I would normally have said 2 years of age, but after my Inca had her first litter this summer, she was 3, I saw a major improvement in her ability to care for her litter and whelping....so in the future I will wait until they are slightly older.

And of course health tests done ASAP.