[ChinaMark]

Hi,
I just have a few questions which maybe someone can help me with. I've trawled the web for hours and just seem to go in circles!

1) What is the average size of a litter?

2) Is it safer to breed a medium/large size dog? (I have a rough collie)

3) What is the best age for a to have her first litter?

I only ask because I am planning on getting Echo spayed but at the same time I would also like other dogs in the future so I'm thinking about her having puppies and me keeping them all together as one big family. I know there are a lot of pups out there who need homes and adult dogs too but wouldn't it be better this way round?

I’d appreciate any comments good or bad on the moral, ethical and health grounds.
Thanks
Mark

[labman]

Have you looked at the pages on breeding at www.akc.org? There are some more questions you need answers to. Is she a fine example of the breed, sound both physically and temperamentally? Does she have undesirable traits to pass on? The same questions need to be answered about the stud too.

Litter sizes vary, often only 1 or 2, but 10 or 12 happen too. Do you have the money, resources, and the time to give proper care to a large number of dogs? Do you plan to let them stay outside as a pack, barking and disturbing neighbors? You will always have a creative or ambiguous one managing to get out of a fence, and maybe the rest to follow. One puppy is a lot to socialize properly. A whole bunch at one time? Keeping a collie looking good requires plenty of brushing. You need to think this over very carefully. How old will you be in 10-15 years? This just doesn't seem to me to be a good thing to do.

If you do go ahead, wait until she is a least 2, but not over maybe 6 years. 2 year olds are more ready for motherhood and it give more time to evaluate her and decide if she should ever be bred.