Can a seven 1/2 month old male German Shepherd mate?

Absolutely...keep them seperated at all times until her cycle has safely passed.

Also, if you're looking to be a reputable breeder, you should be showing and working these dogs, and they should be titled before breeding takes place. In addition to hips,you should also be screening eyes, heart, patella and thyroid.

Male German Shepherd For Breeding

Yes he should be able to mate physically and his sperm should be viable.It is not good to start breeding a male until he is physically and mostly mentally mature, I would say atleast 18 months at min. and since you want the hips checked it is two yrs old for OFA. If your female just came in then she is not in standing heat yet. Standing heat is when they start flagging, holding up their tail and moving it over to show the male they are ready to mate. They usually start that about 8 days after they come in. But you have to know for sure the first day they came in to be accurate. Your male may start showing more interest soon.

If you don't want her pr ego then you need to TOTALLY ISOLATE her from him. Crate her inside in one room. When you take her outside use a different place for her to potty then where your male goes. The reason for this is that the smells she is leaving when she goes out either by the vag discharge or urine is going to make your male insane. He will start stressing out and probably will loose some wight because he will get obsessed with the female. This may not be happening too much now but it will get much worse if you ever do breed them. Once he knows for sure what it is all about, there is no turning back.

The work involved with whelping a litter is way more than most people think. I know because I was once one of "most people" lol. I have breed a few litters and it is time consuming, and labor intensive to say the least. Be sure it is what you want to do before you breed and if you do, get a few good books about whelping and breeding before the breeding takes place... just a little tip

You male should be in the early stages of adolescence. Your female might not start showing signs of the "need" for another couple of days, this may be why he isn't reacting. He is much too young to be bred. Your girl can be x-rayed now. Dogs stop growing at 2 years old, so her hip placement will be firm now.

Also, congratulations on wanting to be somewhat responsible, but you're not. You only say you're going to check their hips, while that's great, German Shepherds have MANY other health problems that need testing.

You need at a minimum Hips, Eyes (cerf), Elbow grading and Hemophilia testing (for your boy). I wouldn't think you'd have breeding quality animals by the way you described your question and all of the information you provided. They sound like cheap pups you got at a flea market to me.

Unless you plan on getting titles and all of the health tests I mentioned (with great scores), I would spay and neuter your dogs now.

Honestly, it would completely depend on your level of experience. GSDs are a breed that need regular socialization during their early months to be stable and confident adults. Without that, she could end up being incredibly fearful or defensive - a dog that's not suited for most homes. Sure she can be trained. GSDs naturally want to learn and need a job to do. It may take a longer amount of time, but I have no doubt that she can be house trained and taught basic commands. A lot of her learning ability will have to do with how you handle her fear whether it be towards strange people or of other dogs etc. It won't necessarily be easy and seeing that you have another dog and a young child, it might not be the best situation for you or the dog. If you do take the dog, have her seen by a veterinarian to be sure she's UTD on vaccinations, clear of any underlying conditions and have her spayed. Then start working on training and socialization. Start with short confidence building exercises in the home and work your way up after she has become comfortable around you and your family.

At 7 1/2 months of age your male pup is fertile.

My friend's 9 month old show bit*ch was impregnated by her boy pup, also a show dog of a different breed. The little boy had had just turned 5 months old by a couple of days. She thought the boy was too young to be fertile. Result = 2 cross bred puppies 9 weeks later and a very upset registered breeder.

I would keep your two separated until she has finished her heat, as you said you intend to do. Good thinking!

You bet!!!

I've had a couple of 4 months old pups grab themselves an adult bit.ch and fertilise her. When your bit.ch feels ready she will be AMAZINGLY "cooperative"!

As for your "breeding" plans:

You've probably heard of Murphy's Law aka Sod's Law, maybe even Parkinson's Law.

But you obviously don't yet know Pauling's Law:

"Somebody else owns the best partner for your bit.ch."

And anyway, your dog and bit.ch are not of breeding quality.

How do I know that?

Because you had to ask your question HERE, instead of asking:

•• Their breeders.

•• Your mentor.

•• The members of the club where you train & compete with your pets.

•• The members of the YahooGroups you belong to, in order to ask questions and soak up information from people who have got well past your current newbie stage.

Yes, knowing the hip & elbow status of the pooches you intend to mate is essential. But they are almost useless as guides to the mating you plan. What you need is knowledge of the hip & elbow scores of a whole range of close relatives, plus an understanding of the behaviour/inheritance of polygenic disorders in which all the "bad" alleles are recessives.

A pooch's own plates really have only 2 uses:

(1) To indicate to a surgeon which operation is likely to have the greatest benefit to an afflicted pooch.

(2) To prove that both parents of afflicted pooches possess the same recessives.

A "Pass" vs a "Fail" scheme is a bad idea - better than NO scheme, 50-60 years ago when they were being developed, but it deludes ignoramuses into thinking that a "Pass" means that the pooch cannot produce HD or ED. Believe me, they CAN produce HD, and lots of it. Just as 2 correctly-coated GSDs can produce long-coats, livers, blues, whites.

But KC Registration and hip & elbow passes are FAR from all that's needed to prove a pooch breed-worthy.

In our breed, a Breed Survey Classification is the ideal (BS.Cl. 1 or 2 in English, KKl.I or II in German). To find out why, get someone to show you their GSD's BS Report and tell you what has to be done before the pooch can even ENTER in a Survey.

The reason that the GSD has become the world's most popular & most-recognised dog is that the pioneers insisted that potential breeding stock prove their sanity (BH, a test that CGC probably got its ideas from), conformation (Very Good and Excellent show gradings), stamina (the German AD for trotting 12 miles/20kms), and trainability+courage (either HGH or SchH).

Sadly, many people nowadays think the show-ring is all that counts, and they have come up with exaggerated caricatures that we sneeringly call AlsatiOns, German Crouchers, Hinge-Backs, NAmerican Ski-Slope Dogs, or Prick-Eared Bassets, depending on which set of exaggerations they display.

So keep your pair separated.

If a mismating does occur, ask your vet for the 3 injections spaced set days apart, to prevent any fertilised ova from implanting their placentas.

If you DO want to become a PROPER breeder:

(1) Join some of the 300+ YahooGroups dedicated to aspects of living with GSDs. Each group's Home page tells you what they like to talk about, and how active they are. If you want to breed genuine GSDs, and not one of the caricatures, stay away from groups where the main interest is shows.

(2) Download http://www.fci.be/uploaded_files/166A1991_en.doc and start learning it off by heart. The rebel documents produced by The KC (UK), the AKC, the CKC are vague rubbish - especially they don't have the guts to state "This far and no more" for all the aspects that the International Standard of the GSD (FCI#166) sets cut-offs for.

(3) Join a training club. If you're a Yank, look for a branch of the USCA or the WDA. If you're a Canuck, look for a branch of the GSSCC. If you're a Pom, contact the BGSDTC, or the Breed Council (use Sheila's e-address). You might have to settle for training at an all-breeds club, but try for a genuine GSD club first. And start competing in shows and trials.

(4) Buy some expert books about genuine GSDs - my recommendations are for either of Dr Malcolm Willis's GSD History & Genetics books (look on-line), and "The GSD Today" by Strickland & Moses.

Expect to need 2 years from NOW to prove either or both of your current pooches worth breeding from. Proving them NOT worth breeding from (as I expect to happen) will be quicker, but do realise that YOU, the handler, will be their biggest handicap for the first few months, and until YOU become competent at handling your pets to reveal their best attributes, some inferior mutts will beat them.

Les P, owner of GSD_Friendly: http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/GSD_Friendly

"In GSDs" as of 1967

Yes, he can, although he may not be mature enough to get her pregnant, it is still best to keep them separated.

And, before breeding, please think more about it. While hips are very critical, there is a lot more that goes into responsible breeding than just this. Do you have a breeding mentor who is a knowledgeable in shepherds? Do you have an appropriate male picked out? Is your female a good representation of the standard of the breed? These are just the tip of the ice berg when it comes to responsible breeding.

long hair all the way! i just posted a question regarding my hair also. i thought about getting it trimmed but everyone is telling me no

Many people love the idea of owning a dog but one thing that they have to keep in mind often times, is that the dog needs to be trained. Learn here http://onlinedogtraining.enle.info/?Rv58

While the pet may look heart-breakingly cute when it's in a shelter or at the pound, picking out the dog is only the first part of the relationship between dog owner and the animal. Many people don't understand that they have to put time and effort into socializing the dog.

An unsocialized dog will intimidate others, tear up the home, and will create an environment that can become so bad that the it will have to be returned. Many times when dogs have to be returned to shelters or to other resources, it will end up euthanized, which is very heartbreaking. All of this can be spared if a person learns the various techniques in order to socialize the dog.

One thing that they have to understand is that the he wants to be told what to do. It's in the canine nature to follow a leader. The dog will be more than willing to obey the leadership of its master. Here's a look at some common techniques that are used in dog training:

"Dog Whispering"

This is a technique that has been around for a while, but gained national notoriety over the last 10 years. Some people might hear this term and wonder how in the world whispering to a dog can train it! Whispering isn't meant to be taken literally in this case. As trainers have shown, whispering is a term that refers to connecting with a being or an entity on a very deep and almost spiritual level. When it comes to dog training techniques, dog whispering involves careful observation of the dog's behavior and actions.

It literally entails getting inside the mind and the behavior system of the canine. When a person uses dog whispering techniques, they interact with the dog on the canine level. Again, one the most common mistakes that people make is treating the dog like a small human being.

"Reward Training"

Reward training is very simple and it's one of the older tricks that works. This is a simple method of training the dog by positive reinforcement. Once he does what it is told to do, it receives a treat. How this works is that the dog owner must entice the dog towards the treat. Once the canine develops awareness for the treat, it develops a strong desire for it. When the desire for it is extremely strong, the dog owner pulls back. Then the dog receives a command and when the dog obeys the command, it receives the treat. The object is to make the dog associate a treat with the command.

"Clicker Training"

Other dog training techniques include one that is similar to reward training, which is called clicker training. How this works is that the clicker is incorporated to get the dog's attention. The clicker is clicked as a form of communication with the dog. It learns that there is a command or reward associated in conjunction with the clicker. Many people claim that this is fun, and they actually make a game with the dog by using the clicker for their dog training tasks.

"Ultrasonic Whistle"

Last, a relatively new form of dog training technique is called the ultrasonic whistle. This works because the ultrasonic sound is only heard by the dog. When the owner is trying to communicate a command, or stop the dog from barking, they will blow on their whistle when they want to communicate a command to the dog. The benefit of this is that the humans can't hear this noise, but the dog can hear it, and they will learn to associate the sound with a command.

Dog training techniques aren't hard to incorporate, but they are something that absolutely must be incorporated from the time a dog owner brings their new dog home. No matter how old or how young the dog is, they will need training. Once they are trained properly, they will be a wonderful addition to one's family.