when to breed a toy poodle

Question
Hi,

I have a 10 month old toy poodle and she just got in heat for the first time.  I was wondering if it is early to breed her.

thx

paulo

Answer
Hello Paulo,
At 10 months, your dog hasn't had a chance to mature yet and has no business being bred right now.  It is in the dogs best interest to wait until your dog is at least 2 yrs old before breeding her.  Otherwise you risk damage to her reproductive system, and possible damage to the puppies or even death to the puppies.  
Male dogs can produce sperm at an early age and can breed around 1 yr old, but even then they should have a Vet check just to make sure that they are healthy enough to reproduce and that there are no genetic health problems that could be passed on to the puppies.  Females should also be checked just to make sure that they are healthy enough to carry puppies to term and also for genetic problems that could be passed to the offspring.  

Please consider this before breeding your dog.  

I hope this has helped you some.  If you have other questions for me, please feel free to ask.

Thanks for using AllExperts.com,
Kim