breeding maltese

Question
QUESTION: This is my first time breeding. I have a 5 1/2 lb female maltese and want to breed her. what size male should I breed her with so she doesnt have to have a c-section. My son has a male maltese who is 5 months old and weighs almost 7lbs. Do you know how big he will be at adult size and also if you think he may be too big to breed my female with? I have searched everywhere to try and find an answer but no one emails me back......thank you

ANSWER: Hi Barbara

In all breeds, the males tend to be larger than the female.  Up to 5 lbs heavier would be a safe bet.

Genetics plays a large part of how big your dog will be.  How big are the parents and grandparents?  

At 5 months he still has another 6 to finish growing.

Good luck

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QUESTION: I still need an answer to my question about breeding Bella (my 5 1/2 lb maltese) with a larger maltese....will she have a safe delivery with this male that is 5 months and weighs almost 7 lbs? I read so much about maltese having c-sections and I dont want to run into that problem if I breed her with this male. Do you think this male will reach 10 lbs? Thank You Barbara Gunder

ANSWER: You will ALWAYS have a larger male no matter what the breed.  So again, a male up to 5 pounds heavier is a safe bet for her.

I can't tell you what your male is going to weigh as he matures.  5 months is still young to breed. As I mentioned previously, do you know the size of the dogs in his lines?  Are they around the same weight, are there heavier dogs in the peds, is he a pure bred?  All those answer would make a difference.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Let me try this one more time.....I have a female maltese who is 14 months old and weighs 5 1/2 lbs..Her third heat cycle will be in september and I want to breed her then. My son bought a 5 month old male maltese who will be ready to breed come september and I want to breed these two together but he is 5 months and already 7lbs. Would it be safe to breed them since he is obviously gonna be much larger than her? Thank You

Answer
I will try to get my answer across one more time too.

The male of any breed is going to be larger.  So it's hard to breed with a smaller male. You should expect that the male is going to be bigger than the female.

Again ... depending on what the male's family tree is like, he could reach 8lbs or 12lbs -- it depends on his genetic make up.  I can't tell you what his weight will be.  You need to find out from the breeder the weights of his parents, grandparents, etc.   I can not give you a estimate of his mature weight because I don't know anything about him.  Are these dogs related?  If they are closely related the off-spring will be smaller -- as an out-cross the pups will be larger.

Without complete information and history of the dogs it's anyone's guess.  If you want me to give you a definite answer, one that you can take to the bank, sorry, I can't.  

If you are going to breed, introduce yourself to a good vet and be prepared.