young puggle in heat

Question
I have 2 puggles and the female puggle is about 8 months old and is in heat.  I have read alot about what you have said that it is to young to mate, so my question is what do I do to keep them from mating. The male will not leave her alone and she seams to think he is trying to play. I feel bad locking one of them out but I will do what I need to do to keep her safe. Please let me know what you think I should do and also please let me know what is a good age to start breeding them Thanks.

Answer
I would suggest that you keep them separated with what ever means you have. If you have to keep them in separate rooms, whatever it takes. Trust me, it will be a long 3 weeks, but well worth the trouble. Use baby gates to keep them separated if you can. Just make sure they don't breed through it. The hardest thing you can do is to keep two dogs away from each other when they REALLY really want to be together, but it will be the best thing for your girl for now. That's just part of being a dog owner...putting up with two lusty dogs for 3 weeks. :-) I'd wait until your girl is atleast 1 1/2 years old, however, I usually suggest that they not be bred until they reach 2 years of age. That lets them finish growing and such. It's really hard on a dogs' body to give birth and produce milk when she's still growing herself. Oh, and invest in some ear plugs. You're gonna need it for the next few weeks. lol If you need anymore help, feel free to holler!