my mini

Question
my mini is a male and i was wondering what age he needs to be before i can think of getting him to breed with a female and roughly what age does the female need to be. could you also tell me how you know when a female is on heat and ready to breed?

Answer
Hi Cindi

Although smaller dogs typically mature at a faster rate, it's always best to wait until a male is over a year old to start him breeding.

Breeding changes the personality of a dog, so keep that in mind.  Once a male has been bred it's going to be harder to keep him at home.

When a female comes into heat, she will swell, start to bleed and flag the male.  The rule of thumb is 12 - 15 days after bleeding occurs that a female is fertile, but keep in mind that each female is different and can have slight variation in her cycle.

Good luck