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I thought this was an interesting topic that needed it's own thread.

I'm a great believer in waiting until Poodles are older before they are bred. Certainly it is important to wait until at least age two since hips can not be certified by OFA until then. I know some breeders love using Pennhip because they can have hips certified as early as age 16 weeks. However, I have seen Poodles hips change as they grow and mature and I have seen hips that pass at 6 months actually test as borderline dysplastic by age 2.

Another reason to wait is to see what happens to the overall health of a line. There are many, many things that we can't test for in Poodles and taking a wait and see approach is prudent. I have called just about all of my puppy buyers now, so I feel that I can make this public knowledge:

My foundation bitch, Sabrina, bloated two weeks ago. She gave us a scare, but she is fine. However, I have made the painful decision to spay her daughter, Izze. Bloat is genetic and I could not in good conscious breed Izze knowing that I might be passing the bloat problem down to another generation of dogs and owners. Now Sabrina was around 5.5 yrs old when Izze was born. Had I run out and bred Sabrina right when she was 2 and bred Izze right when she was 2, I would have three generations of dogs on the ground before I realized that I had a problem.

The only time I could justify breeding a Poodle early is if a breeder has an older bitch and she really, really wants to breed to a great stud who is young. The time could quickly run out for this pairing.

However, I have seen breeder use 8 mnth old studs and 14 mnth old bitches whose only redeeming qualities seem to be that they are intact. Blech!

 

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I always say.... what's the hurry. There are other things to do with poodles than fill their uteruses. Breeders would be better off using the time to put performance titles on their breeding dogs.

But I know what the hurry is. Breeders want to turn a buck more quickly. Waiting 3-4 years means waiting for income.

 

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So two years is the minimum for a litter, but what about the other end of the page. What's too old for a bitch to produce a litter? Assuming she's healthy and has shown no genetic problems. For all the poo sizes, toy, mini, and standard.

I think that is dependent on each bitch. Sabrina was an easy natural whelper actually put on weight after each whelp. I think she could have been bred at age 6, 7 or even 8.

I bred Gracy for the 1st time at age 6 and she had a pretty hard time. We knew that she wouldn't be able to do it again and we spayed her.

Bitches also lose fertility as they age. They will have smaller litters and more difficulty getting pregnant.

 

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What would be the purpose of a color grading system? Is a dark Red somehow more desirable than an Apricot? Is a dark Brown more desirable than a Cafe?