Originally Posted by swarthy

I've got 5 entire girls and 2 entire boys and yes, it is perfectly possible to keep them in the same home - my boys are fine except when the girls are ready for mating, when they can be a real pain in the backside - luckily this is only a few days with each girl so not too bad - and friends who also have entire dogs and bitches have the same problem - it's certainly not for the whole duration of the season - if it was then it might be a different story.

You will need crates / possible kennels - baby gates are no good - you need the capacity to move the dogs around and ensure they all get plenty of free running out of the way of each other.

I took an in season bitch for an eye test yesterday with my boy - didn't have any problems with him at all.

It can change their temperament sometimes, but it probably varies from dog to dog, and could just be 'dog on dog aggression - but there are many others where it doesn't change them at all

You ALWAYS need to be prepared for the fact that accidents can and do happen - if your dogs are all health tested then probably not the end of the world - but if they are not, or the bitch is too young etc - then you have to take appropriate steps to terminate the pregnancy.

You also have to be prepared for the fact that accidental matings could result in injuries to the dog and / or bitch - which could be serious injuries which could result in death or expensive problems which won't be covered by any insurance policy.

You also have to be prepared for the fact that matings can go totally un-noticed until it is too late.

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However - having said all the above - why do you "want to get a bitch to take a litter from" and then have her spayed?

What research have you done in the breed? how do you know that the dog you have will be compatible with her on paper, physically and health test result wise?

Are you familiar with the breed standard? do you show your dog to know what a good / bad example of the breed is? will you be able to identify your dogs and bitches faults and know whether they could complement each other, or whether you would be better going out to an outside stud dog?

Keeping entire dogs and bitches together can be done - it can be a right royal PITA at times - you have to be humble enough to recognise that accidents can and do happen, I am not arrogant enough to believe they won't / can't - a slip mating can happen in seconds and can also go un-noticed.

What's more important is, it's not as simple as just buying a dog and bitch and putting them together when the time is right.

Would you then stud your dog out? What knowledge can you pass on to bitch owners? yesterday. I took a bitch for eye testing because her owner couldn't make it - maybe I did go beyond the call of duty, but it's not as simple as "bring the bitch around, get your money, end of conversation" and I like to have the confidence of the bitch owner, and that even includes (with the agreement of the bitch owner) having an alternative suitable stud dog with another owner on standby in case needed.

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I know someone whose dog got to her bitch - all credit to the owner, she had the full complement of health tests done post mating and thankfully everything was OK - she then had the dog neutered at the same time, but he'd 'had a taste' and she said even now, when her girl(s) are in season, there is a wicked gleam in his eye - as even neutered dogs can mate and tie with an inseason bitch.

Originally Posted by stephaphonic

i'm researching it at the mo and consider all options available, even castrating the male won't make much difference though either as he'll still be affected by the Bitch in heat anyway.

as i have already stated i have every intention of spaying the bitch after i have bred her anyhow, my reasons for breeding her are irrelevant. main reason i ask is that i obviously won't want to breed her until she is mature enough to do so therefore the male and female will be in the same house for at least 3 heats.

i have a friend that may be able to take one for the heat period if i do decide to go ahead and get a female.

Originally Posted by bellababy

I have 2 bitches at home and another breeder opporsite me also has a bitch, The entire road knows when any of them are in season as the newfoundland dog up the road howls and howls! Luckily our neighbours are very understanding

Anyway my point is that he is 5 houses away and still goes mad.

Originally Posted by swarthy

To be honest - basd on my own (and others) experiences of having entire dogs and bitches living in the same house, this is probably because the dog is not exposed to girlies in season.

Even relatively inexperienced stud dogs living with bitches seem to learn very quickly when the girls are ready for mating - and it's only really then they start to get to be a pain - that includes my 3 year old and my 14 month old - they've been exposed to it since they were babies.

If I wanted to, I could quite easily run them side by side in season providing they are not 'ready' - I don't - but I have had cause to carry them in the same car with one in a crate blocked off by a closed crate so they can't get to each other and even then, not had as much as a whimper.

I even had someone else's in season bitch in my car this week with no problems at all - I am more likely to get problems with my girls getting in the car if they realise another in season bitch has been in there.

We have around 14 dogs (girls and boys) living between here and adjacent houses and apart from one noisy b*ggar dog who barks ALL the time, season times are absolutely no different to any other time.