Expert: Jannie Balliett - 9/3/2010

Question
my female boxer is only 11 months old and in heat. She has been in heat for approximately 2 weeks. we have been keeping our male seperated from him but yesterday he got ahold of her and we found them stuck together. Is she too young to have pups? is this going to kill her and the puppies? what should we do? our vet tells us that we could go along with the pregnancy or give her a shot to abort the pregnancy but either way there's complications. What do you think?

Answer
Yes, she is too young. Proper breeding age is 2 years old.

She is emotionally too young to properly care for newborn puppies, and her physical aspects are young as well.

Unless you really wanted to be a breeder and take on the HUGE responsibility of newborn puppy care until 2 months old to sell- and selling is not easy.... it is your responsibility to CHOOSE the buyer, not the other way around. You want to ensure your puppies go to homes that have the financial ability to pay for routine vet expenses and check ups, pay for emergency treatments if necessary, pay for proper spaying or neutering, pay for anything that presents itself in the 10-12 years the Boxer pup lives-- feed it the best of natural dog foods with no corn and no glutens in it, keep the pup/grown adult inside and never outside- own a house with a fenced back yard- NOT an apartment with no secure yard- NOT keep him crated, etc.

It is your responsibility-- you have gave life to the puppies, and now it is up to you to continue to provide the best for them for the 10-12 years of life by selecting only THE BEST new owners for life---


So, what will it be? Abort and have her spayed later? Or, continue with the responsibility of the puppies and their lives for 10-12 years?