Читать книгу The Complete Book of Dog Breeding - Dan Rice - Страница 32

Males, like females, reach puberty at varying ages, depending on the breed. Most males of all breeds are sexually mature and capable of producing puppies by a year of age. The smaller breeds usually mature earlier than the large and giant breeds. Many litters of unscheduled, undesired puppies are the products of sexually precocious males that are physically immature.

I can recall many phone calls from distraught clients, saying, “Doctor, I need help. Who would have guessed that our neighbor’s little six-monthold Cockapoo-Rat Terrier cross was old enough to be romantically interested in my purebred Pekingese? I can’t understand how he managed to get over our three-foot (91 cm) high fence. Now, can you believe it? I think the ugly little rascal is somehow fastened to sweet little Ling Choy. Surely he hasn’t gotten her in a family way, has he?”

Never underestimate the virility or the persistence of a clumsy young neighborhood puppy. There is an old adage bantered among purebred dog breeders: “The uglier the mutt, the better the fence jumper.”

TIP

Carefully planned inbreeding should be left to experts with extensive genetic knowledge of their dogs.

If your beautiful, purebred show bitch is in heat and a wandering, nondescript pooch can find his way through, under, or over your fence, you may find it necessary to contact your veterinarian for a discussion of abortion techniques (see Pregnancy Termination, page 74).