Dutch Shepherd Forum

I'm trying to figure out if it's possible that Grendel's brother could also be her father (and therefore her half brother. )

I believe I was told that the older brother at the property was born in March of 2015. Grendel was born in November, 2015. I got her January 31, 2016 at 9.5 weeks. If I am correct about the age of the brother (who appeared to be nearly full grown), than I'm guessing he is NOT the father.

But wondering at what age males can/do mate and how long females are pregnant.

If those dates are correct, is it possible that the brother could have impregnated the mother?!

-Lisa G.

I mean to write on this a while ago but forget what section it was on. Dog gestation is roughly 60 days, give or take a few days. I know some male dogs can sire a litter around 5 months, but it depends on hormones and breed. It is a possibility, but as for how much of one really depends on if he was capable of producing sperm at 8 months, which is not out of the realm of possibility.

As for line breeding, there is nothing inherently wrong or worrisome with a mother/son or father/daughter combo. It is a common practice in line breeding to enhance and strengthen characteristics in a line. That being said, it should be used with knowledge and a sparse hand, and generally is, as too much inbreeding can be detrimental to developing a line/characteristics. Not saying that this was the plan for your dog's litter, but as far as genetics go, unless the son/mother shared more than recent genetics (as in the grandparents were a mother/son, father/daughter combo, and so were the great grandparents, and the great great grandparents, etc), there isn't as much stigma around a breeding like this as there would be with humans.

Ah! Good to know. I wrote to a vet about the situation and they thought it was a very remote possibility that the brother would have mated or been sexually mature at that young of an age. So I'll just assume that Grendel's dad is the dog I was shown. Grendel looks so much like her older brother (makes sense!), though she sadly doesn't have his beautiful golden eyes. At least maybe I can sort of assume that she is going to grow quite a bit more, since her brother was definitely 50+ lbs and not yet full grown.

Thanks!
Lisa