General information on physiological values (continued)

We have, in recent weeks, covered the normal values relating to the dog’s body temperature, pulse rate, and respiration (breaths per minute). Today we will have a look at some other averages that pertain to the dog’s basic physiological make-up. We will deal with the normal physiological values for cats in a special column.

Puberty
Quite simply, puberty is the age at which the animal can reproduce. For simplicity’s sake, people will equate puberty with maturity, but the two things are not quite the same; the concept of maturity contains some other factors. When the female comes into her first “heat” (when she is receptive to the male), or when the male’s sperm is viable (which means the sperm can impregnate the female), the animal has reached the age of sexual activity, and can breed or be bred. Maturity has the added consideration of growth, the ability to mother or care for the offspring, and the full development of all the organs, not lastly the skeleton.
In dogs, the “caring” part is usually instinctive. However, we have encountered enough cases in which the bitch that become pregnant after her first mating is uncomfortable with the new arrivals. She sometimes does not have enough milk for the litter, probably because her physical body had not yet developed adequately.
As a parallel, I should mention that, among cattle, this phenomenon is observed not infrequently. If well fed and cared for, the cow can be bred at 18 months (even less) of age, and she will give birth to her calf nine months later. However, if she is bred when her body is not fully developed, her milk yield, her ability to have a pregnancy annually, and her ability to produce the accepted number of calves during her lifetime would be severely compromised. There is enough research data to prove this.
The point being made here is that one should not allow a “child” to produce children. Notwithstanding that we are talking about dogs here, the logic remains the same. If the bitch’s skeletal system (the bones) is not fully developed, you can be sure that the puppies growing in her womb would be taking away basic nutrients (calcium, phosphorus, etc.) needed for the mother’s own development. Later, when the puppies are born and are suckling her milk, even more elements are withdrawn from the young mother’s body (elements that her own bones need for development).
In the case of dogs, the age of puberty is 7-10 months. Conventional and pervasive wisdom, however, is that the bitch should not be mated during her first “heat” (receptive) period. When the next “heat” period comes around, about six months later, one could then have her mated.
The obvious question, of course, is whether the same argument applies to the male dog. Well, at the risk of sounding sexist, I have to say the same logic does not apply to the male. Basically, his age of puberty and his age of maturity would, for all practical purposes, be the same. Once his sperm is capable of penetrating the female’s egg, then mating can take place. The loss of elements – fat, protein, etc – contained in one ejaculation would not compromise the male dog’s growth. Nevertheless, most breeders would not allow a young male dog to mate, until they are convinced that he has stopped growing and has the right body weight relative to the breed.
In order to preclude any letter writer who might wish to draw a parallel between animal mating patterns and human reproductive behaviour, let me even now state that the lower mammals rely mostly on instinct in these matters. Human behaviour, in addition to the lesser influence of instinct, has the much larger considerations emanating from thought processes and a cultural and cultured sense of responsibility as it pertains to the act of mating. I cannot, and will not, accept that human youths are compelled by some genetic programming to mate, irrespective of the consequences, and produce offspring so as to ensure the preservation of the species.
Inadequate as it might be, the human brain is quite capable of controlling and overcoming instinctive urges. In fact, it is the same brain that develops cultural mores and sociological criteria that inhibit wanton sexual activity and the promiscuity exhibited by stray dogs.

Oops! I deviated to a tangent. No matter, it makes for a pleasant change when we can move away from facts, figures and statistics and into the realm of just plain rapping. So, the age of puberty for dogs is between 7-10 months, but that of human youth is when your wise parents say so. Simplistic, yes? Good advice, yes!