I do not in any way agree with or promote someone breeding a dog too young. However, OFA prelims on hips are something like 90% accurate when done again after age 2. And when you really look at a lot of the genetic testing, most of the tests are required every year, (thyroid, CERF eye testing) so you could breed a dog until they're 7 years old and then find out they developed a thyroid problem. Some of the tests, like von willebrands will show if the dog is a carrier of the actual gene and that, obviously, only has to be done once.

And with the toys, people think they don't need to do OFA testing, WRONG. All toy breeds should be x-rayed for luxating patellas which is a BIG problem. I called a breeder about yorkies (she claimed to have 25 years experience) she didn't even KNOW what luxating patellas was!!! But this woman really, really cared about her dogs and asked me if I had small children because she doesn't sell to anyone with kids under 6. Some people are just weird, they think they're doing the right thing but they're really uneducated. And just think, these same people raise HUMAN children!!

Hi,

much too young,
here in Holland you are allowed official x-rays from 12 months (some breeds the elbows from 18 months) and the male has to be at least 12 months old to breed and the female at least 16 months old, both regulations I find TOO young, but finally an age is set by the kennelclub, until last year there wasn't an age limit (yes for x-rays, but not for breeding)

as I alway x-ray late (18-24 months) I will not be using a male or female at a really young age
but with the female I would like to breed a litter before starting serious training, so mostly that is the 3rd heat somewhere between 18 and 24 months (mostly this comes out to a female of 24 months giving birth, that is not really early in my opinion)
why I do that is because I don't want to breed a first litter with a female older than 5 years of age and I also don't want to breed more than 3 (or in a really special case 4) litters a female, so I have time enough...

but after the first litter I start working the female seriously to get her to trial (unfortunately with my first breeding female this turned out differently because she broke her back paw and now she is going to trial after her last litter),
that way the pups have all the time they need to grow and show themselves before the female is bred again and when she is trialed and had competed in several competitions it is time enough to breed her again around 5 years old...

the same with a young male, I would like to use him myself if possible before he is certified just to know what he gives, but it isn't nescessary and mostly you only get applications after trial, so no problem, x-rays around 2 years, trial around 3-4 year than he still has more than enough time to reproduce himself
so why rush...???