female breeding

Question
Our female English cream golden retriever is now 3 years old. She had her first litter of 10 puppies with our male, who is now 6, when she was 13 months old. They have hooked up twice in the last two heats, multiple times were locked, and no puppies. Is this something I can have checked out at my local vet? Both dogs are healthy and have had routine checkups.

Answer

Hi Jerry,

Sorry for the delay in getting back to you. Allexperts hasn't been sending me alerts to tell me I have messages waiting for me.

In most cases, not getting pregnant is a matter of timing. Because of the length of time a female is in heat, without hormone tests it can be difficult to tell when the "right" time really is. If you are concerned about your dog getting pregnant, a vet exam would be a good place to start. Your vet can check her progesterone levels when getting ready to be bred, and during her heat cycle.

Best of luck,

Patti