female Brittanys heat cycle

Question
I have a female Brittany who is about 3 years old.  She was bred for the first time in February and gave birth to a healthy litter of 5 in April '08.  Before that, her cycles were like clockwork, in March and September.  She was about a month early in February.  In late Aug, early September, my male started becoming very interested in her (usually the first sign she is coming in heat).  They were separated for about 3 weeks and during that time, she had very little spotting.  When I brought my male back home, he was no longer interested and we were sure her cycle was done.  This past weekend she was being boarded at our hunt club and was kenneled next to another bitch who was in heat.  When I went to pick her up today, my male was VERY interested in her and she was bleeding.  Is it possible that she didn't have a full cycle before? or do you think she just wasn't really in heat in the first place?  Could the fact that she was kenneled next to another dog in heat have any affect on her if she was just coming out of heat?  Also, I try to be a responsible breeder and I only breed if I have a waiting list for puppies.  (I do it for my love of the breed, and typically don't make much profit, if any.)  Do you believe it is better to skip a cycle between litters or to have litters back to back?  I intended to wait at least one cycle in between, but I have heard different things and just thought I would ask your opinion.

Answer
Hi Gina. Did she bleed the whole 3 weeks the heat cycle after she whelped? It sounds like she may be experiencing a split heat. This is when the dog seems to come into heat, then stops, then starts back up a few weeks or months later. Her being kenneled next to a bitch in heat may have just brought her back in. Usually, it's the second part of the split heat that's fertile. I personally will only breed a dog once a year, if that. I feel that it's best to let her have at least one cycle in between pups. This lets her have a break, and lets her body have a rest. If you continually breed a dog each heat cycle, she may have smaller litters, weaker puppies, problems with whelping, and it very well could deplete her calcium supply in her own body. I have the belief that mom is most important, more so than any pups that she may produce. If it came down to saving mom or the pups, I would have to choose mom. Now, I'm just stating my own personal thoughts, not knocking anyone else.:-) However, if a person had it in mind to only breed the female twice, and then have her fixed, then you could possibly do back to back breedings, and get it over with, as long as mom and pups did well the first time.