Momma Lab

Question
I have a two year old chocolate lab who we intended to breed with our three year old male. He has sired litters for my yellow, and the pups are always incredibly smart and beautiful and big.  When my chocolate went into heat, he would mount over and over, she'd turn her tail, but it looked as though they never connected and he was very frustrated.  This went on for two days and then ended.  Well, last Thursday, she had puppies, but only three.  This is so unusual for a lab.  (I breed one to two litters per year total for all my labs.)  I was worried there were more, but her ribs, contour, waist and belly all said to me that there were no more, and she did not continue to labor.  She has done beautifully, the pups are nursing phenomenally and she is so dutiful that it's tough to coax her away from them to potty and eat.  She's a little more protective than I like over them, but they are her pups.  Could it be that since they never really connected (my other labs are always connected for ten minutes or so), that not enough sperm got in to fertilize the eggs?  Or did she just not drop more eggs than that?  It is her first litter, but even that is very small for a first letter.  Is this something to expect for the future?  She would turn her tail, but it just looked like she never let him access or he couldn't. And is there a way to lighten her protection over these pups?  She is a very dominant female, and as of this last heat, has decided she can not stand our other female who she loved previously.  They can't be anywhere near each other now.  Enough so that we may not be able to keep them both for fear the kids make a mistake and open the wrong door allowing them to be together.  Everyone we spoke to said it made no difference in her personality with people and male dogs, and it hasn't.  She is as loving to us and the kids as ever.  I'd love to hear your ideas on the small litter and what to do about dominance.  Thanks!

Answer
Hi Kristan

The thing is a female is born with all the eggs she is ever going to produce in her lifetime.   A male can produce millions of sperm a day.  So she could be releasing smaller number of eggs or alternatively, if no tie occurred a lot more sperm would have come in contact with the air and died off.   Unfortunately, only time will tell on that question. I personally have a female that has produce litters of 1, 2 and 9. All in different order.

Breeding a female DOES change the personality.  They become more assertive, aggressive AND dominant in a pack situation.  They move up the pack ladder to a leadership role.  The people of the pack are usually at the top of the heap so there is no change there, but with other dogs within the pack, there is often times issues.   If the dogs are all house dogs, I would consider either placing one of the females outside the home, or having separate kennels for the dogs.

Good luck