Boston terrier breeding - 6 yr old female

Question
Hi !
I have a 6 yr old Boston Terrier.
She has had 5 litters.
She has always been very good with her pregnancies and has never really had any trouble.

She is in heat now and I am questioning wether or not to breed her again and I am seeking an honest opinion.

She recovered very well from her last pregnany - no weight or hair loss (she usually drops a few pounds and loses some hair around the belly).
My worry is that in her last litter she had a puppy who had a digestive problem and passed away at around 3 weeks and her 4th litter we had a puppy born without a rectum hole.

What I want to know is are these just flukes of nature and it would be ok to breed again or does it mean that there is a problem with the mom and it would not be recommended to breed again.

I also wonder because some people say you should only breed a dog twice and some people say not after the age of 5.

I would really appreciate some advice :)
Thank you,

Jessica

Answer
I'll have to answer you here. I can't answer in the comments section. :-)

Well, it really just depends on the vet when the dog is fixed after a heat cycle. Some vets will do it right after, so want to wait for a month or so. Just talk to your vet an see what he prefers.

As for Yoda's pup's heat cycle, some dogs may not have their heat cycle up to 2 years of age. I had a female that didn't go into heat for the first time until she was two years of age. If she doen't go into heat in another 6 months or so, I'd take her in to have some simple tests run to see if there's a problem. Sometimes, if a dog has a thyroid problem, then it will affect their heat. Some heats are hard to tell. You can look for attitude changes, appitite changes, and watch for her vulva to swell. You can also dab her vulva to see if there's any blood. How old was Yoda the first time she had her heat? I just looked up your breed, and it is known for dry heats, and no swelling. So it may be really hard to tell for sure.

There are many different things that can cause problems with the pups. Flea medication, garden sprays, certain food. It's really hard to say for sure. However, some defects are genetic. Your breed is known for digestive disorders, also known as achalasia. It's a recessive trait, meaning it's inherited from it's parents. Actually, the breed is known for two types of digestive disorders. If I can help with anything else, let me know!
***********************************************************

Hi Jessica. My honest opinion would be to not breed her again. Let her rest. 5 litters is a good amount. And because she's had puppies with serious health problems, I definately wouldn't breed her again. They could've been genetic realted, or something that just went wrong. It's hard to say really. I personally only breed my girls twice at the most. This is just my own personal preference, and I know that other breeders feel differently. With her puppies history, I wouldn't take the chance. This is just my opinion, take it for what it's worth. :-) I'm honestly not trying to be mean about this. Again, this is just my opinion. :-)