breeding goldens

Question
i have a 31/2 year old golden that i plan to breed this fall.  she is due to go into heat around mid-sept and i have an akc registered stud lined up.  i recently switched her from a higher quality dog food to a grain-free, high protein, all natural food.  what else do i need to do to get her as healthy and ready for breeding as possible?  also, i recently heard that some vaccines & flea/tick products are unsafe during pregnancy.  i live in a highly wooded area with many mosquitoes and ticks, so i keep my dogs on heart worm meds & apply Frontline monthly.  are these safe for her?  my husband regularly runs her on a 280 acre farm owned by a friend, and on public lands.  without the the Frontline, she would return from her 3xweekly runs covered in ticks.  she is scheduled to have her annual vaccines in august so i am not too worried about vaccines during pregnancy.  also, do should we continue her runs (about 4-7 miles each time) while she is pregnant, cut back on the length of them or discontinue them all together? I have seen many, many goldens that are very overweight and we work hard to keep ours at a healthy weight!

Answer
Hi Alyce

She should be all up-to-date on shots before you breed her.   And depending on your demographics, heartworm, ticks and fleas should be taken into consideration. Ask your vet about Advantage for those.  Also, she she be dewormed with Drontel or something stronger that will clean her of everything.

Keeping her in top shape will help with whelping.  She may not run as long or as far as she did after she conceives but she still needs to get out, and if she's willing to go, let her. A healthy and happy female should have no problems during pregnancy.

Good luck!