Breeding my female for a 3rd time

Question
QUESTION: I have had 2 beautiful litters from my GSD Slovakian import and my sire Ork, a German import. She is in excellent health and I have people waiting for hers pups, can I breed her for a 3rd time, and then I would rest her on her 4th heat in this sequence. It sounds like if they are in good health, it is okay. I would never keep breeding her every time she came into heat, but am I safe for this one time? Suzanne Sierra-k9 Kennels

ANSWER: How old is your bitch? If I am reading correctly she had three litters back to back to back, meaning no cycles in between.

If this is the case, I would rest her a cycle or two.

Of other concerns, I would be curious the health and temperaments of her first litter, often we find out more about a breeding bitch from her offspring. If they are all of healthy mind and body, you may consider breeding her again.

It is best to have her seen by a veterinarian for a full health check up.
melissa

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Melissa, She had two litters in a row, she has come into heat again can I safely breed her a 3rd time in a row. I would rest her next heat. She is 3.5 yrs old.

Answer
She is very young, I would wait, definitely skip this heat and possibly the next. How frequently does she cycle?

I know I personally would never breed a girl more than thrice in her life, and usually my girls start their reproductive life at 3 years old, once health clearances etc are done.

Your girl is obviously more valuable to you as a pet than a uterus to produce puppies, so what is the hurry. Let her be a dog. Wait for her first and second litter to grow and obtain all hips scores etc. to judge if she will be a valuable brood. The quality of the puppies she produces should always be more important than the quantity.

Good luck.

Melissa

Addendum: While the breeders you know may breed their girls 'many more times than 3' that does not make it right.

One must consider the reasons for breeding. Any good and reputable breeder will only breed to keep a puppy to continue their line of healthy, well tempered stock. If one is breeding only to produce puppies to sell, then IMO and this is MY OPINION, they are breeding for the wrong reasons.

My breed club code of ethics, to which I have agreed to abide tells me 4 is the maximum number of litters a girl can have. What does your breed club say?

As I said, my dogs are much more important to me as pets, and we do much more than breed. We compete at dog shows, obedience trials, hunt tests. Thus, I cannot have a girl stuck in the whelping box or pregnant 6 months of the year, and so three breedings is more than I am willing to do with my own. I will not breed them after 7 years old. They must have a good healthy life outside of the whelping box, or what does that make me? Little more than a puppy mill, thats what.

Physically speaking, each litter a bitch has takes a toll on bone substance/density, immunity, increases risk of pyometria, mammary cancer, uterine prolapse etc. etc. etc. These risks are not ones I would like to put my girls at 'many more times than 3'. I would reconsider your mentors if they are likely to breed a girl 5, 6, 7 times. This is criminal, and tells me that the quantity of puppies is more important than the quality.

I owe more to my girls than I can ever repay them, for they have given me a good solid foundation to build my next generation upon, they are treasured as pets when their brood and performance career is over.

You have to have a line for yourself. If you wish to sell puppies that is one thing, but certainly does not make you a breeder. It makes you a puppy producer. A breeder is someone who studies pedigrees until their eyes swell, weeps at lost puppies whose promise will not ever be fullfilled, is proud at their puppy's accomplishments in and out of the ring, learns from their mistakes...because you will make them, admits when they're wrong (because what do we really 'know'?), and does their very best to produce dogs who perform as the breed should in the ring and in their pet homes. If you aren't breeding for these reasons, then I would reconsider your future endeavors.

Respectfully,
melissa