Breeding

[Paws123]

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While there is still not alot going on in K9 i was wondering what are peoples views on breeding.

should we be taken the same approach as kc pedigree's and limiting the amount of litter some people are breeding every year?

Bitches must be over 12 months of age when mated, may not whelp after their 8th birthday.

Allow a bitch to have a rest and not to be lined each time she comes into season.

Just thought this make make an interesting debate

 

[tanglewood]

Hi Denise

As I keep bitches decided to get involved in this debate, Personally i wouldnt breed a bitch while she was under twelve months i believe she would still be in growing period, I also never take any more than two litters from each bitch I have no matter how tempted we have been in the past, we also would never breed in consecutive seasons.

must say though thats only the way we do things always have been okay for us we aint looking to go to top ten brood bitch etc.never had any complaints about our pups

 

[Paws123]

Hi Val

I have to agree with everything you have said ...we only breed for our selves so would not tempt to let a bitch have more than 2 litters...we also feed the bitch a top brand puppy food though out her pregnancy and also whelp..main one been James wellbeloved..i will only use a reputable wormer usually Panacur liquid, you only get out what you put in.

 

[tanglewood]

I also use panacur wormer when bitch in pup, however must admit tend to feed them what they will eat, ie storm damage was a terrible eater at best of times when she was in pup we had to feed her human food with vitamins added, however as soon as she hit seven weeks gone she ate dog food again.

the reason I only have two litters per bitch is because of the strain on the bitch, although I know many folk have had lots of litters from a particular bitch this does not appeal to me,I know this may sound controversial but I think our bitches deserve some time when they are niether in training for racing or in pup,we like to give them some free time.

 

[Kath]

I totally agree with you, there should be a limit on the amount of litters that bitches have. I personally find it disgusting that some bitches are used like breeding machines.

 

[mutley]

me too

 

[Vicky]

You're right, some bitches are used as breeding machines and it's wrong, dont think there's any way to stop it though, however racers opinion of the broods owner will go down the pan.

As for the number of litters, i think it depends on the individual bitch, some bitches can get over a litter pretty well whilst it takes a lot out of others, Branca for example looked superb when i picked my pup up at 7 weeks (out of her 3rd litter), she looked good enough to start racing again, then again she's only had small litters each time (maybe litter size makes a difference too?), i know of at least one person who'd have been gutted if she had only 2 litters.

Some people seem obsessed with breeding though.

You just hope that people have enough experience and have their bitch as fit & healthy as possible ready to be mated - and anyone who's solely got the bitch for breeding - well.....................................!

What about the use of stud dogs? Should that not be limited too, one way to get other dogs into the gene pool too?!!

 

[cinnamon]

I agree bitches should have a good rest between litters not season after season.

When they are bred soley to make money for owners,Theres not a lot of people do this fortunatly but we all know somebody who does.

I may be wrong but when I picked up my pedigree sheltie I was under the impression that pedigrees are omly allowed so many litters, any litters born after this cannot be kc registered,therefore reducing the risk of selling them.

If we took this appraoch and limited the amount of litters per bitch and any pups born outside this limit were not allowed to be registered ie run ,then people would not buy them and it would stop poeple breeding soley for money.

 

[sharon whincop]

I only breed for myself. The first litter mimo had was 2 pups which i kept. The second litter was a year and a half later and she only had 1 pup which i kept. The year after that with her having 2 small litters we disided to mate her again this time she had 5 pups of which i kept 3. I now have a kennel full so don't want any more pups so mo is now on the pill and when that runs out she will be spayed.

 

[jeffb]

the great greyhound brood bitch westmead chick had 7litters between1995 and2000 bred by the famous savvas and it did her no harm .it depends on the bitch and if she, kept in good fettle and looked after properly during her pregnacy there should be no problems thats only my opinion. saying that since iv,e come back into whippet racing im suprise by the amount of bitches that are having to have c sections to have there pups is there a prob with the way breeders are breeding with say small bitches to big dogs, or is it just fate that some bitches have trouble having pups normally

 

[Paws123]

I have asked my vet the same thing Jeff, he said that the problem he comes across at is that whippet / greyhound types are so small framed that the pelvis some times dose not stretch enough..also that if a bitch has a successfully racing career we tend to breed the 1st litter when the bitch is older rather than younger..there seems to be alot of litters breed the last 12 months it will be interesting to see how many actually make the racing scene

 

[Fleesh]

JeffB you have just said what I have been wondering for a while. I am astounded by the amount of C-Sections over the last couple of years. It seems to have increased gradually.

We ourselves have been (touch wood) very lucky in the fact that Connor's Lass had a litter of five with ease, no complications and all within a few hours. We have wondered which factors have affected the ability of some bitches to pass their pups.

Is it the bitch that natuarally has trouble ?

Is it something that is common to many bitches mated to a particular stud or bloodline cross ?

Is it because a bitch has been heavily raced ?

Is it the condition of the bitch before or during pregnancy ?

Is it the fitness of the bitch during her pregnancy ?

I suppose this is a series of questions that is very difficult to answer.

 

[ahorsnall]

i personal think alot of trouble with breeding in whippets is they are laeft to to old to have 1st litter i mean 5 is getting old to start breeding just my opion??????????

 

[sherry]

weve only bred the once from out 40lb bitch whizziwig she was bred young she was just 3 and hadnt been greatly raced due to being a 6 month bitch and injury prone. she was 40lb and we went to mickey mouse . the whole time she was pregnant we were banging the foos into her had her scanned @ the vets and he had said 2 so like i say we were banging food into her, she was kept quite fit as she still like her walks etc. after being up with her all night the night she was due we took her to the vets on the sun morning amd the vet asked us if she was definitly in pup???? we had a scan pic so YES, the vet x rayed her and said the pup yes just one pup was too big for her too pass and when he was born i can fully understand why lol he was huge he was 1lb 2oz and the size of a fully grown guinea pig and a hand a half long it was mickey whizz btw lol id loved to have kept her and bred from her again but coz she had the c section we decided not too. her litter sister tiger lil had 4 litters i think it was and no c section so dont know the answer to that one.

 

[sadieandco]

We personally like to breed 4th year goin into 5 - but believe if bitch is kept fit through out pregnancy and treated relatively normal - exercised but obviolusly not excessively this all helps when due to give birth. We always used to race first three weeks after mating altho now it seems to be frowned upon :unsure:

 

[DavidH]

atlanta has had her first and last litter would of been great to get spellbound/ hellbound/ alabma/ atlanta and top stud cracked it all in one dog.wasnt easy for her. we think to much of her to put her through that again. pity no dogs, never mind there is sure to be some dog pups back end of this year available. but we have 2 nice bitches one still available to good home.

 

[Karen-Coral]

We too only breed for ourselves-

We too wouldn't line a bitch of such a young age-12 months.....! :x

I'm all for C-Sections- costly as they are...Our Vet has no problem with them either-not just the rubbing of his palms-hence the money he is about to receive

the benefits..

the bitch is less tired

the pups are out quick-no bother-no stress

you go to bed knowing all has been delivered and cleaned up....

and providing the bitch is fit and healthy- which she should be anyway if the breeder is responsible and no complications...she can have another caesarian at a later date if necessary... 2/3 litters is probably ample anyway....

'Time' may have delivered naturally had we left her long enough...but she was in such good fettle when we picked her up from the vets I wouldn't have had it any other way...she instantly bonded with the pups too...was trying to get in their basket as we left the vets.

There are bound to be horror stories on both sides of the coin....

Another of our bitches who 'does deliver naturally'-throws them out for fun :clown: didn't bond with 1 of her pups-was tired and tried to smother it...

Fluke has had both 'C' section and a natural birth-

After a consultation with the vet she was mated straight away at her next season (only 6months later) after her 'problem' first litter

She is fine to mate again if we choose...

Her 'racing' after both pregnancies bears testament to her fitness..

She's 7 years old next-

We wouldn't leave it too long after this if we do line her again

 

[Paws123]

Very understandable why you were advised to line meg (fluke) on her next season

There seems to be a few good replies hope we get more :thumbsup:

 

[sharon whincop]

I agree with Karen about c-sections. Mo's first litter she had a terrible time and the vet had to pull both pup's out. The second time was easier with only 1 pup but mo was still nackered. the 3rd litter mo had gone over by 4 days. We took her to the vets were we were told that the pups wern't even in the berthing canel. We were giving a choise either leave her and see what happens or have a section. We opted for the latter and i'm i glad i did the pups were belivered with no stress o mo and she looked better than she ever had having them natural. I've always said after that if i mate anyother bitch i would book her in for a section rather than go natural.

 

[DavidH]

got me thinking now :sweating: :thumbsup: .DONT TELL THE WIFE