Breeding & Whelping Q&As

Hi, Cindy. I know you guys bred GSD for many years. I have your Whelping video and I am watching it again. I am building a kennel and training facility and I would like to ask for your advice. How important is it that the Dam be completely separated from the presence of all other dogs during whelping? What I mean is, can she be in the same structure and within earshot, but totally separated and secured from other dogs or do you still feel this is too stressful for her? It would be...

Hi Cindy, I've been doing behavioral modification for dogs for the last 3 years. I wasn't supposed to be a dog trainer. I just wanted to help this one dog and it grew into a full time job. I worked in shelters, rescues, foundations and for private clients. I love working with dogs but often experience frustration when dealing with ppl. I have a medium sized 2 year old male mutt I picked from a shelter a year ago, I've trained him to a high functional level and we are learning advanced obed...

I have a 5 yr old female German Shepherd that is still intact and has never been pregnant. Is there a danger to her health in not getting her fixed and is she too old to have a litter? Thank you

I have done a lot of AI's using your video and have been successful, I'm thinking of having semen flown in from another state but am having trouble finding a vet that can thaw and AI. Do you have a video that instructs how to thaw the semen? I'm happy to AI, I know my dogs heat cycle and don't need all the tests, just knowledge of how to thaw correctly so I don't damage the sperm.

Hi Cindy, My 1 1/2 year old Shih Tzu has just tied with my male 3 times over the past 2 days, which where all due to not being under my watch I may add (husband and children). Will she have a large litter? I'm concerned because it has not been a year since her last litter. She only had 3 that time, but they where between 6-8 ounces at birth.

I just found out that my dog that I bred a week ago has fleas and the other animals in our house. What can I use on her to get rid of the fleas and not hurt the puppies she might be carrying?

I have a Doberman puppy that came from a litter of 6. He was born by C-section, as mom was having problems getting the first puppy out on her own. All the pups were pretty uniform in size for the most part at birth. This one particular male has not grown much at all in comparison to the rest. At 4 weeks of age the others' average weight was 10 to 11 pounds and this little guy only weighed 4 pounds! I took him to our vet and had a full blood panel done and nothing looked abnormal, not even...

We breed Coton de Tulear puppies. We have the mother and father. We also have a boy from the first litter. The female is in heat. We were keeping the boy separated but mother and son locked last night. The sire has locked before and after. When the female and sire mate they usually do several times. Is the litter not viable? What do I do???

Good Morning Cindy, My 2 year old female was bred to my male (1 tie) and she had a false pregnancy. Vet said I could try again she is in good health otherwise. I have been researching the issue and have read conflicting information, some say yes it is safe to try again, others saying false pregnancy will happen again. My female has Leerburg breeding on her 5 generation pedigree stormfront on her 3rd. Have you ever experienced false pregnancy and if you have, have you had success in a secon...

My golden retriever is 13 months and hasn't gone into heat. I plan to breed her, as she is an AKC show dog. Thank you for your help. I don't know why she hasn't yet.

Hi, Can you point me to any articles or eBooks, or give me some advice on how to handle a young female in heat. This is her third heat and we've handled it so far, but we just got turned on to your videos and methods and philosophies and we would like to learn how to handle this right. We have chosen not to have her spayed, as we plan on getting one litter out of her, probably this time next year, when she'll be two and a half years old. Thank you for your time, and thank you for the gr...

I have a 1 year old female black mouth cur who had 12 pups on 02/20/12, 1 was still born and 2 more have since died. Can you tell me how many normally survive in a litter this large with a first time mom?'

Cindy, We have a Standard Poodle who is in the early stages of her first pregnancy. She has been on a raw food diet since she was 6 months old with no problems. We started her on the raw diet because she was having skin issues and goopy, runny eyes and the diet just makes sense. Her skin and eye issues have disappeared and she seems to be very healthy and happy. We live in a very small town so my Vet options are limited. I was told a Vet in town was familiar with the raw diet, but what...

Cindy, I am currently feeding Honest Kitchen?to my adult dogs and recently contacted the company to ask what age I could begin feeding our puppies. I believe the gal I talked to was Kat and she suggested that I ask another breeder that was using the products with their puppies.?Can you give me any suggestions in regards to when to introduce the Honest Kitchen and any other information you think may be helpful. I just ran accross your website for the first time and will definitely mark it ...

Cindy, I put in "sick not growing puppies bacteria" in my search engine and your webpage came up as #1 at the top of the list and after reading much of your page on saving small pups, etc. I believe you may be able to help me. I have been a dog breeder since 1969 and have, at one time or another, had almost every disease a dog or pup can get, except rabies. Anyway, I now have something I cannot figure out. I currently have French Bulldogs (4 of them) and have been breeding them for ...

Hi Cindy, I have a 14 month intact female Rottweiler. She was crate trained, and was relatively neutral in terms of her love of the crate. Suddenly in the last 2 weeks she is obsessed with the crate. There is no food or treat in the crate, and with the bedding removed her behavior is identical. She will spend more than half of the day inside the crate with the door open. She often runs back into it when she is out, with intensity. When she is taken outside her energy is great. Her appetite...

Hello, I am trying to determine wether I should breed a healthy German Shepherd female we own. We have bred German Shepherds for 20 years but only have a litter every few years. We have an excellent female we have raised since a puppy from excellent German working lineage. Time has gotten away from us and by the time she will be whelping her puppies she will be 7+ years old. She is third generation from our breeding program and if not breed we will loose that lineage. She has never before...

Hi, I have read through your website and I love it. You know your stuff and give great advice. I have a shih tzu x chihuahua who had a litter of 3 just over four weeks ago. The first two pups were born naturally but after a long struggle with the the third she needed to have a c section and that poor baby was dead. The 2 surviving pups are doing really well and Bella is a great mum. After the pups were born Bella had discharge for a few days but that cleared up when it should have...

I currently have a 5 month old female French Bulldog x Min Pin (French Pin). I am trying to decide whether or not to fix her, not fix her, or potentially breed her with another dog. I would love to breed her with another healthy male but do not know what breed I would be looking for or how to go about caring for her through pregnancy. Would you suggest I take her to a dog trainer and have them care for her through pregnancy? And what breed of dog would you suggest I breed her with. Thanks

Hello.... I have 2 orphaned Rottweiler puppies that were born to a 2-year-old mother that refused to care for her puppies. They are my friend's puppies. She's not able to care for them with her work schedule, so I'm helping her out with caring for them. It's what I love to do... I just love my puppies. I raise Golden Retriever pups but have never had an issue with my mother refusing her babies as these two have been by their mother. Anyways, when I got the puppies, the first thing I di...