Breeding & Whelping Q&As

I am raising Toy and Miniature Aussies and I have a question for you. When do you start figuring the 6 months for the next heat cycle? From the last time the female was bred or after she has had the litter? Like my female was bred in May and she had a litter in July so do I figure from May or July? Thanks for your time. Patty

Hi, I have a Pitbull Bitch who had her first litter on Dec 2nd, a litter of 3 pups. She was doing great with them. I had left them for about 2 hours the other day and found 1 of them had been killed. It was the largest puppy who was also the calmest one. I didn't look too closely at the carcass, but it seems the head had been mangled, however there was no blood anywhere?? I know sometimes when she tries to get comfy to milk she'll walk in circles and drop down which she'll sometimes land o...

My female seems to be sick after giving birth to five pups. She seemed to stay in labor for two days after the last pup came. She kept panting and acting strange I watched her closely but no other pups came. She now has a dry nose and is low on milk. I fed puppies your formula and her broth and burger. But she doesn't seem to be feeling better I have an appointment with vet but am afraid it may not help. Any advice?

Hi Ed, I was just looking through the testimonials on your website when I came across a question submitted by a women named Lauren. She described how her pup(s) would "stiffen" up and then relax and act somewhat normal. She called them seizures. We're relatively new to breeding having only bred four litters of Mastiffs over the last 6-7 years. Our last litter of pups was a breeders nightmare. We had 9 pups at birth but our dam's milk didn't come in. We hand fed those pups milk replacer (t...

Mr. Frawley, My doberman bitch just had her vaccinations and is in heat. How soon can she be bred after receiving her vaccinations? I know most vets frown on giving pregnant bitches vaccinations, so I didn't know how soon was too soon to breed her. I appreciate your time and look forward to your response. Thank you, Christine

Hello, I have a question that I am hoping you may be able to help me with. I have read you site for a few years now, and have purchased several DVDs. without getting into a lot of the misc. information, I will get to the point I recently purchased a quality (titled) female from a hunting kennel, she is currently 15 months old and weighs about 45 pounds. her mother weighed 55 pounds and sire about 74. I am expecting her to be around 55-58 pounds tops by the time she is 2. She has a small...

I have a big and beautiful Brindle English Mastiff. She is a bit vicious for the most part. (Because of fear until she becomes familiar with someone then it's like they do not exist or they are TOTALLY welcome to her house or yard.) She also will not let my male Mastiff mount or "TIE." She teases and he is definitely interested but she snaps right before the "TIE." Anyways, I was thinking of artificial insemination, however, is she going to be a terrible mother? I know.... No one will know...

Hi Ed, My female lab gave birth to 11 puppies starting early (4:30) Tuesday morning. Nine were born within a 4 hours window. The last two were born about 4 hours later. Sadly, the last two, a yellow and a black male, were the smallest. Yesterday (Wednesday) afternoon, I noticed the yellow male was somewhat lethargic. Unlike all of the others, we could see his ribs. We immediately went and purchased commercial newborn pup formula and started giving it to him orally with a syringe. H...

Cindy, I ran across your website and have learned a TON. We have a situation w/ an English Bulldog puppy maybe you could help me out with. Here's the situation: Our bitch had just one puppy. The first two days he fed very energetically. He would stay on the same nipple for up to twenty minutes and was a great little eater. We were thrilled, but a little concerned because after two days he stilled weighed the same as he did at birth (6.5 oz). In the past our puppies started gaining almos...

I have a simple question, I have a female rottweiler and I know two outstanding male studs. Some people tell me you can breed your female to BOTH males. Is that right or wrong? Please help me. Thank you

I have a female pug that is 2 years old. She has had 2 heat cycles. Her 1st in March 2008 and 2nd in September 2008. We bred her on the 2nd heat, she had puppies in November 2008. We were expecting her to come in again in March, but this hasn't happened. We live on a farm and she loves to run with the other animals and she got kicked in the head by a cow a couple a weeks ago. We took her to the vet and he said she is fine, maybe a concussion. Also we have a female lab that is a little annoyed...

I have a female pug that is 2 years old. She has had 2 heat cycles. Her 1st in March 2008 and 2nd in September 2008. We bred her on the 2nd heat, she had puppies in November 2008. We were expecting her to come in again in March, but this hasn't happened. We live on a farm and she loves to run with the other animals and she got kicked in the head by a cow a couple a weeks ago. We took her to the vet and he said she is fine, maybe a concussion. Also we have a female lab that is a little annoyed...

Dear Mr. Frawley, I have searched through your Q&A for an answer to my question regarding an accidental breeding but did not find an answer that I was satisfied with so I wanted to write you. I am a relatively new breeder of rat terriers and toy poodles. My terrier bitch has been breeding with my terrier male since last Thursday, 6/25/09; and today, 6/29/09, was a day that I wanted to skip, after talking with another experienced breeder. I put the pants on the bitch and was in the proce...

Dear Ed and Cindy, I have recently purchased your AI kit and video and found it to be very informational. I can really appreciate one breeder wanting to assist another breeders program. We're a small kennel breeding rottweilers and I have one female that doesn't take a liking to the mounting portion of mating. Hopefully, the AI kit will allow us to produce a litter with her. We will be conducting our 1st AI within the next few weeks. Fingers crossed!!! I was just curious though, with...

I wanted to thank you for the great information that you have posted on your website. I only wish that my wife and I would have found your site 3 years ago. 3 years ago our Bloodhound named Honey died of bloat, 2 days after delivering 8 puppies. We ran ourselves ragged doing everything we could to save those puppies. We got horrible advice and were devastated when at 2 weeks of age some puppies got sick. We ended up losing 4 of the 8 puppies... but were thankful for the 4 we saved. We kept tw...

I have been looking for an answer to a question all over the internet and have come up empty as of maybe now. This site seems to have all the answers so here goes nothing. We have a male and a female that are probable close to three years. Last year they had a litter in May or June that had to be delivered by emergency c-section and only one female puppy survived. We kept that stupid pup regardless, because she was kind of a miracle and all that she even lived at all. Ten months later which b...

I was wondering if the "hot pants" that they sell for when the bitch is in heat really does help protect against an accidental breeding. They advertise it for both reasons, but I have my doubts. Thanks! PS I have Corgis if that makes a difference with the "hot pants."

We have been breeding Cockers for 9 years now. We have had a lot of litters over the years with no real problems. We got a new stud dog earlier this year with a WONDERFUL pedigree and temperament. He is a real beauty inside and out, but he is completely clueless as a breeder. He grabs the back leg and humps that. We have tried to guide him in but haven't had that work. We ordered one of your AI kits and tried to collect him but he only ever extended about an inch and only produced a clear, pr...

Hello, I am a small Labrador breeder. I just had a litter of 12 pups to a mother with 4 injured nipples (hunting accident). I have been bottle feeding them with your puppy formula recipe. This formula is a lifesaver. They would not eat the powdered formula very well, but they love your recipe and are gaining weight like crazy and full of energy. My only concern is if the recipe has enough iron in it. None of the ingredients contain iron except maybe the egg yolks. Do I need to add some liq...

Cindy, We have three breeding females. Is there any way to keep them from having heat cycles at the same time? Jane