Breeding & Whelping Q&As

Hello, My name is Carolyn and I breed Belgian Shepherds (Tervuren) in Canada. I have been reading a lot of your section on breeding most of the day today, and I must commend you on your excellent website. You are a such a prince to put so much time and effort into educating others So far, I have been fortunate to not have any problems with breedings and whelpings, though I feel I may have a problem with the next bitch I plan to breed to get her to accept the male. Time will tell, ma...

We spoke in June regarding our 10 month old bitch. Kids had left door open and we had an unexpected 'accident' during her heat. We took her to vet and had 'morning after' shot .. all was well ... and heat ended as normal .. she seems to be nesting by digging a large hole under a travel crate we have behind our shed. I'd bet she isn't pregnant .. she is a slim bitch and I palpated and nothing though her nipples seem to be a little distended though she had a hernia repaired this week and she is...

I have a 11 mo old Great Dane who went into heat at 10mo old on the 1st of Aug....all is normal I think. She bled fairly heavy for about 1.5 weeks, then a little more thinned blood or a lighter color...now she is at day 21 and is having a dark reddish brown color discharge but very little. Is this normal ...I am referring to the color of the discharge. Another quick question....pyo....it is a real concern with Danes and being that this is a promising show bitch with several points to dat...

My name is Jessi. My boxer just had a litter of nine puppies. One which died at birth, one that had liquid in its lungs. This last one that wasn't doing well was the runt. I had given it special care for the last three days. It seemed to be doing better. This morning I put him in the room with his mother while I went to the other room for a few minutes. When I came back, she had chewed it's head off. Is that normal? I've seen mothers push aside the weak. But I have never seen or heard of this...

Hi there, My name is Helen and I live in the U.K. I am the very proud of owner of 2 gorgeous Rottweilers and on April the 21st 2007, I bred my very first litter!! It was a litter of 15 puppies but 2 died at birth, so we were left with 13. From day one of Lara giving birth it has been one hell of an experience right up until the end, even though I'd bought a whelping box for her she decided to give birth on my bed while I was asleep, RIGHT NEXT TO MY HEAD! lol I had been awake with he...

Hi Ed, I have been trying to mate my bitch staff. She is letting my dog on to her and she is moving her tail to the side. When he enters her she isn't getting tied. Please could you tell me why?

Great information and articles on your site. Thanks for all that information. I have a big problem. I have seven Collies, newly switched to raw food a year ago ....great for them and I feel a lot more comfortable feeding them real foods. I have a problem that I hope you have the time for answer - I understand if you don't. I have four females between two and four years old - all virgin bitches. Bitch # 1 - 3.5 years Spring 2006 - bred AI because this young male failed to mount ...

My Siberian Husky bitch is three weeks pregnant and has today started to show a brown discharge. She is tired and has vomited and I am worried that she is aborting. Could she be? I have had problems breeding her in the past. I have another bitch who bled for a day in her third week and then proceeded to give birth to a healthy litter of nine pups. Any chance my bitch could still have pups?

Hello, My chihuahua just gave birth Sunday, and now has 3 beautiful pups. Her experience was not a good one ending up in critical care (She was unable to push them all out) When she is in her box she is very protective, and loving. However she is acting a bit strange. We have noticed several times two of the three she picks up with her mouth and wants to leave these two under the couch. What would make her want to do this. Her vet said as long as she feeds them just keep an eye on th...

I enjoy your site and the tremendous amount of experience and information you make available to others. My husband and I have owned German Shepherd dogs for over 20 years and have begun breeding the last five years. My breeding stock are OFA and of good quality and excellent temperament. My 5 year old female has produced 3 litters and just had her fourth. However she developed gestational diabetes. It threw everyone for a loop as it is apparently unheard of in dogs and especially in german...

I have a question and was hoping you could help me. We switched to the raw diet last year and have been purchasing books from you and giving to our puppy customers and refer to your web site from our web site. I have just had 3 dogs in a row the week before they were due to whelp have puppies die in utero (hindsite now), the mom bloated real big (she was full of amniotic fluid), went into labor early....The first lost the litter but we saved her. The second two died suddenly. It seems they we...

I will keep this short and sweet as I am sure you are like me and do not have time for many words. I have a varied background in training from police K9 hanlder to sport to SAR, etc. I am however still learning a lot as a breeder. I am a past customer of yours several times and consider you a very experienced breeder. There are few in this nation with the GSD world that have bred as many litters as you have. So I am coming to you for some advice. Situation: I have an IPO1 and breed surveye...

Hi We've been breeding dogs for about the past 6 years. In the last two litters how ever we've had one puppy with a heart defect. We breed two of our females with this male and the one female's pups have always been healthy so we figured the defect was coming through from the other female so we've stopped breeding her. A third female that would never mate with our male finally became pregnant and had a litter almost 5 weeks ago now through c-section. Two of her pups did not make it. So we ...

Question: I am currently attempting to breed my female lab. We tried one season before but we were unsuccessful. The male is very interested however he appears too big. I have read through the question and answers and I am in the process of using a lubricant and elevating the female just a bit. The male is making contact but the minute he makes contact my female is trying to turn around and nip him. Do the male and female need to lock up in order to have a successful session? Thank you for...

I have a 8-9 month old 45 pound Australian cattle dog-mini bull terrier mix she is in heat. I want to breed her now at her first heat cycle to a 50 pound male chocolate American pit bull terrier. Both dogs are good protection dogs and guard dogs-good pray drive etc....Iam trying to make a designer attack/Protection dog called a "BULL HEELER " should I breed my dog at this age....what are the dangers of breeding at this age?

Hi Ed, I just found your web site and found it great. I need help yesterday(19th june) my cavalier king charles died of a heart attack, we were devastated of course but she has left us with 5 beautiful pups. all health and 3 weeks old. I dont know what to do. Ive gotten some milk replacement and some bottles but its not working. I also have a bitch with six pups who seems more than glad to share her milk, her pups are 2 weeks old. Is this ok are we doing her any harm its like a revolving d...

My female gave birth on 6/27/06 and her pups are doing great, but she will sometimes throw up her food and of course they eat it. Why does she do that? I asked the vet and she does not know why. Thanks, Diana

Hi I have found your site very interesting but I have one question that I am really unsure of, I hope i dont sound like i have not researched enough about breeding, I have been on the internet and read books for weeks but just cant seem to settle this question. My chocolate lab bitch is due soon and Im not too sure when to step in to bottle feed puppies, if she feeds them herself do I still have to feed them? I have sought advice from numerous people but I cant seem to get a definite answer, ...

Hi, My name is Valerie and I have a question on my Rottweiler and her pups. She just gave birth to 8 pups and she is not nursing them at all, she has left the room to be alone. Should I try to put the pups on the mothers nipples, or should I leave her alone for awhile to recoup? I am at a lose here and do not want to lose them, would you please give me advice. These are my nephew's pups and I am e-mailing you for him long distance. He has no computer, I will try to call you in a minute....

I discovered a stray dog living under our deck. We tried to feed her and befriend her but she would run away. I thought that she had had a litter of puppies (saggy boobies and not a big belly) and someone had dumped her. Well it has been a few weeks and we still can't get near her. We have 160 children coming through our home per week she has never show any aggression she just basks in the sun then runs away if we talk to her or come near. We haven't seen her in a few days and discovered that...