Greetings everyone great forum,

I am looking for a little help with a breeding question. I have tried unsuccessfully in the past year to breed my four year old GSD female; she is a maiden bitch and has never had a successful tie. Twice I had her artificially inseminated with no results. This time we decided that we would just step out of this process and let nature be in total control and if this bitch did not tie and conceive then we would have her spayed. My numbers are a little different from most but I am wondering if maybe this could be the reason she never conceived in the other attempts.

It was on day 13 she started to flag, days 14 and 15 were failed attempts but on day 16 they got there 1st tie. Once this occurred her determination to breed again was intense. Under my supervision I allowed them to tie again on day 18 and on the 19th the honeymoon was over. A week later I took her to the Vet just to have a general check up make sure she was Ok. When we weighed her she came in at 70 lbs and this dog has never weighed that much, I took it as a good sign. Then just this morning we weighed her again and her weight dropped to 67 lbs? Is this normal? How can a pregnant dog lose weight? Also has anyone ever experienced numbers such as I have in this whole heat / breeding cycle?
I value your experience and expertise.
Amanda

How much time elapsed between the 70lb weigh in and the 67lb weigh in? Were they the same time of day (ie: taking into consideration food consumption and eliminations)?

Tracy

It was nine days ago and the weighing was in the morning hours both times. Today is day 25 since the tie and there are no real signs as of yet. She’s hasn’t missed a beat, looks great plenty of energy…..

I just now think I figured this thing out as I was answering your question Tracy.

As I reflect back she couldn’t get enough food fast enough at the end of her heat cycle, maybe she needed more fuel for all the extracurricular activity? Then her diet went back to the norm for her since then. That would account for the sudden weight gain. So in reality she just came back down to her normal weight not really loosing anything. What do you think?

Are you going to ultrasound? That will give you a good idea if she is pregnant or not. A year ago I did a surgical insemination on my female. She was ravenous in the couple weeks following the insemination but she did lose a pound or so right around day 21-30. Unfortunately, that breeding did not take.

And sometimes breedings "take", but the litter gets resorbed. The 18 days following breeding are a very delicate time, and the embryos are not yet implanted in the uterine lining. Stress at this time can be one cause.

Like Ingrid, I'd suggest relying more on an ultrasound than the scale.

And truthfully, I don't know why you think your numbers are different than most...those are fairly typical. Only way to know for sure when it's the right time though is via progesterone testing.

Why did you skip day 17?

Tracy

Thank You both for the reply s / help I have been just upside down with work but promise to stay in touch when I learn if she is breed or not.

Again thank you.