hi all,I have a female that will not have pups,she won't even breed until her 19th day.
she has been tested for mico plasma,and a hormone test,still nothing.she is now almost 4 and time is running out for her.She is in perfect health,great temperment,x-rays good.But she did have a yeast infection at the age of two,which was treated(i have all my females tested before breeding)This is the first time in 15 years of breeding I have ever had a problem like this.Can any one help?She is a GSD show lines(which is my opinon have a lot more problems then the working lines as I have both)thanks ahead of time. PNPGSD <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

There are a multitude of reasons on why your dog is not having pups. The first thing that comes to mind for me is , are you actually breeding her on the right days? Do you do progesterone testing? Many times a female will accept a male even though it is not the right time to concieve. Sometimes, a female will not accept a male when it is the right time to concieve. Progesterone testing would help you to identify if this is a problem. From there you will need to make a decision on whether or not you still want to breed your dog if it cannot be done naturally.

Another problem might be that she is actually concieving but reabsorbing the litter. You can usually tell if this is a problem by doing an ultrasound early on in the pregnancy. There are also several reasons why a dog might be reabsorbing a litter. Sometimes it is an infection, sometimes it is because she does not sustain an high enough hormone level to keep the placenta attached to the pup. Are you shipping her to be bred? Sometimes, depending when you fly a dog back after being bred, there is more susceptablity of them aborting.

There is also a possibility that she is sterile. Not sure how testing is done for this. Dogs with poor zinc intake as pups will sometimes come up sterile. Once the puppy stage is passed and this happens there is nothing you can do about it.

There is also often problems with dogs who are tightly line bred. Often one of the first problems to show up is breeding difficulties.

My suggestion is if you have not done progesterone testing to do this next time you breed her. I even know of females who have always been bred on the 'eighteenth' day and then one heat she does not ovualate until the 23 day. (even though she will accept the male long before this date).

(I am assuming here that the problem in getting pregnant does not lie with the male?)

I have an older bitch who we bred 3X w/no pups one time, and 1ea. stillborn pup on the other 2. Multiple tests run, no solution. Finally put her on antibiotics for 2wks prior to breeding due to a low-grade vaginal infection. Pups due in 1wk, so no results yet to tell you! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> She seems to be pregnant, eating LOTS, etc. I have heard of several bitches with small litters or no pups that responded well to this. Might be something to try. I used Cephelexin.

Hi,nope the problem does't lay with the males,all males were and are proven,And I have my own stud she has also been AIed,target tested and the like.
Twice we thought she might be.She gained wieght,ate like a horse,was not her self then nothing.Absorbing is a thought,I will try the cephelexin.And try a better supplment
one with more zinc.I was also thinking that the yeast infection she had may have left scar tissue.The other problem was and I didn't mention is that she started out having
her heat every 4 months now its every 6,that is why I had thought it may be a hormone problem.I am going to try your suggestions,thank you so much.pnpgsd

I am not sure what you are doing as 'target testing' but if it is a smere and then looking at it under a micorscope, this meathod is NOT accurate. The only true way of knowing if your female has ovulated is by progesterone testing. This is usually done every couple of days after the 7 or 8th day of her heat cycle.

As mentioned in my earlier post, adding zinc now will do no good if that was the original problem and she is sterile.

I had a dog simular to yours. I suspected she was reabsorbing the puppies. On the second mating, I took her in for an ultrasound early on and you could already see how she was reabsorbing. That particular time, I put her on antibiotics and I did manage to get 1 puppy out of the breeding. However, it had to be a C-section. She also was not a good eater throughout her pregancy and I decided to spay her. My personal belief is , that if it takes so much intervention to actually get a dog pregnant and to keep the puppies then she is not a good prospect for breeding material. Now, I know this is a very personal choice and one that each individual has to make for themselves.

This is the first time I have heard of a progesterone test,is it blood work?Sorry if I sound like a counrty bumpkin,why do dogs absorb?I know there are many reasons,but what is the one that stands out and is the most common?If she is absorbing it is worth it to find out why, even if she never has pups.I got on this board to learn,and thats what I want to do,so the more info the better.thanks pnpgsd

Yes, progesterone tests are blood tests. It indicates when the female ovulates.

Dogs reabsorb when something goes 'wrong' in the pregnancy. The body then sends out an enzyme that breaks down the 'matter' and it is reabsorbed into the body. Inadequate output of progesterone from the ovaries during early pregnancy will result in reabsorbtion.

As well, thyroid probems can be the problem. A dog with mild thyroid deficiency may show little or no signs of a thyroid problem but one might begin to suspect a problem when you are having an infertility problem. You might want to get your females thyroid checked to see if it is low at all.

There is a LH Surge (lutenizing hormone) that causes the eggs to be released. When that hits, the progesterone levels start rising, and they stay high thru the course of the pregnancy. A progesterone test is the best way of determining WHEN to breed, also it will tell you if the bitch DID ovulate. If she is having an odd heat cycle, she may not be ovulating every time.

Progesterone tests are more expensive (about $40/pop, 2-3 needed to track the progression), but are also more useful than the smear. The smear checks for cornified cells in the vagina, but the cells stay cornified for about 1.5 weeks, which is a pretty broad range.

I'll let you know next week how Cutty did! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

I would like to thank everyone for their input and suggustions,and the explaintions. Thank you pnpgsd

Well, Cutty had 5 pups, tho I am not positive she is done. So the antibiotics fix HER problem!! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />