Thread: Whelping back to back litters

Had a discussion the other night on the phone with a breeder, who was worried about a back to back litter, ie. one litter after another. I would like to hear your thoughts on this.

Reading up on it, it seems to be a bit of anthropomorphism in action, there is more evidence to suggest it is healthier for a bitch to keep her in whelp until you are finished with her, then spey her. That way she has the rest of her life to recover. The idea of giving her a rest between matings comes from either convenience of having to many litters on the go at once, the human idea of regaining her figure after child birth, or the fear of being labelled a puppy mill.

Your thoughts?

The real question is if the bitch is worth breeding back to back. Given the caliber of dogs you and I are generally discussing that's not an issue but just a general thought. There's a lot of crap out there that gets bred.

I have had back to back litters and reckon it's perfectly safe if not preferable given the right bitch. Some bitches really struggle through lactation and come out a bit rough. I wouldn't breed that kind of bitch back to back.

The bitch I have with the current litter is in better nic than at the mating and is still very active. I wouldn't hesitate to put her back in pup but my stud dogs are busy so there are plenty of good pups coming so another litter would just flood the market and outnumber the good homes available. NZ/OZ is a relatively small market. With the service dog program I was involved with in the US it was standard practice to breed 2 litters back to back then give the bitch a year off.

I have read plenty from sources I trust to convince me that given the right conditions, it is actually preferable to breed back to back. The conditions being that there is demand for pups, the bitch is in good condition and the right studs are available.

I discussed this issue just recently with someone who is involved professionally with service dogs. Says there should be no issue whatsover, if left to their own devices they would produce a litter for every heat of their life... bear in mind their life might only be 5 years in that circumstance, but certainly if in good nick there is no real reason not to. And i agree with Ryan's fist question but likewise respect your choices Jim.

interesting guys and relevant given im hoping my new bitch to put at least 4 litters on the ground.

Ruff I'm not sure it's a path I would follow. I have no problems if the bitch is in good nick and looks fit enough to handle another, but imagine if you are running on litters of pups to have pick. Having them back to back out of a bitch would get out of hand really quickly! two litters on the go at once each year would be pretty hectic for the private breeder. I would imagine service dogs would have a pretty thorough breeding program with a good kennel management system to mitigate this?

Absolutely, That would be a personal choice and a nightmare for someone with another job. I was really only referring to any health implications.

You'd think twice if it was your wife pregnant immediately after having given birth........ Sorry, guys, couldn't resist!!!

I reckon, I've had a vasectomy!

I dunno HF1, my mum pumped us out in a row, one after the other good catholic girl