Was I overlooked? - Page 1

Hello All, I posted a question regarding the 'cutoff' age of a bitch for her first litter,i.e; 4,4 1/2,5 years. I am hoping that the reason no one has responded is an oversight.....please share thoughts/experiences on what you feel is too late to breed a maiden bitch. Thanks again!

Again, it depends on the females condition. Breeding, pregnancy, birthing - all that is always risky. If it was safe is something you will find out after the fact. I would not breed a fit and healthy female for the first time if she was older than 5.

Thanks D.H. I appreciate the speedy response and always look forward to your very informative posts!! Cheers!

By the way D.H....assuming said bitch was in the prime of health at,say 4.5 years, is it better to let her whelp naturally or plan a Csection. Your thoughts please.Thanks again! Regards

I would always see if she would whelp naturally but keep the vet at hand. That kind of goes for any birth. If you have to plan a C-section ahead of time then IMO the female should not be bred. A C-section is a last resort when nothing goes any more. When the bitch starts whelping phone the vet to keep him abreast of what is going on. If the bitch cannot produce the first or any pup within two hours after you can feel it in the birth canal, its time to see the vet. If you cannot feel the pup yet, more than two hours between can still be ok. I have had a pup come 8 hours after the last and it was fine. Its a judgement call. I always take a post whelp x-ray. For one, the vet gets to check over the female and see if she is ok. Two, to make sure no pups are left behind. Taking an x-ray before birth can be misleading, the numbers are often inaccurate, and if only 4 showed but she has 6 but she is not producing all, you will unknowingly be headed for trouble. With an older female giving birth for the first time a prewhelp x-ray may help you determine how large the pups are and how likely medical intervention may be if the pups are very large. But some females have no problems with large pups. Its when the birth starts and then is going nowhere when you need to get help. Not before you even know that help is needed. A breeder told me a bit over a year go that she did a planned C-section on a female I helped bring over. They took her in before natural birthing started, just to be on the safe side, make sure the litter was going to make it. The bitch was young, it was her first birth, IMO no reason for this. Except that the litter was very valuable, the pups had already been sold for a lot of $$$. But how do you know then if this female has birthing problems? If she has problems later, is it because of a scarred uterus, or is that a actual weakness? Let Nature do her job first. Get a good book on breeding and whelping. There are a lot of things you can do to help the bitch produce pups before you cut.

Again D.H.,Thank You very much for your response...you are truly an AMAZING resource!!! I hope that I may pick your brain again sometime! Thanks Much! Regards, dsh