Breeding question - Page 1

if she's pregnant, puppies in about 4 weeks.  Hopefully you know all about whelping and what to do if there are problems, how to know when she's in labor, when she needs help and when to leave her alone - hopefully you have a whelping box, heating source, and supplies to assist slow puppies if necessary.  Hopefully you have the knowledge you need to make this litter a success.  I wish you luck with your upcoming litter.

molly

Thanks.  I really haveno experience or what to expect.  Never done this before, but my femal is so cool, i wanted to breed her before she gets too old. I wanta puppy for my next dog. Sally is getting old andprobably wont bearound in a few years.

I'll warn you that you will likely get chewed out for posting on this site without throughally knowing what you are getting yourself into as far as producing puppies.  Hopefully both parents are great examples of the breed in health and temperament.  Regardless of what you have done, you now need to really prepare yourself.  Here's a starting point:  http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/breedingpregnancyguide.htm  Don't stop there... use this time to buy and read many books, talk to your vet about what to expect and their availability, and maybe find a network of local breeders ( AKC kennel or Schutzhund club ) in case you need some hands on help.  I wish the best for your pups.

amysue is correct as to the likely response by other posters.  I am strongly opposed to breeding just because "my dog is cool."  However, since you took the effort to post here I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you're interested in learning something. 

There's no possible way for you to learn everything necessary about whelping a litter just by comments here so I would suggest that you buy this video: leerburg.com/118.htm.  It still won't provide everything that you need to know but at least you'll have a head start.  Secondly, make sure that you have a good vet who provides after-hours emergency care and have the number close by.  Third, preparre a whelping kit (do a search for it here and you'll see what you need). 

Now, in case you're thinking "I don't need any of the above," "having puppies is natural," "it can't be that hard," etc, here's some ideas of what to expect in whelping problems and please don't think these are rare occurences (every one of these except the ruptured uterus has happened to me).  Especially since your female is older and this is her first litter, she'll be more prone to problems.

1) Placenta doesn't detach immediately and when female grabs puppy the umbilical cord is pulled too hard and she rips out puppy's intestines (but puppy is still alive).
2) Female doesn't know what on earth a puppy is so she attacks and kills puppy unless you recognize warning signs & immediately intervene.
3) Female doesn't know what to do so she doesn't break the sac and puppy suffocates unless you're there to intervene.
4) Puppy gets stuck in birth canal.  If you know what to do and have supplies you may be able to pull it out successfully, or it may be stillborn, or if you don't realize it/aren't there it blocks passage for all other pups & entire litter is born dead.
5) Puppy is retained in female (usually already dead puppy), you didn't x-ray so you don't know how many to expect and don't do anything about it.  Female becomes toxic and dies.
6) Female's uterus just decides to quit (uterine inertia), you have no choice but to do a c-section.  Get a quote from your vet, here it costs $1500 - $2500 for a c-section.  In case of uterine inertia or stuck puppy you don't have a choice about doing this or you'll lose your female.
7) Female is too old to be having her first litter and/or puppy gets stuck and her uterus ruptures.  Female dies.
8) Female bites umbilical cord too short, if you're not there & don't know how to stop it, puppy bleeds to death.
9) Puppy born with birth defect/cleft palate.  You need to euthanize puppy.
10) Puppy born towards end of long labor and not breathing immediately.  You need to resuscitate it.  If you're not there or don't know how, puppy dies.
11) Puppy gets stuck away from the litter and if you don't have appropriate whelping box & room at correct temp then puppy is extremely cold when you find it in the morning and dies.
12) If you don't have a whelping box with "pig rails", puppy gets behind female, she lays on puppy & puppy dies.
13) Female develops mastitis, or eclampsia after puppies are born.  You either recognize the warning signs & have a large vet bill (ask your vet for a quote), or female & puppies die.
14) You don't realize when she's going into labor and/or decide to let her out to go to the bathroom.  She has puppy outside, you don't realize it, you find a dead puppy the next day.

I'm sure I'm forgetting a few things - other members may want to add.  This isn't meant to scare you but to inform you & give you an idea of what you need

Danbee,

I think you are being a bit harsh.  Did you put all of the negatives into consideration when you brought your first litter to life?  Lets be honest, I don't think so. Most people start breeding dogs because they love the breed and they are very passionate about the possibility of bringing a litter to life.  No one is an expert overnight and it takes trial and error, you live and learn. 

Tlanning, do lots of reading and research.  No question is a dumb question, last time I got laughed at for asking a question was in junior high.  This is how you learn.  I bet there are people on this site that will benefit from your questions.  Best of luck! 

Cheers 

 

Both those reasons are selfish reasons.  Get a dog because you love animals.  Get a particular breed because you have developed a liking for that breed.  Get involved in breeding your dog because the puppies will be be good examples and improve your breed.  Being passionate about bringing a litter to life???????  Get some dolls and stuffed animals and play house.  What do you think you are going to do with the puppies that are left over after you have selected your "cool" one?  Let's try and be a little more practical and educate ourselves about the real reason we breed our dogs.  Of course now I will be chastised for being honest and not necessarily politically correct but,,,,,,,,,,I don't care.  

Spend some time working in a shelter and see how many other "cool" dogs are out there looking for homes.  Does the world, and in your case the GSD world, really need puppies from this breeding?  Are there not enough Gremen Sheepurds available from people who really know and dedicate themselves to the breed?  Have you done the requisite health checks on your dog before you bred her?  How about the male?  Who is he?  Who is she?  Has anyone besides you evaluated these dog's temperaments?  One of the reasons behind the sport of Schutzhund is to evaluate the dog's temperament on, in many cases, an unfamiliar field, around and by in many cases, unfamiliar people.  Let us not be so kennel blind that we just breed our animals because we "love" them. 

GSD Man - I don't think "harsh" has anything to do with it - try realistic.  Or do you think he should not be aware of potential problems and just learn by "trial and error"?  And if you read my entire post, you'll note that I was not trying to discourage him from breeding (I would, but the breeding's already done).  I was trying to impress upon him the need to learn what to expect and to be prepared.

Here's another example of what we are discussing.  http://www.pedigreedatabase.com/gsd/classifieds/94124.html     Note, female is untitled, untested, protective of her property????  So is my kennel cat.  Male must be titled and Koered but my female is my pet (who looks great in her yard photo adorned with her poor fitting electric collar BTW).  Her "fee" is pick puppy?????!!!!!  Your fee???  Pick of what?  This is one of the reasons why the SV policy of not fully registering puppies out of untitled parents is so important.  I absolutely could care less about being PC and hurting someone's feelings.  If the GSD is ever going improve on some of the garbage that is being produced here in the U.S., there needs to be a standard that is strictly enforced.  ONE BREED, ONE STANDARD.

The breeding's done and the pups are "in the oven" as they used to say. So any blame at this point is useless. The female's owner should concentrate on getting proper vet care for the female, at the minimum a health check with blood work and an Xray to find out how many pups to expect. And a vet should be available, at least by phone, during the whelping. It's preferable to have an experienced breeder to act as "mid-wife" to a first litter. Pups, like all babies, often arrive in the middle of the night.

Yes, the owner should start now, without delay, getting educated on what to expect and what can go wrong and when to seek emergency vet care immediately. It isn't a given that dogs have puppies (whelp) naturally. Some don't. Leerburg.com is a place to start to get good information immediately. A vet appointment for the mother before the litter is due is a must.