fertility question - Page 1

so does the size of the litter depend more on male sperm count, female, both equally, health/condition of the bitch, age of the bitch before mating, genetic history, random...what?

i thought first litters were generally smaller? my female (non-gsd, hope i can still ask) had 14 pups on her first litter, all super healthy, mum never lost any weight but lost some skin on nipples, pups went in batches of 2 or 3 mostly. litter was a success and same buyers want repeat, what chance of getting similar litter number and type/temp if mating repeated?

There are certainly genes at work, but I have no expert knowledge
as to exactly what dictates the number of pups in any one litter,
whether it's a first litter for the bitch, or not.  I do hope someone
with more info answers your question, vk, as it is an interesting
point and one on which I'm sure many of us would like to know
more.

It never matters about the breed involved, you are quite at liberty
to discuss your other dogs - you know that already, surely ?  And
this is an all-breeds board, as I was once firmly reminded when I
said I'd come to it through the 'GSD world' - even when the vast
majority of posters using it seem to be into GSDs and other working
breeds primarily.  (You only have to call up a selection of the Forums
for other breeds to realise how long ago, and how little, of anything
has been posted on them)  LOL

It doesn't matter about breed when you discuss the matter of litter
size, either.  Some small breeds of dog which normally have 2 - 4 pups
per litter can surprise their owners by producing say 5, or 7 babies on
occasion, and presumably the same causes / questions about genetics,
double matings, fertility levels etc apply to those.

As for Shepherds, despite the way many breeders bemoan the frequency
of small (er ?)  litters these days, we still hear of many big litters.  Personally
the smallest litter I had anything to do with was four.  In that bitch it was her 2nd
litter, she'd had a 7-strong 1st litter,  so no, I don't think there is anything in some
people saying "first litters are always small" (where did you pick that up ?) ;  every
other litter I was around for was a 7 or an 8  [one was a 9, but w/ one still-born, a
huge pup which got stuck, might have lived if I'd managed to get her out a bit quicker ?].  
Except: that the 3 litters Mandy had (years & years ago when I was a teenager)  were,
if I remember correctly,  12 (her first, as far as I was aware); 13; and 15.  Some
in the 2nd and 3rd litters died in infancy, but she still raised most of them.
She was a mixture of Show breeding, Working breeding, and Back-Yard breed-
ing.  The stud in question was the most 'Back-Yard' part !!!   

I find my first litters are generally smaller. I also find the females tend to produce a similar number of puppies as their ancestors. I have females that give me large litters and their offspring do also, some have given me small and their descendents as well over the generations. The female makes the number of eggs available. It's up to the male to fertilize as many as possible. Hope that helps.

I've found that if you are curious as to the size of litters a female may produce, check into the size litters her dam & grand-dam had.
I find that they are usually(not always) within a pup or two of the same size.
Of course there are exceptions & one has to rule out any physical issues the female may be having. 

I agree with northwoodsGSD,  the females usually have about the same number as their dams/grand dams/ gr-grand dams.  It runs in the lines.  So if you get a pup from a large litter, she will usually throw large litters.
and its my opinion that the female pretty much determines litter size, since most studs deposit hundreds of sperm at a time, but theres only so many eggs dropped by the bitch to be fertilized.