# Question for breeders..how often would you breed a female?



## DebsDog (Mar 28, 2008)

I noticed that a duplicate breeding has been announced from the same female and male as my puppy came from. They will be whelped 6 months apart. This seemed to me to be quite soon. How often do you typically breed your females? Is two litters in one year alot?


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## diana_D (Jan 27, 2008)

I am not a breeder, but I am sure 6 months is too early. When I was looking for my pup, all reputable breeders told me they never breed the same bitch more than 3, max 4 times in her life, and they always leave at least 1 year between litters from the same bitch.


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## Pointgold (Jun 6, 2007)

DebsDog said:


> I noticed that a duplicate breeding has been announced from the same female and male as my puppy came from. They will be whelped 6 months apart. This seemed to me to be quite soon. How often do you typically breed your females? Is two litters in one year alot?


 
Actually, reproductive specialists advocate doing a back-to-back breeding, if the bitch recovered well from the first/had no problems/had a small litter, etc. THEN skip a season. There are pros and cons either way. And many variables, such as age of the bitch, general health and condition, etc.


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## MurphyTeller (Sep 28, 2008)

There are two schools of thought - both make sense scientifically...

The first is that the uterus takes a "hit" every time the bitch cycles - regardless of whether she is bred. Thus the more estrus cycles she has the more impact on her reproductive health. Therefore many highly respected repro vets advocate breeding a bitch back to back and then a spay after she's finished her breeding career. The danger with an open intact bitch is pyo - a pretty serious and lifethreatening infection of the uterus.

The second school of thought is that whelping and caring for a litter is physically demanding and therefore should be spread out in order for the bitch to recover. 

I've seen bitches bred back to back and come back looking better than they did before their maiden litter. I've seen some bitches really drained by litters too - but even then the bounce-back is pretty quick once the puppies are weaned.

In my experience with horses (11 month gestation) where we generally breed back to back - most mares once they are retired to breeding are bred every year - a lot of things happen and sometimes she doesn't take or aborts and is open for a year. It's not unusual for a nice mare in a reputable breeding program with good care to have 10-15 foals in her lifetime.

So I wouldn't be concerned that your pup's dam has been bred back to back if she's healthy and in good condition - especially if she spent the first part of her career in the conformation (or obedience/agility) rings where motherhood is a second career.

Erica


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## jwemt81 (Aug 20, 2008)

I'm not a breeder, but the breeder I got my pup from only breeds each female only once a year, sometimes a year and a half. The most litters she will let them have are 3-4 and then she will have them spayed.


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

I'm not a breeder either, but our breeder also only breeds one litter per female per year, and only a total of 2-3 litters and then the bitch is spayed.


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## vrocco1 (Feb 25, 2006)

Many breeders do one set of litters back to back, and then give the bitch a break. There really are two schools of thought on this issue, with some people waiting a year between litters. I personally would not do a back to back more then once, but before dogs were domesticated (and probably for a long time after they were domesticated) bitches bred on every heat cycle.

Bitches vary widely in there recovery rates, so there really can be no hard and fast rule. I personally believe a case by case evaluation is the only thing that makes sense. I know many, many bitches who have been bred back to back, and I've never seen any harm come of it. 

You need to be careful with anthropomorphism. Dogs are not humans, although many times they seem like it. I mean after all, for all intents and purposes, Jesse is my son.


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## Ash (Sep 11, 2007)

Depending on the bitch as others stated not every thing is black or white there are many other variables. Generally, if circumstances allow I like doing one breeding waiting atleast a year then doing breeding 2 and 3 back to back - again if its doable. Then waitng at least a year and doing a forth. IMO its easier on bitches to do 1 back to back then to breed a 7 or 8 year old bitch. I would not worry as I know which Breeder you are speaking of  he is very reputable and knows the in's and outs of breeding and also knows the bitch in question along with her condition.


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## DebsDog (Mar 28, 2008)

*I had to look up anthromorphism....I learned something new today!*

*Anthropomorphism* is the attribution of uniquely human characteristics to non-human creatures and beings, natural and supernatural phenomena, material states and objects or abstract concepts. Subjects for anthropomorphism commonly include animals and plants depicted as creatures with human motivation able to reason and converse, forces of nature such as winds or the sun, components in games, unseen or unknown sources of chance, etc. Almost anything can be subject to anthropomorphism. The term derives from a combination of Greek _ἄνθρωπος_ (_anthrōpos_), _human_ and _μορφή_ (_morphē_), _shape_ or _form_.
Humans seem to have an innate capacity to project human characteristics in this way. Evidence from art and artifacts suggests it is a long-held propensity that can be dated back to earliest times. It is strongly associated with the art of storytelling where it also appears to have ancient roots. Most cultures possess a long-standing fable tradition with anthropomorphised animals as characters that can stand as commonly recognised types of human behaviour. The use of such literature to draw moral conclusions can be highly complex.
Within these terms, humans have more recently been identified as having an equivalent opposite propensity to deny common traits with other species - most particularly apes - as part of a feeling that humans are unique and special. This tendency has been referred to as *Anthropodenial* by primatologist 



vrocco1 said:


> Many breeders do one set of litters back to back, and then give the bitch a break. There really are two schools of thought on this issue, with some people waiting a year between litters. I personally would not do a back to back more then once, but before dogs were domesticated (and probably for a long time after they were domesticated) bitches bred on every heat cycle.
> 
> Bitches vary widely in there recovery rates, so there really can be no hard and fast rule. I personally believe a case by case evaluation is the only thing that makes sense. I know many, many bitches who have been bred back to back, and I've never seen any harm come of it.
> 
> You need to be careful with anthropomorphism. Dogs are not humans, although many times they seem like it. I mean after all, for all intents and purposes, Jesse is my son.


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