# Time between litters



## RachyBobs (Oct 18, 2009)

I heard somewere that the KC are allowing people to breed 2 litters of the same bitch in 1 year? I think 12 months between litters is just enough for the bitch to be back in 100% condition.

I had somebody ring today and say 'well why not breed her now when shes in season' why would I? It baffles me....

As long as shes in top condition by her next season I will be considering a litter but it not there is NO way I will be risking her health..

Breeders what time do you leave?


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## GoldenShadow (Jun 15, 2009)

You know I'm not a breeder :laugh:

My breeder left it over a year between litters. She feels for them to be 100% back to themselves it takes them about a year, and she likes to use another few months to really make sure they are fit/sound and capable of carrying another litter.


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## canuckjill (Jun 25, 2008)

I haven't bred a litter in years but I always left at least one full season between litters. I guess I may have had a different opinion if the dog only came in season once every year I'm not sure. I always want my girls to be back in tip top shape before being bred again and to have had some fun in between litters pets first breeding last on my list of priorities.....Jill lol thats why I've not had a litter since the 90's


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## RachyBobs (Oct 18, 2009)

canuckjill said:


> I haven't bred a litter in years but I always left at least one full season between litters. I guess I may have had a different opinion if the dog only came in season once every year I'm not sure. I always want my girls to be back in tip top shape before being bred again and to have had some fun in between litters pets first breeding last on my list of priorities.....Jill lol thats why I've not had a litter since the 90's


Yeah Hatties in season now so thats 4 months after her litter - im guessing by the next time shes in season its about 5 months so that makes it may then depending on her i will think about it x


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## canuckjill (Jun 25, 2008)

RachyBobs said:


> Yeah Hatties in season now so thats 4 months after her litter - im guessing by the next time shes in season its about 5 months so that makes it may then depending on her i will think about it x


Wow thats pretty soon isn't it. I agree with both of you doing back to back breedings takes too much out of the mom, thats what makes us pet owners first which is good. I would rather buy a pup from someone who bred once a yr and usually that is one of my first questions how old is mom, is this her first litter if not when was her last. If they don't like my questions oh well I'll go somewhere else....Jill


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## Indie (Nov 6, 2007)

I reckon it should be 12 - 18 months


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## kristy (May 30, 2009)

think Kc changed their rules as some bitches only have seasons every 12 months,meaning the rule was relaxed as in some bitches you might have a slight lap of a month or two between mateings,if the rule was still in place some breeders might of ended up having to wait near 24 months between litters, if that makes sense..lol im not too good at explaining things but i know what i mean
we had a girl who seasoned every 3 monthshmy: which really ment that if she had got in the wrong hands it was a puppy farms dream as Kc dont acctually state how many litters you can have in one year of a bitch i dont think, i do think that people who are on the accredited breeder scheme can only breed a bitch once every 12 months and registered breeders are the same, its only jo public who is free to breed and breed back to back! sad really


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## mitch4 (Oct 31, 2009)

Id always rest the girl one season


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## Natik (Mar 9, 2008)

personally i would wait 2 seasons ....

season after season is just wrong....

and going by that a breeder usually breeds to keep a pup breeding so often would only end in the breeder having alot of dogs lol 

are u planning to keep a pup from ur next litter?


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## mitch4 (Oct 31, 2009)

my girls all seem to be 9/10 month cycle girls, is this more normal than your led to beleive in the books that state every 6 months


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## RachyBobs (Oct 18, 2009)

Natik said:


> personally i would wait 2 seasons ....
> 
> season after season is just wrong....
> 
> ...


I will be but the litter is planned around making sure theres more than enough people as potential homes. I currently have 11 people on the list  Yes I will be keeping another pup for my self  But didnt plan the litter to keep for my self x



mitch4 said:


> my girls all seem to be 9/10 month cycle girls, is this more normal than your led to beleive in the books that state every 6 months


Hattie has come in at 5 months after her last litter but catching her for the last litter was terrible, she was all over the place! I think 9 to 10 months is normal, they are all different! x


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## Freyja (Jun 28, 2008)

The shortest time I've ever had between litters was 15 months. I would never breed from a bitch on consecutive seasons.

My bitches are all different with their seasons. Angel and Tegan are usually around 6 months but this time have gone a little longer. Both have also had a strange season very short with not much swelling but both were definitely in season. We were told Freyja was a 9/10 month bitch but she has had seasons every 6 months since we have had her. Button comes in season about every 10 months but its not unusual for greyhounds to have irregular seasons. Zoe comes into season as and when she feels like it.hmy: and Holly and Amber have only had 1 season so far. Holly at 13 months and Amber at 15 months. My bitches don't bring each other in season either. I normally have 2 in together but this time had 3.


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## Our Cheeky Chihuahuas (Jan 5, 2010)

I leave 1 year! Although it depends you see if a dog is fit and in proper condition then i dont see a problem with it i havent and dont plan to leave less then a year i think i have once bred a girl after 9 months though. Because obv my Chihuahuas are a lot smaller and not suited to be bred less then every 10-12 months anyway


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## RachyBobs (Oct 18, 2009)

Our Cheeky Chihuahuas said:


> I leave 1 year! Although it depends you see if a dog is fit and in proper condition then i dont see a problem with it i havent and dont plan to leave less then a year i think i have once bred a girl after 9 months though. Because obv my Chihuahuas are a lot smaller and not suited to be bred less then every 10-12 months anyway


Yeah I agree - Hattie is 100% now it hasnt took long to get condition back  x


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## mitch4 (Oct 31, 2009)

Molly wore herself out at her first litter she gave birth sept 08, she was id say back to full fitness at around 3/4 months after her litter left for thier new homes. So we didnt mate her again till end Oct this year 09. Due to give birth Jan 2nd but as i posted in another thread she absorbed the pups. Do you think this was her body saying she wasnt ready, was it possibly the genetics of the 2 dogs not being a good match in natures eyes, was it lack of hormones. Maybe we should have given her a 2 year break rather than just over a year. I think Mollys breeding days are going to be over, i dont want to be responsible for wearing her out as she also has very bad phantoms, so if not spayed before the next season she will have to go through anotehr phantom

Sorry gone off thread topic a bit :blush:


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## moboyd (Sep 29, 2009)

I had a nearly 3 year gap inbetween litters, I feel the minimum should be 18months inbetween.

Mo


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## Our Cheeky Chihuahuas (Jan 5, 2010)

RachyBobs said:


> Yeah I agree - Hattie is 100% now it hasnt took long to get condition back  x


Yep see shes happy enough to be bred but its whether youre happy to breed her


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## mitch4 (Oct 31, 2009)

moboyd said:


> I had a nearly 3 year gap inbetween litters, I feel the minimum should be 18months inbetween.
> 
> Mo


I think for Molly this would have been a better option (18/24 months)


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## RachyBobs (Oct 18, 2009)

Yeah i think it all depends on the dog, some can bounce back quickley others cant x


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## dexter (Nov 29, 2008)

RachyBobs said:


> I heard somewere that the KC are allowing people to breed 2 litters of the same bitch in 1 year? I think 12 months between litters is just enough for the bitch to be back in 100% condition.
> 
> I had somebody ring today and say 'well why not breed her now when shes in season' why would I? It baffles me....
> 
> ...


my bitch has gone 19months since her litter and still no season i would like her to have another litter but it won't be this season.


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## nat1979 (Jan 2, 2009)

I always let my girls have a season in between having a litter 

eg Lilly pups born dec'08 next season apr'09 will mate on next season which will over 12 months since last litter


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## bassetsandbeyond (Jun 21, 2009)

We wait a year too.


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## luvmydogs (Dec 30, 2009)

I think it depends on a lot of things. Giant breeds, for example, have to lay down a lot more calcium for their pups and need a while to replenish that in their bodies. Also bitches (like mine) who have big litters take a while. I could have easily had Eve mated on her season after her pups, it was almost nine months after. She looked in tiptop condition and had bounced back beautifully. But I was concerned abut what the pups had taken from her that I couldn't see, so I waited. Every other season is no good for a giant breed who has seasons every 3 months for instance. And a small terrier who had a litter of 2 pups and didn't come into season until 11 months after her pups may be ok to breed from. So, it should be taken on a case by case basis, IMHO.


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## mitch4 (Oct 31, 2009)

luvmydogs said:


> I think it depends on a lot of things. Giant breeds, for example, have to lay down a lot more calcium for their pups and need a while to replenish that in their bodies. Also bitches (like mine) who have big litters take a while. I could have easily had Eve mated on her season after her pups, it was almost nine months after. She looked in tiptop condition and had bounced back beautifully. But I was concerned abut what the pups had taken from her that I couldn't see, so I waited. Every other season is no good for a giant breed who has seasons every 3 months for instance. And a small terrier who had a litter of 2 pups and didn't come into season until 11 months after her pups may be ok to breed from. So, it should be taken on a case by case basis, IMHO.


:thumbup1: absolutely agree

But if a dog is coming in to season every 3 months would this not indicate a problem, or were you just using this as a hyperthetical way of getting a good point accross :smile5:


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## luvmydogs (Dec 30, 2009)

Yes was just being hypothetical, (with the terrier too) just highlighting that each dog will have different requirements.


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## mitch4 (Oct 31, 2009)

luvmydogs said:


> Yes was just being hypothetical, (with the terrier too) just highlighting that each dog will have different requirements.


Thought so :smile5:


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## RachyBobs (Oct 18, 2009)

luvmydogs said:


> I think it depends on a lot of things. Giant breeds, for example, have to lay down a lot more calcium for their pups and need a while to replenish that in their bodies. Also bitches (like mine) who have big litters take a while. I could have easily had Eve mated on her season after her pups, it was almost nine months after. She looked in tiptop condition and had bounced back beautifully. But I was concerned abut what the pups had taken from her that I couldn't see, so I waited. Every other season is no good for a giant breed who has seasons every 3 months for instance. And a small terrier who had a litter of 2 pups and didn't come into season until 11 months after her pups may be ok to breed from. So, it should be taken on a case by case basis, IMHO.


I agree but I also disagree. My breed is Irish Wolfhounds and I am a breeder of them also. My bitch had a litter 5 months ago, shes in season now and I expect her to be back into season around may time. I will be having a litter then as long as I am satisfied shes in 100% condition and happy in her self. I also know somebody who breeds giant breeds and she breeds every other season also and has had no problem with milk or calcium either. 

I do think it depends on the dog and not the breed - some bounce back quicker than others x


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## mitch4 (Oct 31, 2009)

RachyBobs said:


> I agree but I also disagree. My breed is Irish Wolfhounds and I am a breeder of them also. My bitch had a litter 5 months ago, shes in season now and I expect her to be back into season around may time. I will be having a litter then as long as I am satisfied shes in 100% condition and happy in her self. I also know somebody who breeds giant breeds and she breeds every other season also and has had no problem with milk or calcium either.
> 
> I do think it depends on the dog and not the breed - some bounce back quicker than others x


Definitely agree its each dog to consider

Our Molly has awful and very severe phantoms and the vet said to us in the wild she would be a dog that would breed every season and be better emotionally for doing so.

Now he was in NO way advocateing this at all, he wa discussing us getting her spayed as we woUld not breed with her every season as shes not in the wild but the point he was making i felt was quite valid, with no human intervetion in the wild because she was such a good mother and has very strong hormaones and urges to pro create :smile5: if she were left to her own devices in the wild this would be her choice and her body would be better for having a litter than a phantom as each phantom brings with it a higher risk of pyo metre than a litter would I think Im not sure i have this fact quite acurate also her moods are altered and shes one very tetchy feisty girl in aphantom but opposite when she had her litter

I thought id mention this as another little thought in the breeding discussion :smile5:


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## RachyBobs (Oct 18, 2009)

Its amazing how they have phantom pregnancies isnt it. Ive never experienced it but its right what you say, in the wild they would breed every season. Hattie is very broody at the moment with Blush - she stopped the mothering a when Blush was about 3 months, shes now 5 and she showed no intrest in mothering her again, but now she lies down and lets her sleep and try and suck  she shares bones and takes her biscuits out her own dish and drops them by Blush :001_wub: oh its so sweet!


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## moboyd (Sep 29, 2009)

I was talking to a fertility specialist over in the states, he explained to me that each heat a bitch has, she has some deteriation of the uterus, if I remember correctly a bitch having heats every 3 months in fact should really not be bred from?

DR. ROBERT V. HUTCHISON

Education
1972 The Ohio State University DVM

Special Interest(s)
Canine Reproduction, Infertility, Pediatric Care
Dr. Hutchison is the director of the International Canine Semen Bank - Ohio, a canine frozen semen center which he started in 1984. He speaks nationally and internationally to veterinary and breeder groups. Dr. Hutchison has published numerous articles, authored textbook chapters on canine reproduction, and produced a DVD on dog breeding which is available at Animal Clinic Northview.

some very interesting reading here.
Canine Reproduction

Mo


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## mitch4 (Oct 31, 2009)

Thanks for the link Moboyd i will have a read. Molly worrys me and id have her spayed as shes had phantoms after every season and a litter of 7 and now the re absorption of this litter, the scan showed a definite of 3 live fetus

I have molly on breeding terms so the decsion is not mine but i am going to be talking with the breeder to see if we can come to an arrangement where she allows Molly to be spayed. We have Mabel from Mollys litter so we have the line and dont in my mind need to ask any more of Molly 

wev had Molly with us for 3 and a half years so shes all ours in everything but name/paperwork, i feel certain the breeder will do whats best for Molly as shes had a discharge since the absorption its clear and vets are happy its normal but still as you say there is a deterioration each heat


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## mitch4 (Oct 31, 2009)

moboyd said:


> I was talking to a fertility specialist over in the states, he explained to me that each heat a bitch has, she has some deteriation of the uterus, if I remember correctly a bitch having heats every 3 months in fact should really not be bred from?
> 
> DR. ROBERT V. HUTCHISON
> 
> ...


Iv read some of the info on here, very interesting, Im wondering whether Molly had a lack of progesterone the only thing is she seemed to absorp in the latter part of the pregnancy and they say if progesterone is the cause of the re absorption will most likely occur in the first 3/4 weeks.

Bt thanks for this link its very informative :smile5: x


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## luvmydogs (Dec 30, 2009)

RachyBobs said:


> I will be having a litter then as long as I am satisfied shes in 100% condition and happy in her self.


How will you know? Will you have her calcium and iron levels tested? Cos her looking good won't show whats going on inside.



RachyBobs said:


> I also know somebody who breeds giant breeds and she breeds every other season also and has had no problem with milk or calcium either.


Only when the pups are fully grown can you evealuate their bones, teeth etc. How long is the time between seasons of the bitch your friend owns? What if the bitch starts to show the results of breeding giants too often when she is older?

Just playing devil's advocate here, nothing personal


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## luvmydogs (Dec 30, 2009)

mitch4 said:


> Our Molly has awful and very severe phantoms and the vet said to us in the wild she would be a dog that would breed every season and be better emotionally for doing so.


This really interests me as I have a bitch who has phantoms when not bred, and I have read this too. However, in the wild, dogs only have one season a year, and only if theres plenty of food around. And they don't have huge litters or giant puppies. And they don't live as long so don't have so many litters.


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## luvmydogs (Dec 30, 2009)

moboyd said:


> I was talking to a fertility specialist over in the states, he explained to me that each heat a bitch has, she has some deteriation of the uterusreproduction


I haven't read all the stuff on the link yet but is the deterioration much worse with entire unmated bitches? (i.e., no litters at all) I think I read somewhere thats the main cause of pyometra.


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## luvmydogs (Dec 30, 2009)

mitch4 said:


> Molly worrys me and id have her spayed as shes had phantoms after every season and a litter of 7 and now the re absorption of this litter, the scan showed a definite of 3 live fetus


Oh dear poor Molly. :nonod: May I ask? What are the symptoms of reabsorbtion (apart from the obvious lack of pups)? Does the bitch suffer? Is there a lot of discharge?


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## mitch4 (Oct 31, 2009)

luvmydogs said:


> This really interests me as I have a bitch who has phantoms when not bred, and I have read this too. However, in the wild, dogs only have one season a year, and only if theres plenty of food around. And they don't have huge litters or giant puppies. And they don't live as long so don't have so many litters.


Mollys seasons come every 8/9 months so she near enough only has one season a year, a lot of bitches have phantoms in a mild form after seasons but some like Molly suffer badly, she goes the whole way, she produces milk, puts on weight even though we dont increase her food, her emotions/behaviour change to being very insular, aggressive towards our other dogs and uninterested in life.

When pregnant shes totally the opposite, affectionate, loving towards the other dogs, interested in life. She will then when having a phantom even display the symptoms of giving birth, panting, paceing, shivering, straining and passing discharge which vets have said is the build up of the womb lining during the phantom, she will then guard any bed or crate she goes in to, nurses a blanket and carrys her invisible pups from bed to crate with her when she moves, she goes through the whole 8 week pregnancy from the end of her season, so she really does have it rough.

She was a fantastic mum but was very obsessed with the pups and wore herself out as she just wouldnt leave them and when we took her away from the pups to try and give her a rest she pined so badly she refused to eat and drink, howld and would not settle, so we had no choice other than to leave her with her pups, she didnt leave them until the day they went to new homes but then thankfully only pined for a few hrs and then seemed to start to pick up. She did have seven which is a big litter and they were all big bonny pups. :smile5:


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## mitch4 (Oct 31, 2009)

luvmydogs said:


> Oh dear poor Molly. :nonod: May I ask? What are the symptoms of reabsorbtion (apart from the obvious lack of pups)? Does the bitch suffer? Is there a lot of discharge?


At around day 50 of her pregnancy she went off her food, still ate but smaller quantities and with no enthusiasm, lost interest in her walks, took to her bed and stayed there nearly all day, she was by this stage clearly looking pregnant, her stomach was expanding etc.. and it was thought she was just tireing due to the pregnancy, she had no discharge at this point, from this day to day 57 her body didnt change at all and I felt she had infact lost weight by day 59 her stomach was very deflated we took her to the vets had her scanned and they could find no pups, on the 30 day scan they had seen at least 3 live fetus and had said prepare for more. At what should have been day 62 of her pregnancy she displayed symptoms of giving birth, i was up with her till 3.30am, she nested, panted and shivered strained a little and then settled, in the morning she was love her nursing a blanket and had taken a soft teddy to her crate, which she didnt leave for hrs. 3 days after this she lost a fair bit of very clear discharge from her vulva. Vets said that if this remained clear and unoffensive things wer ok and she was just ridding ehrself of the build up of her womb

She seems great in herself now, really bounced back quite quickly and is out there loving life again thak goodness.

It was a very sad and shocking thing to find out at such a late stage of a pregnancy but it must have been for a reason and we are just thankful Molly is ok :smile5:


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## RachyBobs (Oct 18, 2009)

mitch4 said:


> At around day 50 of her pregnancy she went off her food, still ate but smaller quantities and with no enthusiasm, lost interest in her walks, took to her bed and stayed there nearly all day, she was by this stage clearly looking pregnant, her stomach was expanding etc.. and it was thought she was just tireing due to the pregnancy, she had no discharge at this point, from this day to day 57 her body didnt change at all and I felt she had infact lost weight by day 59 her stomach was very deflated we took her to the vets had her scanned and they could find no pups, on the 30 day scan they had seen at least 3 live fetus and had said prepare for more. At what should have been day 62 of her pregnancy she displayed symptoms of giving birth, i was up with her till 3.30am, she nested, panted and shivered strained a little and then settled, in the morning she was love her nursing a blanket and had taken a soft teddy to her crate, which she didnt leave for hrs. 3 days after this she lost a fair bit of very clear discharge from her vulva. Vets said that if this remained clear and unoffensive things wer ok and she was just ridding ehrself of the build up of her womb
> 
> She seems great in herself now, really bounced back quite quickly and is out there loving life again thak goodness.
> 
> It was a very sad and shocking thing to find out at such a late stage of a pregnancy but it must have been for a reason and we are just thankful Molly is ok :smile5:


Ive never experienced absorbing pups, and I know this may sound daft but at that far along - were do the pups go if they absorb them? x


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## Our Cheeky Chihuahuas (Jan 5, 2010)

Gosh i go to sleep come back later and ive missed all of this! Im still catching up myself lol


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## mitch4 (Oct 31, 2009)

Rachy I dont know exactly, I think we may have just started to realise it on day 50 and the process had already started to happen without any symptoms Maybe the whelps had not really even progressed very far in thier development despite Mollys dates and they may on day 50 not been very developed hence why she reabsorbed. They just cant be clear as to what or why. its frustrateing not to know but it happens quite a lot Im told more than we may think as a lot of breeders dont have scans done so may just assume the girls gone in to a phantom when actually shes absorbed the pups :crying:


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## RachyBobs (Oct 18, 2009)

mitch4 said:


> Rachy I dont know exactly, I think we may have just started to realise it on day 50 and the process had already started to happen without any symptoms Maybe the whelps had not really even progressed very far in thier development despite Mollys dates and they may on day 50 not been very developed hence why she reabsorbed. They just cant be clear as to what or why. its frustrateing not to know but it happens quite a lot Im told more than we may think as a lot of breeders dont have scans done so may just assume the girls gone in to a phantom when actually shes absorbed the pups :crying:


Aw its awful isnt it  Poor Molly but aslong as shes okay now. It isnt baffling to not know and must be so frustrating x


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## mitch4 (Oct 31, 2009)

When we had the last scan and we had 2 senior vets come from thier other surgery as the young vet who did it felt that she may have got it wrong. So we had 3 vets one of the nurses hubby me and Molly all in the room and all except poor Molly searching the scanner for any sign of the pups and it was heart breaking when everyone just looked at each other and i said to the vets shes lost them hasnt she and the vets were so lovely you could feel they were so sad for Molly and us. But you do question yourself, did i do things right, should she have gone on that walk, should i have given her that to eat etc etc.. but vets have said that if its not related to trauma its natures way, she herself slowed her walks down nearly immediately and there was no trauma, so we will never know an experience but one id rather not repeat :crying:


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## Freyja (Jun 28, 2008)

My Freyja reabsorbed a litter in the summer. We hadn't had her scanned but all the signs were there that she was pregnant. Very red nipples very clingy, my other brood bitch is puppy mad and she followed Freyja round all the time seemingly looking after her. She and Freyja do not normally get on they don't fight but they don't play together as Tegan does with her grandaughter Angel. When it came to the due date a few days later we had the temperature drop and the nesting. We were told that the only way she would have had the temperature drop is if she was actually pregnant and had reabsorbed the pups.

A person waiting for a pup of this mating is also a midwife and when I rang her I was surprised when she told me it also happens in women if the hormone levels are not high enough to sustain the pregnancy.


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## mitch4 (Oct 31, 2009)

I heard this about humans absorbing too amazed me this bit of info

Nature is a very strange but wonderful thing


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## luvmydogs (Dec 30, 2009)

I think my bitch may have reabsorbed her first litter. I had her scanned and the vet said he thought about 5 pups. But she stopped getting bigger and no pups came. I went back to the vet and he said they usually have some sign such as discharge if they reabsorb, but had no other explanation. A breeder once told me she never scans because she thinks the scanning is what causes reabsorption in some cases.


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## kristy (May 30, 2009)

ive also hered thet it can cause it if it stresses the bitch out, however when our dog reabsorbed some of her litter it was seen on the scan, she had 5 live and one part way through reabsorbing,there was not a heart beat and you could see the pup was not formed like the other pups,so something else caused her to reabsorb,she went on to reabsorb another one and only had 4 pups at full tearm.


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## luvmydogs (Dec 30, 2009)

OMG I never heard of a bitch absorbing _part_ of the litter! 
Did she suffer in any way? Was there a lot of discharge? Do you have any idea what caused it?


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## Harvers (Sep 23, 2009)

My girl too reabsorbed her whole litter, we had her scanned and was told they were about 7 pups. She was showing all the usual signs of being pregnant but I was starting to worry as I couldn't feel any movement, had people saying she's a big dog she might be hiding them. As her due date was approaching I took her back for another scan and she has reabsorbed the litter vet couldn't give me any reason as to why, I was so gutted as this was my first litter with my own dog.


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## Nicky10 (Jan 11, 2010)

I would leave it at least a season in between litters. What do you mean they reabsorb the litters?


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## katiefranke (Oct 6, 2008)

I am not a breeder, but thought I would throw my 10 pence worth in, hope you don't mind! 

Our breeder leaves 2 years between litters as she wants to ensure she can still do stuff like agility etc for a good length of time to really focus on their training before they have another litter...they are very healthy dogs, so I am guessing she would have no problem breeding them more regularly, but they are firstly her pets.

It was very interesting reading about the reabsorption of the pups! and quite scary to know this can happen in humans too!


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## jackson (May 22, 2008)

For me the absolute, absolute minimum would be a year or at least one clear season in between. 

However, in reality, I really don't see the need to breed so often, and if it is a bitches first litter, then I'd like to wait until the pups were fully grown to assess what they will turn out like. 

We are just about to have a second litter from one of our bitches. She is 4 1/2. Her first/last litter was two years ago and one of the reasons we are breeding from her now is that our youngest girl doesn't like showing so we aren't going to continue with her, so will keep a pup from this litter to show, plus the bitch in question has been having phantom pregnancies, which I know means an increased risk of pyometra, so we will probably have her spayed after this litter. If it wasn't for the increased pyo risk we would probably have waited another year, but that would still have been her last litter.


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