# Self whelping Frenchies.



## javi (Feb 10, 2015)

Hi,
I have a beautiful, healthy 2yr old french bulldog that i will hopefully breed soon pending health test results.
She is KC registered, Fully health checked, vaccinated etc. and we're currently waiting on her DNA HC-HS4 test results.

I have a fantastic breed mentor who has many years experience, she has advised me to try and let my girl self whelp as hers have self whelped more than 90% of the time and it's obviously better for mum and puppies.

I was just wondering how many breeders let their girls self whelp? and what's the success rate? as i know a lot of breeders will have elective c-sections (including my girls breeder) and some say they simply cannot give birth naturally, which obviously isn't the case nowadays.
Thank you in advance.


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## Tanya1989 (Dec 4, 2009)

If I had an experienced mentor (if I were in your position) then I would try for self whelping. In such circumstances you would have someone who can spot any trouble and advise you to get your bitch to a vet for an emergency c section. 

I am so against elective c sections unless it's because of a singleton puppy. If the only way for a dog to reproduce is for that dog to receive massive abdominal surgery, then they shouldn't be bred from. At least if you are giving the dog chance to do things naturally, there is always a fighting chance of self whelping. If your mentor is your breeder and your girl has come from a line of self whelpers then she stands a good chance in being able to deliver naturally.

although it should not factor into a decision, something that you need to be aware of in advance of you mating your girl, elective sections and emergency sections have a huge difference in price given that invariably, dogs whelp in the early hours of the morning.


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## Amelia66 (Feb 15, 2011)

i would say as long as you know all the signs of something going wrong and have the vet on call encase she does need a csection you should follow your mentors advice. That is what they are there for after all.


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## javi (Feb 10, 2015)

My breed mentor is actually our chosen studs owner, she's a very ethical breeder and only has the breeds best interests at heart, just what we were looking for!

I'm just interested in finding out just how many breeders don't give the bitch chance to whelp naturally and just go with the option of elective c-section and why?
Personally i believe more breeders should be moving towards creating self whelping lines only, even if it does takes away from the breed standard somewhat, as this is a man made problem and can be improved with time.

I will be giving my girl chance to self whelp but if things don't turn out the way we hope then in my honest opinion she shouldn't be bred from again and all pups that are to be sold will leave with restrictions.


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## Tanya1989 (Dec 4, 2009)

javi said:


> I will be giving my girl chance to self whelp but if things don't turn out the way we hope then in my honest opinion she shouldn't be bred from again and all pups that are to be sold will leave with restrictions.


I just wanted to pick up on this bit as I suspect it's just the wording you used is what has confused me rather than your intention, but will you still be endorsing the puppies if your bitch self whelps, problem free? Or are the endorsements only to be applied if you need a c section?


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## Flot1930 (Feb 10, 2015)

You need to find yourself a breeding mentor. You need to know what to look for, as things can go very wrong, very fast. When I started out breeding many, many years ago, my breeding mentor was actually the owner of the stud I was using at the time. If you are going to breed a litter, make sure test her hearing, heart, DNA for degenerative Myelopathy, elbows, eyes, hips, patellas, thyroid and have her tested for tracheal Hypoplasia.


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## javi (Feb 10, 2015)

Tanya1989 said:


> I just wanted to pick up on this bit as I suspect it's just the wording you used is what has confused me rather than your intention, but will you still be endorsing the puppies if your bitch self whelps, problem free? Or are the endorsements only to be applied if you need a c section?


Ahh now this was the part that wasn't thought out well by me, i only thought about endorsements if they weren't self whelped but now i'm thinking about endorsements on all puppies regardless.
although i do hear a lot of people slam breeders for this, what's your opinion?


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## Tanya1989 (Dec 4, 2009)

javi said:


> Ahh now this was the part that wasn't thought out well by me, i only thought about endorsements if they weren't self whelped but now i'm thinking about endorsements on all puppies regardless.
> although i do hear a lot of people slam breeders for this, what's your opinion?


I always endorse, even the ones I keep. They are easy enough to lift and only cost the price of a stamp to do so. I would say that it makes you responsible to place them. Just make sure that you state in a contract what requirements you have for lifting them eg health test cut off points, whether they are shown etc or the new owners can go straight to the KC and have them removed without your say


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## javi (Feb 10, 2015)

Tanya1989 said:


> I always endorse, even the ones I keep. They are easy enough to lift and only cost the price of a stamp to do so. I would say that it makes you responsible to place them. Just make sure that you state in a contract what requirements you have for lifting them eg health test cut off points, whether they are shown etc or the new owners can go straight to the KC and have them removed without your say


Thank you Tanya!
I will definitely be doing that, i think this maybe the only subject that hadn't been broached with my mentor up to yet, i will discuss it with her on our next chat though.
I've been reading up today and It does make sense to endorse them all and like you said lift the restrictions only if certain requirements are met. :thumbup1:


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