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mating
Firstly you need to decide on the stud you wish to breed your bitch with. Firstly access your bitch. Try to find a stud that could compliment your bitchs bad points (yes most bitchs do have small bad points for example my bitch cristal has high set ears). First time breeders may benefit from the service of an experianced breeder. Once you have choosen your stud dog you need to make arrangements with the owner as to when your bitch will be in season. There are no rules as to which day of the bitchs season to breed her on as all dogs are different but it is generally around the 10th or 13th day, if the bitch is not quite ready she will not entertain the dog, signs to look for are her tail bending to one side, (usualy if you run your hand down the bitchs spine if she is ready to stand her tail will move over). Normally the bitch is taken to the dog but not all people do it this way, If your bitch is maiden wait until her 3rd season ideally as this gives her time to physically and mentaly mature. Try to find an experianced stud if she is maiden. When the bitch is due over to the studs put the male out for a good run around the garden, let the bitch go out with the owner to empty her bladder and familiarise herself with the new surroundings.The owner of the bitch is always in charge of her (as she is familiar with her), You need to make sure that she has a strong collar on so that the bitch's owner can get a strong hold of each side so that she cannot turn round and bite the stud. I always do supervised mating as if for some reason the bitch/dog takes a disliking to one another you could end with 2 fighting dogs.If the bitch does seem to be grumpy you can muzzel her mouth just to be on the safe side (either a soft muzzel from a pet shop or a pair of tights wrapped round her mussel and them tied to her collar are fine)As soon as the tie has been achieved and the dogs are back to back the muassel can be removed as he is out of harms reach. The tie can last between usaully between 10- 60 mins but again this varies. Not all dogs have to tie to produce a litter. Once the mating has happened take to bitch away to rest in a quite room away from the stud. Once the bitch has been mated the gestation period is 63 days but this is just a guide and not always the case. You can either pay a stud fee or Pick Of The Litter. I alaways have my bitch scanned just to check thast all are growing ok and everything is going ok, but again alot of people dont bother the choice is yours.
Stud mounting the bitch
Tie: two dogs back to back
INBREEDING: Is the most closest form of breeding, it is when 2 very close related dogs such as mother-son or father-daughter. Good quality dogs are fixed this way as are the bad and that could result in being difficult to eliminate.
LINE BREEDING: Is the breeding of related stock such as grandmother- grandson or uncle-niece. Over a period of time a good line is produced only if desirable stock from the litter are used. This is less likely than inbreeding. The dogs look alike as a result that line will be recognised.
OUTCROSSING: Mating of two unrealted dogs. This method is used to introduce new blood or characteristic into a line.
Kennel Club Breeding Regulations:
1) Not to mate a bitch less than 12 months of age.
2)Not to whelp more than six litters from a bitch.
3)Not to whelp two litters within a 12 month period from the same bitch.
4)Keep acurate records.
5) Must not sell a puppy until it is at least eight weeks of age, other than to a keeper of a licenced pet shop or scottish rearing establishment.
When Not To Breed:
Not all owners are interested in producing and raising a litter of pups. There are many people that will breed just because they belive that a bitch would be healthier, more mature or improve her temperment, or that it is just good for her. There is also a therory that it is natural for a bitch to want to produce offspring and that is the reason she will have the urge to mate with a male during her season. NONE OF THESE ARE TRUE. It is the breeders responsibality to ensure that all pups have a loving good home. No person should breed without the knowledge of the process of pregnancy, delivery of the litter and care for the bitch and her pups. Too many breeders constantly discard their stock and buy more stock from other breeders instead of concentrating on learning the art of producing quality stock. A great many of breeders by virtue or numbers of litters produced do become well known through their prefix and through this they eventually perhaps become judges of the breed. Quality is far more important than quantity. A breeder should strive to improve the breed NOT CONSIDER PROFIT. If you are going to breed do not breed unless you are willing to be responsiable for the pups..
Gestation:
The bitch will usualy be due to whelp around 63 days after the 1st mating (this varies).You can continue to exercise her as normal till around 5-6 weeks into the pregnancy and then take care that she doesn't knock or bang herself, cut down her excersise around the 5th week. By this time it should be noticeable that she is pregnant as her nipples will be enlarged and her stomach will start to look bigger and she will have more of an appitite. You now need to decide where she will be having her pups (this needs to be warm). Build or buy a whelping box and put it where you have decided that she will go, start introducing her to this so that she knows this will be where she will go. This will be where she will stay with her puppies untill they are about 6 weeks old. Line the bottom of the whelping box with paper (whelping can be quite messy and its easy to pick up and dispose of). Tell your vet and make sure have the emergancy contact numbers just incase a problem should arrise.
Home made box
Made to order whelping box
Whelping:
About 1 week before her due date take the bitch's temperature and record it as her normal temperature is about 101.5*f. When her temperature drops to around 98-99*f you know she is about to whelp.She may go off her food too, she will begin to nest (ripping the newspaper up), she will appear reastless, begin panting, try to let her go out to the toilet as often as possiable. It is always handy to get some clean towels, gloves, sterile scissors, and some string incase you need to assist. Keep people away from her whelping area as this is a very private time for her. You will notice her to start pushing (if you watch closely you can see her stomach contract), if this is new to her you need to reasure her as she may be feeling frightened of what she is experiancing. With every push the puppy should be moving further down the birth canal, if you sit with the bitch you can see the pup starting to appear. After a few more pushes the pup should be born and the bitch will be breaking the sack by licking it and chewing the umbilical cord ( if this is her 1st litter you may have to help her to break the sack and cut the umbilical cord). She will then clean the pup. Each up can take upto 2 hours in between to be delivered, if you notice her pushing for a long time but nothing seems to happening DONT WAIT PHONE THE VET AS A PUP MAY BE STUCK IN THE BIRTH CANAL. Dont forget after each pup is born take the used newspaper away and put clean paper back in. When she delivered the pups make sure that they are all suckiling. She will still be cleaning and moving them all about. 24 hours after the pups are born it is advised to call the vet so that mum can be given an injection which will get rid of any retained placenta. And her and pups can be checked over. The pups are born blind but you will notice their eyes opening around 10-13 days old. Their noses will change from pink to speckled black and by the age of 3-4 weeks their noses should be completely black. Their first teeth should start to break through around 18-19 days old.
Nose now dark and eyes open,
3weeks old now.
Born with pink nose, eyes closed
Pups just 1 hour old
pup in sack
just being
born,
Care Of Mother And Pups:
Make sure that all pups are getting their fair share of food. Check the mothers teats to ensure there is sufficient milk. The pups use their front feet as a pump to obtain the milk from the teat so you need to check regulary that their claws are keep trimmed to avoid discomfort to the bitch. After the birth of the pups the mother should be fed light and easily digested food four times a day for about 3-4 days.The mother will feed and clean the pups herself so all you really need to do is feed the mother, make sure the whelping box is always clean and frequently check each pup over. If the mother fails to produce milk the pups will have to be hand reared by bottle every four hours around the clock. The ammount of milk they need will depend upon their ages and weight. After feeding each pup you will need to stimulate the pups rectum and stomach to open its bowls and urinate. Use a soft damp cloth and gently rub their tummy and bottom, these needs to be done after each meal.. The mothers antibodies will protect the pups for upto 12 weeks.
Arrangements for breeding should be made well in advance and the stud owner should be notified as soon as the female comes into season so that they can plan for the event. Usually the female is brought to the male so he will feel more at ease on his own property and the female will be less likely to feel that her territory is being invaded.
When the bitch is ready to ovulate, she will usually readily accept the advances of a male dog. This is most often around the tenth day of her season, though this can vary greatly from one bitch to the next and from one season to another in the same bitch.
Some females will not easily accept a male, though, and help may be needed. Always keep the dogs on a leash and be ready to assist in an instant if the attitude of either dog is not accepting. Many times the female will have to be held.
Once the breeding has taken place, the dogs will be in a "tie" for about 10 to 20 minutes. A tie is not always necessary to have a successful breeding, but few bitches will become pregnant if there is not a tie. In canines, the tie provides time for the semen to be passed from the male to the female. Although it is possible to hold the dogs together long enough for the semen to be transferred, having a successful, natural tie is much preferred, in terms of knowing that semen has been transferred to the bitch.
Holding the dogs still during the tie so neither of them become injured is recommended as many times one or the other will become distressed during this time. After the tie is released, the dogs should be separated to allow them to rest and to keep the female quiet. Usually mating should be done on an every-other-day basis until the female is no longer receptive or the male loses interest.
Care should be taken so that no other males are allowed around the female while she is being bred. More than one male can sire litters. While each puppy only has one father, if a bitch is mated to more than one male, different dogs can sire puppies within the litter. Even after the female comes home, care should be taken to keep other males away until she is definitely and completely out of season.
Puppies are usually due around 63 days after the first breeding, though they could be born normally as early as the 58 day, so be prepared.
eclampsia or milk fever
Step 1:
These signs progress very rapidly, sometimes in a matter of minutes. Act fast or your girl could die. First thing you will notice is that she will act 'off'. She won't want to tend to her babies. She will likely be very 'needy' of your attention and appear worried. She will become restless and begin panting. The panting will get increasingly worse to the point of not only drooling a little but A LOT.
Step 2:
Very soon after this - maybe minutes, maybe an hour - she will start staggering around, tripping and even falling right down. This is very scary. It's almost as if she were drunk or having a stroke.
Step 3:
She may then get to a point where she can not stand any longer and just keep moving her legs in an awkward paddling motion as if she were having seizures. Her neck and head may even thrust backwards as she arches her back. By this point, if she is not at least on the way to the vet, she may die. It is SO important that you get your girl rushed to the vet the moment you see the first signs and NOT wait until this stage, yet if this is the first you see of it, don't give up, the vet may still save her. Get her to your vet NOW.
