hi, i am thinking of breeding my gsd bitch, she is just over two and IF i did breed her it wouldnt probably be until 2 years time as she is a  competition dog. Obviously i will only breed if her results of health tests are good but i want to be well prepared and know fully what i am getting myself into before going ahead and planning.
I have questions such as how much exercise she can have during prgnancy and after birth? how much space do i need including size of whelping box and how much room do people give their pups when they start moving around?
Also, i would plan to have the pups given their first injection before they go to new homes so how does this work? do you get normal vaccination cards and pass them on with the pup for the new owners to complete? and also where can i purchase things like puppy packs. what equipment do i need for the pregancy/birth/rearing.
I know some of these sound like silly questions but i really do want to know and be prepared cause unless i am then i would never dream of breeding from her.
thanks in advance!

I dont breed so cant comment but my first port of call would be to get some good books and read up on all the material i possibly could. First things first you need to look at all the relevant health tests - how much would they cost, can you afford it all? Do you show your bitch? Is she a good example of the breed? can you ensure all pets will go to suitable homes?  Before thinking of what size whelping box you need to be sure your bitch is definatly suitable to breed and that you are ready for the huge task of breeding, whelping and providing the life long aftercare

hi,  i do not show her, she is a working gsd from working lines and she is a good example of the breed, financially i can afford any health tests required- which i will be getting done in the next couple of months. i will not breed from her unless i have people waiting for puppies from her, which i believe i will as like i said earlier she is a good working dog with too many wins to count.

I have questions such as how much exercise she can have during prgnancy and after birth? how much space do i need including size of whelping box and how much room do people give their pups when they start moving around?
Also, i would plan to have the pups given their first injection before they go to new homes so how does this work? do you get normal vaccination cards and pass them on with the pup for the new owners to complete? and also where can i purchase things like puppy packs. what equipment do i need for the pregancy/birth/rearing.

She should more or less decide the exercise level herself -up until the end of the pregnancy she can be treated more or less like normal although you do have to take a bit of extra care of course. (I.e. I wouldn't work a pregnant bitch. The hormones also go out the window so they cna be impossible to do anything with in that sense.)

I breed Malinois so similar height but smaller body and my whelping box is 4' x 4'. The pups tend to stay in this indoors until about 4 weeks old -once they walk they will need to come out on the floor as well of course. By 4-5 weeks at the very latest you will find it's impossible to keep an entire litter indoors and they will need to move out to a kennel -unless you have a spare room such as a utility room with a back door in so they can have the use of the room and go straight out. My kennel is 14' x 8 ' and the run is uneven in size but 20 ' at the longest and widest. I.e. they do take up a lot of space. Before moving out the pups will also need to get used to spending time outside on a daily bais, mine do from 2 ½-3 weeks of age.

Giving ONE vaccination is a very bad idea and I would strongly recommend against it. Most vets only stock one or two brands and if the buyers' own vets don't stock the same brand, it is going against the manufacturers' recommendation to use a different brand for the second vaccination, so the great majority of vets will refuse to do so. Instead the buyers will have to either find a vet that stocks the right brand (I had to travel for 1 ½ hour each way last year for this reason, nobody nearer stocked the same brand) or start from scratch again disregarding the first vaccination. It's also better to let pups this size go at 7 weeks of age rather than at 8 or later, so they will then be too young to have had their first vacc anyway. If you let them go at 7-7½ weeks, then the buyers take them to their vet for the first vacc at 8 weeks and then also get a check up, which works out well for buyer and breeder.

Oh I forgot to say, puppy packs you get free from the food manufacturers (Croft also does one) if you join the relevant breeders club, or you can put your own together. Buy "The book of the bitch" for lots of useful info inc. on equipment needed. Most importantly you need a LOT of newspapers and old towels.

thanks thats really helpful- i will get researching!! and definatly find that book you mentioned.

sorry forgot to mention...my bitch will NOT live outside we tried when she was younger and she gets really stressed from being outside so i  dont think it would manageable for her to be outside, if only for a short time when she has pups. I did have in mind that i could have the whelping box in a corner of my kitchen(i think it would fit) and then when you suggested moving outside, instead moving them into my conservatory that we do not use and as she will whelp in feb time it wont get too warm in there. what do puppy packs contain in general?

My dogs aren't massive but they are not tha much smaller.  We've always had them have the litter in the front room and they are there for around the first 2 weeks, then moved into the dining room (which is an extension of the living room).  Once they are up and about and moving around we put a big pen around them and they just dive in and out happily with mum still there up to around 4/5 weeks.  By then the mothers are starting to get fed up and try and be out as often as possible.   I suppose in reality it all depends on your housing situation on what you can do.

Personally I would rather see a bitch have a first litter before she is 4 years old, it is not too late but earlier for the first litter would be best.

Get yourself the "Book Of The Bitch" It gives so much information and its written in Plain English. Even a man can understand it!! lol  ;)

I was talking about after the first 4 or so weeks that most larger pups will find indoors too confining, and both they and the humans could do with the fresh air, LOL!

sorry forgot to mention...my bitch will NOT live outside we tried when she was younger and she gets really stressed from being outside so i  dont think it would manageable for her to be outside, if only for a short time when she has pups.

By the time my pups move outside (4 or 5 weeks) the bitch has always had enough of them. Might be a Mali thing but by then she will only go in to see them perhaps 3 times a day, so the pups move out on their own.