Hi all,
I am looking for some more input on a difficult situation. We had a litter early this year and they are about to be a year old soon, I believe that three of them will do well in the show ring and I hope to show one of them myself in Feb when I take her with her Dad up North. I would like to have one more litter from my bitch but here is the problem, she has only just come into season. We hoped that she would still be as regular after having her pups as she was before, ie came into season every 6 months on the dot so July and then January. Instead she is in heat now and my original breeding mentor has said that she will be fine to be bred now, but I have also been told that I should let her have at least one season between. She recovered very quickly from her last pregnancy and whelping, our new vet didn't even believe she had had pups, probably because she is extremely active and 'got her figure back'. There were absolutely no complications throughout the pregnancy, whelping and rearing of the pups. The question is should I wait until her next season? I would much rather wait or not have another litter from her than risk her health. No one else I know with a bitch has had one that comes into season every 11 months instead of 6! Your input would be greatly appreciated.

My first action is to get my vet to examine a girl to see if she is in good enough condition.  You have already done this.

I have a toy breed, known for small litters.  One of my girls had two pups, and a clear season 4 months later.  Not mated, no problem.  When she came into season next, she was early again, and I had already booked her to a nice male from a show kennel that I know.  But wasn't expecting it to be this early.

My vet re-examined her, and stated that she was perfectly capable of carrying another litter quite healthily.  So she was mated to the dog of my choice.  Her first litter was born in late January, the second in early January the following year.   I had no problem in registering the litter, although there was not 12 months between..

My bitch reared another two pups without any ill effects, and I stand by my decision.  So, you've already thought of your girls health - I say go for it.

Jean thanks for your answer. The vet says she is in great health and that she has the best temperament she has ever seen in her breed (you can literally do anything with her, I fancy agility next!). I think one of the things that worries me is that she might produce female pups who have irregular seasons. I would like to keep a pup from her next litter for showing, and ideally it would be a female. But like I said, she was regular as clockwork before her first litter...

If she has just come into season then the pups will be born a year after the last litter if they are nearly a year old now, so I don't see the issue???

> I would like to keep a pup from her next litter for showing, and ideally it would be a female

Go for it girl!!  :-)

> she was regular as clockwork before her first litter...

It is normal in my experience for a bitch to be later coming in season after a litter if her seasons are normally only 6 months or just over apart. 

Mine tend to be about a month later.

I have also found that the season intervals get a little longer as they age.

You can also guarantee when your waiting on a bitch to come in season they will be late ;)  Says she who has been chasing Myka with a white tissue every day fro the last month.

Our breed can vary with seasons - I have one that cycled without fail every 6 months even after she had her pups.
I have had a bitch that cycled annually one season every 12-13 months.
I have had two that have come into season at 8-9 months old and one of those the litter sister didn't come into season
until she was 14 months old for her first season. She's subsequently gone on to have her 2nd season 14 months later...

So you see seasons can vary even amongst litter sisters.

Did you keep one of the pups that are almost a year old?

You don't mention how old your bitch is? (Another consideration when contemplating a litter. Also if you belong to some breed clubs
they also have codes of ethics that set down what they consider is ok)

The other thing is your bitch's seasons can settle after having her first season after her litter. So although this season
is out of kilter for her normal season cycles the next one could indeed be on her normal 6 monthly cycle pattern.

Bitches normally unless they have very large litters will 'spring back' after their first litter.
I've got one here who only had one litter, and even now almost three years later you'd never tell she's ever had pups.

Every time you mate a bitch it comes with risk, it's something that we all have to consider and weigh up when we are
considering breeding from a bitch (along with all the relevant health test passes, faults that need to be improved on etc).

Depending on the bitch's age if you would rather wait for her next season then why not wait?
Or is it the time of year that she may have her pups and what time that they'd be ready for new homes?

Ok, I'm going to put a spanner in the works ;-)

I have had 2 bitches that had about 7 months between seasons until having a litter. Both both bitches (different lines) have then one on to have season that have come down to about 18 weeks between them :-( So seasons can be different once a abitch has had a litter. I have been told that it is down to their hormone levels. The first bitch was neutered at 5years old as I was so fed up with the seasons, and the other is going to be neutered this year (she is 5 years old)

My main concern about breeding from your bitch this season would be the size of her last litter. If it was a large litter I personally would wait until next season. If it was a small or medium size litter then I might breed now. Though I prefer to have at least 18 months between litters myself.

My boxer bitches regularly went 10-12 months between seasons so nothing odd there.
Cant understand why you seem to feel that you need to mate her yet seem unhappy to do so.....just wait if you are in any way unsure...what's the rush? Do you own the father of her last litter? If so then you appear to have not barriers to mating her when you feel like it.

> Depending on the bitch's age if you would rather wait for her next season then why not wait?
> Or is it the time of year that she may have her pups and what time that they'd be ready for new homes?

If the time of year doesn't suit and the bitch is young waiting another season again would be a good idea, gives you more of a chance to see how the current pups finish (also time for Hip scores and other health testing), as at a year they are not fully mature.

I have made a decision which is that I am not going to breed her this time, but thank you to all who commented. I am going to see how the red and white girl from her litter does, and how she heart and hip scores. Thank you again.