Hi Everyone,

I was wondering what your thoughts would be on a bitch having a 3rd litter? Generally my girls only ever have two litters then they are spayed. My reason for this question is I have been offered a beautiful bitch from France who will be 6 in June she has already had two stunning litters for her breeder with no problems, but she has offered her to me to have one more litter because she knows how much I adore her. I know any litter is a risk for a bitch but my concern would be that she will be 6, do you think the risk would be any greater & in your opinion do you think she is too old.  I would of course ensure if I did take her that she was checked over fully by a vet and given the all clear before any mating took place.  If we decide to have her she will be able to come to the UK in late September. I think she is due in season around  this time too.

I appreciate of course that come next year she will be considered a veteran and I will be taking on all the potential health issues of an older dog so I know what I am letting myself in for in that respect and I dont mind. She is a very special dog and my heart is telling me take her, so I can have a pup from her..But I could never forgive myself if I mated her and something happned, it would just be unbearable. Your thoughts on this dilema would be greatly appreciated Thank you. 

If she's fit and healthy I wouldn't think a 3rd litter at 6 would present any problems, a 1st litter at that age would be a different matter. How lovely of her breeder to offer her to you :)

As an aside, a famous borzoi bitch and one of my all time favourites in the breed had 5 litters, normally this would be far to many but this bitch was outstanding. A dual champion she produced litters in the USA and here and is behind many champions, and interestingly is also behind the foundation stock of my silken windhound as well as her borzoi kennelmate. There are always exceptions to every rule :)

I would be happy to breed from a 6 year old cavalier bitch who is healthy and would contribute to the health of the breed far more than an unknown 2 year old....
but I would never mate a 6 year old boxer.

You need to ask breed people for this advice IMO because what you will get here mainly is folks experiences with their own breed or friends, which may not have enough bearing.

As Tigger said there are always exceptions and breed specific info will help you with this decision.

It very much depends on the breed. A six year old dalmatian is considered to be just starting to grow up, and still in their prime at 8, so a third litter at 6 years would be fine. However this doesn't apply to all breeds, so the best people to ask would be breed experts.

Also agree, I wouldn't have a problem with a 3rd litter at age 6 years, if she is fit and healthy no issues here. :-)

My LM bitch had her 2nd litter aged 7 so as long as they are fit & healthy I shouldn't see there was any problem at all.  And what a boost for your lines you'll get!  Is the French breeder mating her to a dog there before she comes to the UK?

Thanks everyone..I have spoken to a couple of people in my breed, The consensus seems to be that most breeders have around two litters in general, but I do know of people in our breed whos bitches have 4 or 5 which personally I feel is wrong. But like you say if a bitch is healthy & fit, I guess there is no reason why it would be a problem. Thank you

One of my Malinois bitches had a third litter aged 6. It was her smallest litter (6 pups, previous two were of ten and nine), the best quality litter, and the one she coped the easiest with by far. :)

I wouldnt have a problem with a 6 year old having a litter as long as she is fit and healthy, go for it, our girl had her last litter at 5 and half but she struggled, her biggest litter of 11, so she is now retired from mummy duties. Good luck x

Three litters would be quite normal in my breed, and the bitch being aged six would likewise be no problem.  Mine is a slow maturing breed, and there should be no issues unless the bitch has been allowed to get fat and out of condition.

Thanks everyone your comments today have been a big help & made me feel a lot more positive about this situation. My breed is a slow maturing breed too & Her previous 2 litters were 12 & 7.

In my breed a 7 year old is still in their prime, and I usually like to have a bitches last litter before the 7th birthday, but have had a bitch whelp at 7 years one month.

I usually have three litters from a bitch that is producing well, you need two to know what she produces to different lines anyway.

My breed doesn't usually have huge litters though, just the average, though 13 and 14 pups have been born, it is more usual to have around half a dozen.

Our breed club code of ethics states no bitch should be expected to have more than four litters, and it is advisable for a first litter to be born before five years of age.

Had third litters from two of my girls at the age of 8, they recovered just as quickly as they did at the age of 2.  As others have said it really depends upon the breed and in reality the numbers born in each litter.

I just want to put my concerns for the bitch's wellbeing forward...if she is coming to you late september & due in season about that time too, my concern is if you do plan to mate her on this season then wouldn't this be a huge upheaval for her?  Sorry if i have misunderstood but if this is the case i would feel sorry for the bitch, having to move away from her current owner, trying to settle with you in her new home and then shortly afterwards having a litter of pups.

Would there be a possibility of rehoming her with you earlier this year to help her settle for a longer period before the mating?

Is the entry rules why she would be joining you in the end of September?
As if she is not rabies vaccinated and you get the process started now and use a vaccine where the titretest can be taken after 2 weeks, she should be able to enter the country in the end of August giving her little bit more time to settle before her season/litter...
I believe Rabisin being a vaccine where this can be done with (check the manuracturers data) and Rabisin has also performed best giving acceptable titrelevels compared to another common vaccine(sorry can't remember which one!).

I have a giant breed and many have their last litters at 6 years old so I see the age not being a problem as she has already had puppies before.
3 litters seems to be pretty average for a bitch to have in my breed.

Hi Noora, Yes, that is correct she cannot come to the UK until the end of September because of the entry rules. Although I will check what you said about the titre test with her breeder to see if it is possible to speed things up a bit. she is due to have her rabies vaccine sometime this week I believe? As for your comments above Wendy I would of course let her settle in first before mating her, I was just going by her last litter and guessing when her next season should be, this is again something I would need to confirm with her breeder should I decide to go ahead with this. I appreciate this would be a big upheaval for her, and wouldnt dream of mating her as soon as she got here. I am pleased everyones comments have been fairly positive about a 3rd litter not being a problem. Of course it will all depend when her seasons fall..if it means she will be due in season as soon as she arrives in the UK I would wait, let her settle in and get her used to our pack. She is already used to living in a pack now so I dont think it will be to hard for her to adjust, she is a very gentle inoffensive bitch so I do not see there being a problem as most of our girls are spayed now anyway.    

In Finland using bitches in breeding terms is pretty common and in most cases works just fine.
These bitches would be coming to the breeder sometimes after the mating(to give them more time to settle) but more often about 4 weeks before the due date so even if she was to come to UK and have her season soon after and being mated, it should work just fine.
Obviously depending on her temperament and the temparemants of other dogs you have and also the living conditions on where she is coming from to what your house is like...

Thanks Noora, I have spoken to her breeder today and she is going to look into rabies vaccine you mentioned. She said her season would be around the end of September early Oct and she can come to the UK early Sept apparently, so that would give  her a good month almost to settle into her new enviroment. She is a very gentle quiet bitch and our pack is pretty laid back so all should be ok. I think after lots of consideration we are going to go for it, thanks to everyone's feedback on my post. I will just introduce her one dog at a time just so she isnt overwhelmed.