Do any of show a bitch in the first month post mating?
I have a dilema- Do I continue to show my puppy and leave the mated bitch at home in case she is pregnant or bring her with me as she is used to and enjoys coming to the shows? If I bring her does she sit in her trolley or go in the ring?
Or I am safer withdrawing from all shows entered just in case?

Just my personal opinion but I would not show a in whelp bitch at all.

Do you assume she is in whelp straight away post mating or wait till scan at 30 days?
Also does that mean you wouldn't take her onto the premises? Do you still take any other dogs during that time?

I'm extra careful and would not show from the time of the season until she whelped or I was sure she had missed. Other I am sure will show until the bitch begins to spread.

I know there is divided opinion on this, ie " she's not ill" BUT I would never show a bitch I suspected of being in pup.

A friend used our dog and then went to shows and lost two of the litter one blind due to fitting, of course we can't say that it was because she unwittingly exposed the bitch to germs to win a piece of card but I say better safe than sorry.  

We had a bitch mated just under a month ago and we stopped going to shows and ring craft with all of the dogs as we don't want to risk bringing back any bugs or kennel cough into the house a lot of time and money has gone into the planning of the litter and its just not worth the risk.

Too true the bitch is not ill but then mixing with other dogs who are not part of her pack is not normal either. Other kennels germs and bacteria may well do no harm to those who live there but can cause problems to an animal that has never come across them before. A bitch is 'open' for a while after her season stops and then there is the risk of normal dog infections that can cause problems in the in whelp bitch, like kennel cough.

Too true the bitch is not ill but then mixing with other dogs who are not part of her pack is not normal either.
My bitches have always mixed with other dogs as well as parlour dogs throughout their lives and I believe that has been a contributing factor to help develop their immune systems. 

Of course you'll get a variety of opinions but I've always continued to show my in whelp bitches without any problems.  To them it is not stressful as it's what they're used to.  I find that they bloom just like many women and had one take CC and BOB when 5 weeks in whelp at Bath some years ago.

Of course, if you are lucky enough to be able to mix your dogs with a wide and different selection of others then that will help increase their contact with many infections and so induce immunity but not many have this opportunity usual only meeting the same dogs in the same environment from day to day.

> A friend used our dog and then went to shows and lost two of the litter one blind due to fitting, of course we can't say that it was because she unwittingly exposed the bitch to germs to win a piece of card but I say better safe than sorry

It's not about wether she will win a class or not.I don't care about that in the big picture. I'm just torn. I have entered two shows in Scotland in a few weeks time and would tie these in with a visit to my dad and stay over which would be lovely.(Mum died in February) Dad will be out all day Saturday and so I have to decide if I take her to the show with me or leave her alone all day in a house she doesn't go to often or if I abandon the whole trip but then don't see dad and can't visit mum's grave. There is no option of leaving her at home as hubby away the same weekend. It gets complicated doesn't it. She would be 3- 4 weeks post mating and I cannot for the life of me make a decision. Think I'm just having a sad mixed up day and getting all indecisive

Annmarie if you are unsure about leaving your girl on her own while your Dad is out you are more than welcomed to bring her to my house either early Saturday or Friday evening and she can stay here with my girls, Jim will look after them (as usual).  As she knows the dogs and has stayed at the house she would slot back in without any problems.  I will have the three younger dogs with me so no jumping around playing. :-)

If however you want to take her to the show on the Saturday let me know and I can bring a large crate and/or pen that you can use for her. 

Joan

ANNM172, I did not mean in any way that you were concerned about winning, I'm sorry if it came across that way, in the case I quoted that was what she did and regretted it.
I knew you would get a variety of replies!!
Good luck with whatever you decide.

I would never take a bitch I thought to be in whelp purely through the risk of infection.  Having nursed a bitch and hand reared a litter through an infection picked up from a dog on a walk I wouldn't take the chance.  You take so much time and effort to plan a litter, why bring in avoidable risks.  Others in my breed however think otherwise and show up to 6 weeks in whelp and again 4 weeks after pups are born.  I guess it is what you are comfotable with.  I would suggest settling her down at home with the tv on and get a friend to call in on her and give her some TLC.  Oh, and pick her up a tasty treat from the show as a bribe for having to be left behind!!!

We do not show in whelp bitches.  I think that between 3 and 5 weeks in whelp if a bitch picks up an infection and has a temperature the puppies can be born with deformities.

A few years ago we took one of the other bitches to a show and she went down with kennel cough, the in whelp bitch that we had left at home also went down with kennel cough about 2 weeks before she whelped.  She was put on antibiotics for a fortnight, and when the pups were born lost all her milk, we had to hand rear this litter, fortunately they did not develop kennel cough, but it was a very worrying time.

If you take your other dogs to a show I think that the in whelp bitch should be kept isolated from the others.

Just my opinion, I know that many people do show their in whelp bitches - we are not prepared to take the risk any more.

I don't breed dogs BUT if I did, I wouldn't show a bitch in-whelp, in fact I wouldn't show any of my dogs until the litter was on the ground and thriving. I am coming partly from having once bred & shown cats, where showing pregnant queens is not allowed, but also from common sense.

There are quite a few different bugs and viruses in all species (including humans!) where if a female encounters that bug for the first time while pregnant, it can and will cause pregnancy issues and/or deformity in the young. This is why teenage girls are routinely immunised against Rubella, which can cause a great deal of problems in a baby if the mother meets the infection during pregnancy with no immunity. Toxoplasmosis, sometimes caught from infected meat or cat faeces, can do the same if the human mother has not previously acquired immunity. I think Listeriosis falls into that category too.

Add to that, if the bitch did pick up some kind of infection, it would probably have to be treated with by the vet... and who is to know the true knock-on effects of any drugs given? Many instances of so-called safe medication actually being found to be harmful to the developing foetus.

In general I wouldn't take a bitch possibly in whelp - first she is at the tail end of her season, still perhaps somewhat open to infection and interesting to other dogs, and then in 3 weeks you hit the time when puppies should be attaching to the horns etc. In your particular case where you would have to abandon the whole visit to family, I probably would take her, but try to find unpopular bits of grass for her to wee on and definitely not show her, keep her in her crate as much as poss. Are you sure she'd be unhappy in your Dad's house? I suppose it would be alone and for some hours, so probably taking her in and keeping her apart from other dogs is your best option.

I dont... but have friends who do.

Nothing has happened to their bitches ( that they know of).....YET

but I will still stick to my " Draw bridge up" mentality because Im too scared not to.

Thanks all for comments - I had a bit of an iffy day yesterday and this question was one I couldn't sort out no matter how I looked at it.
I definately won't take her in the ring and just have to decide if I make the trip up to Scotland or stay at home. If I go to the show Pixie will be in the ring and could transmit germs etc too. My vet (also a breeder) has said I am fine to continue my long walks with Tuppence right up to six/seven weeks then cut back a bit and she could pick up germs there too or from my feet or girls feet after playing at the park. It's a real juggle between continuing a semi normal life and trying to keep them out of harms way.
Joan thanks for the offer of bringing her to yours-I appreciate that. I am thinking that I may bring her to the show, park the trolley a bit further away from others and leave her in it. Either that or cancel my trip up.