Hi

I have a Chihuahua that I want to breed from.  Last February we tried but the mating wasn't successful, she tied twice but no pregnancy.  I went to the vet for several blood tests to get the timing right but this didn't help.  My question to you all is how can you tell when she is ready to be mated with.  She is very clingy to me at the moment, the other two dogs i have are very interested in her and her temperament is like a woman having PMT.  I have noticed a slightly discoloured discharge today and yesterday too.
I really appreciate your thoughts as this is the first time I have bred from one of my bitches.  She's my little angel so i want to get it right.

Kindest regards
Leanne
xxxxx

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How old is she Leanne?

It's extremely important in this breed.  If you haven't got a bitch pregnant before she is 3 years old, it would be wrong to breed from her, and should have her spayed.  It is far too old for a first time litter, in this breed.  I know that you can't be exact, as they come in season to suit themselves - not us!  But 18 months is an ideal age to get a maiden bitch pregnant.

I'm assuming that she comes from lines with no heart problems, eye problems, or luxated patellas?  And that she comes from self whelping lines?  Believe me, it is not a breed for the fainthearted.  Not where breeding is concerned.  I would never advise a novice to try whelping this breed without a mentor. 

If you are using a good sire, then he should come from someone that is experienced and would be able to help you with advice on your bitches best time for mating.  When my boys have girls come visiting, I can usually give them a pretty good idea about how far off their bitch is.

And it isn't because I have a crystal ball!  :-)  It's something that comes with experience.

It's important that your girl is large enough in the pelvis too.  Don't ever consider breeding from a bitch that is too small.  If you need a C-section, it is almost always out of hours!  So you do need to have £1,000 ready just in case.

Megan is 21 months old, she is 2kg, quite small but i had her checked before we decided to breed from her.  The vet was very pleased with her and said she would be fine to breed from.  All her vitals are strong and she is very healthy with a wonderful temperament. 

The breeder that I purchased her from would answer any questions i have but I wanted to get a broad spectrum of opinions.

When do you start counting the beginning of her season.

Once a bitch has started to look swollen, I usually wipe her daily with a tissue.  The first time I get staining is counted as the first day.   Each bitch varies considerably.  I have one bitch that flags from day 3 and is standing by day 8.  I've also had bitches not ready until days 19-21 and after. 

Have to say that I have never used a bitch as small as 2kg for breeding.  It's more the size that I like for my stud dogs.

Well i visited the vets today, Megan is swollen so the vet took a blood sample and a swab for a cytology test.  They have just called me back to say they ran the cytology test and she is pre oestrus (i think that's right).  They didn't run the blood sample test to save me money (i have a lovely vet) but Megan is booked in again on Friday for another swab.  The vet thinks next week could be our week. I so hope so, the stud dog we have chosen is also small and he is very gentle and patient, I hope Meg passes on her temperament to the pups cause if she does they are going to be so placid and chilled out.  Fingers crossed

Can someone tell me please with the very small breeds is it the parents alone that decide the size of the whelps or does it take an average of the last few generations - think what I am trying to ask is if you use a small bitch and stud will you get all small progeny or will they be the more usual cross section, if a small bitch and large stud (comparative to breed) what are the sort of percentages you would expect in the litter. Have always though that you would use the average size stud on either a small or large bitch to aim for an average size litter or am I rambling?

Also I am assuming this bitch is a Chihuahua and if so is this a small example or a slightly over weight example - could be I have the wrong breed or am thinking of an out of date standard as it may be that has been updated, may be I have the wrong breed as laid back would not be the temperament required.

Have looked at the new standards and see that indeed the size requirements has been raised so now at 2kg this is a small example.

I have noticed a slightly discoloured discharge today and yesterday too.

Hi,

When l was still breeding, l used to count the 1st day that l saw colour, as DAY1. This would initially, be a sort of tea colour, changing to light pink and then red. I was breeding Boxers, so it could be completely different in your breed.  The normal day for mating, would be DAY 11, but this could vary with my bitches from DAY 5 to DAY 14. My girls, oddly, never changed to the straw colour that indicates for  many breeders, the optimum time for mating.

Can someone tell me please with the very small breeds is it the parents alone that decide the size of the whelps or does it take an average of the last few generations - think what I am trying to ask is if you use a small bitch and stud will you get all small progeny or will they be the more usual cross section, if a small bitch and large stud (comparative to breed) what are the sort of percentages you would expect in the litter.

Well I've not had many litters yet of my toy breed (not Chis), but in the last litter, the pups all ended up weighing just 1 ½ to 2 kgs when fully grown, and the parents are more like 3 to 4 kgs which is more the norm for show dogs. (There is no weight given in the UK breed standard, just height.) Clearly it was a mating that didn't work, possibly going back to what's behind, and for this girl's next litter, I will be using a slightly bigger dog from different lines. I also have a dog whose mother is over sized but he himself ended up being bang on the ideal (like his dad) -about 2 inches less than she is in fact.

> with the very small breeds is it the parents alone that decide the size of the whelps or does it take an average of the last few generations -

Like Marianne, I have found that you really need to know your lines.  I admit to preferring bitches to be over size.  I do like a decent width of pelvis.  If I had a 2kg bitch, I would feel that she should be mated to a 2 - 3lbs male - so giving you pups that are just no good for the show ring.  We are aiming for 4-6lbs as adults.  So small bitches go to pet homes (with endorsements.)

Believe me, they are not the easiest of breeds to whelp, and I try to aim for self whelping, and have been working on this for years.  It's just my opinion, but I feel that we should be aiming for a bitch that can get that big head out naturally, not by C-section.

As an example - I did keep a stunning dog that had a superb head and coat.  I was hoping to show him.  Sadly, like Topsy, he just grew and grew!    But the dam was out of a decent line, and the sire that I used was from a show kennel, weighing 4lbs.  I had visited the kennel often, so at least knew the size of relatives, and the type that they were producing. I only used my big boy once, to see what he would produce.  This was back in 2008.  The bitch I used was enormous, but her relatives had done very well in the show ring (proper size), and the mating produced me a bitch that is 5.5lbs as an adult, and this year she self whelped with ease, and has produced pups that are what you would consider normal for the ring.  One looks as if he may not have the best coat, so he will go for pet.  The other 2 are going to be spot on for size, and the coats are looking really good at almost 12 weeks.  A difficult decision now, as they both look good on muzzle and stop.  So I am in no hurry at the moment.  Time will tell.

Sorry if my reply is rambling!  But hope it makes sense!  Yes - you're right about temperament.  You are really looking for a little diva show off, that is full of sassiness!

Thank you Jean, it did make sense, in my own breed if your bitch is small you would be advised to use a correct sized male not an oversized one but I would want to know what the background size on both was before making my decision but we are just considering producing pups of the correct size for the show ring - health is not really a consideration when considering size.

Looking into this it is interesting and I note that although the size has not really changed the standard has moved the preferred size from the small end of acceptable to the large, something I assume to do with health and self whelping.

Thought the temperament should be active and is described as gay (not a good choice of words these days) and I have found some are quite terrier like and could even be described as feisty and definitely a big dog character in a small package.

Remember being in an outdoor show ring, the grass was mown but not very short, I glanced to the ring next to us and saw the tips of tails moving through the grass - how the judge assessed the movement of these little chaps I do not know but at least you could see the tail unlike the mini dach that would also have lost their legs in grass this long. There was as far as I could see no complaining.

I've heard in some of these very tiny toy breeds that people do tend to have bigger bitches for breeding and smaller for show. I'm glad my toy breed is large enough that you can mostly do both! My own girl is a little big for show but has done well enough, and her first litter were born very easily. Second litter was a singleton so we did have a C-section but that was size of litter as puppy was the same size as birth as the previous two were. Interestingly I checked my records yesterday and although same weight at birth she has been consistently lighter than the first litter each week of age, presumably because she's a bitch and not a dog! This is a relief as I am hoping to get a bitch just a fraction smaller than her mum.