I'm in a bit of a dilema here , my small breed bitch who I've had a litter with two year ago has just come into season yesterday.
I mated her on her last season but unfortunately she absorbed the puppies ( I was told probably due to kennel cough which she caught ).
The thing is I am due to have my baby next week and it will mean having a litter and a two month old baby to care for at the same time , when I have a litter I sleep downstairs with them for three weeks , incase of any accidents.
Do I have the litter that I had planned for ages now or wait until next time when I will have a baby that is crawling and into everything?
I have people waiting still who were on my list from last time so I don't have to find homes , it's just that I can't decide what to do.
Please can I have your opinions on the subject , I'm also planning on keeping a pup from this litter for showing.

In some ways it might be easier with the young baby than with the toddler in a year or so's time. Have you got a husband / partner presumably that can help with puppies / baby?

I suppose it depends on how much energy you'll have after the baby is born? and how much help/support?   and whether you and Baby are both well.  Is this your first child?  If so you might be surprised how much work a baby causes, equally you could find it so easy you're a bit bored - it very much depends on circumstances.

I find looking after a bitch and her litter very much like having a baby, but accelerated   as the pups are up and about far quicker than human babies.

Points to consider
1. Do you have someone able to step in and give their time if either you/baby are unwell or need hospital time?   Highly unlikely, but best made plans and all that ;)  (My life is ruled by the Law of Murphy ;) can you tell? )

2. Do you have someone who can look after baby if you end up at the vets with Bitch or pups?

Only you know the answers to these questions - good luck with your decision :)  and CONGRATULATIONS on your impending arrival :)

I had a litter 2 weeks before I had a baby. It wasn't as hard as when said baby was running around for the next one ;-) Even when I dislocated a rib I did have help though :-p

Ah congrats on your baby :-)  Having now got 2 toddlers and bred a few litter over the years I wouldn't have thought having a litter this time would be harder than in another few months time or so although you'll have more energy if you waited until next time assuming baby starts to sleep through the night fairly soon.

Is it your first baby?  I was a zombie for a good 2 - 3 weeks with mine (from when they were born) but if baby is due next week, that gives you 8-9 weeks to get used to having a newborn around!  Plus all being well with the whelping (your dog!), puppies won't need too much of you attention until they're 3-4 weeks old....

If you're worried aout being able to have a litter off your girl I'd go for it.

HTH xx and good luck for next week!

hi  Cani1, l would think very carefully about this. What if, you had to hand rear the puppies? God forbid that this would not be the case, but you never know. The puppies would need to be fed by you for the first 2/3 weeks every 2 hours, day and night, and your baby will need to be fed every 4 ? hours also. You would be a complete wreck by the time the pups were old enough to be weaned. Congratulations on your baby.

Hi , thanks for all the replies everyone , yes I have a husband who will help, he's no good at the whelping side of things though ( it makes him cockle!!!)
He has said he would help after they arrived , my mother helps when whelping. And my Grandmother has said she would help with the baby should anything happen and I need to see to puppies. I am thinking long and hard before I make this decision because in the past I have had to raise a giant breed by hand and it is hard work feeding round the clock. I was hoping as my bitch that I want to breed has whelped easily before and was the most fantastic mother , that it would go the same way this time , but then I know that's not how it works and I've got to consider all possiblities.
I have a six nearly seven year old son , and I am thinking back to when he was born , it was hard and he didn't sleep until he was five , I blame him for my irregular sleep pattern , I am up every hour nearly seven year later so I think this baby will be fine to feed through the night as I'll be up anyway. I'm having a section but the puppies wouldn't be due I'm reckoning in my head until about eight weeks afterwards so I should of recovered by then .

Sounds like you have planned for the worst and the best then, good luck with it all!

Yes , but still very un decided.

i'd go for it.  Could be exciting and you ahve a lot of support if needed.

Its probably easier to do it when the baby is tiny rather than when you have a toddler on your hands. Lets face it you will be up at night for the first few weeks anyway with a new baby.  If you do go ahead then have a back up plan in place for mum and pups just in case it all goes pear-shaped though. Can your mum stay with the pups if necessary? (Good luck with explaining the whole puppy scenario to your Health Visitor! :-D :-D - that's if they still visit these days).

Never even thought about the health visitor , it's not really any of their business though is it? As long as my house is clean and baby is well cared for it shouldn't be a problem ( I hope ! )
I got my first visit ( meet & greet ) last week and she didn't comment on us having the dogs really , only that my old shar-pei was nice.

Im hopefully getting a new puppy soon and i think it will be easier now than say in a years time when he wont stay put, for puppy toilet training and him crawling in it etc. For the first week of his life we were in hospital (he got pneumonia during the delivery and his first breaths were not good, rushed to NICU) so make sure if something goes wrong (hope it doesnt as it was heartbreaking, but make sure you have cover).

After we came home most of the time he was asleep, and i was adjusting to motherhood, learning the ropes. It would be hard work but maybe less hard work than in 6 months time when baby needs entertaining not just feeding changing and sleeping. Im breastfeeding to so dad cant take over for everything. You will be up throughout the night anyway and if you have baby in moses basket next to whelping box and you on the settee you can kill 2 birds with one stone kind of. Will get baby used to sleeping through noise, we can vaccum round him and he stays asleep.

TBH health visitors care more about those that smoke than a doggy household, all mine had dogs and these were all on there backs wanting tummy tickles.

Not for me I'm afraid-
found both puppies and babies all encompassing and could never do both at same time

TBH health visitors care more about those that smoke than a doggy household, all mine had dogs and these were all on there backs wanting tummy tickles.

When I was pregnant for the first time the health visitor told me that animals and children do not mix and I'd be better off without any pets.I bet many a mother she visited ended up taking her advice as the first time around you don't know any better and think the professionals do. Being stubborn I simply refused, thankfully.

Hi Louise , I have been wondering how you and your baby were. I remember you saying you were pregnant very early on in my pregnancy , and having dogues like you it has stuck in my mind.
I'm pleased your little man is okay now.

Marianne , you are right I bet some first time mothers will take the health visitors advice , I think this could be also why we see so many once loved dogs being rehomed due to a new baby.
This is something I would be highly offended by and take great offense. I hope I get the health visitor that come to meet me last week , she seemed fine.

I think if they have dogs/pets themselves then they are normally fine - its the ones who don't even have kids that drive me nuts - doing it all by the book (sigh!) . I often think families have a lot of influence in the whole rehoming business too - granny/auntie knows best syndrome.

I was really just kidding about the health visitor and I'm sure it will all be fine but I would love to see her face :-D :-D

As long as you put the right baby to your breast in th4e night (mind you have seen photo of a baby taking a nip off a bitches milk bar) then you should e find with the amount of support you have, especially as this is not your first baby.

Definitely be easier to rear a litter earlier than in 6 months or a years time, with a crawling toddling baby.

I had a puppy when I had a 14 month old toddler twice (first two dogs worked out that way) my first litter when youngest child was three.

Personally I would wait, I like to devote 100% of my time to my litters,  when my girls are in labour I spend most of my time on my hands & knees with them, having also had c-sections myself I wouldn't have been fit enough to be crawling around on the floor tending a whelping bitch even 8 weeks later.

have you considered how your dog will react to a baby? Has she met tiny children before?
Just thinking that if she is disturbed it wouldn't be a good time for her to be in whelp/rearing puppies. is this her fist litter?
I would be very wary of leaving a newborn baby unattended with a dog, especially one that might want to protect her litter, on the other hand that would be even worse if there is a crawler around so now might be best.
I've no experience on this, just a natural pessimist :) if you've considered all the options, and have someone who could take 100% responsibility for the pups if you find yourself stuck in hospital for a while then should be ok.
one other thought though, unless her seasons are very precise it sounds like you could be trying to arrange a mating around the time of the birth, if it is just after you will know how it's all gone at least but if you are having a section you will be in for a few days I assume, is there anyone who could deal with the mating if Murphy's law prevails and the 2 events clash?
good luck!

good luck!
  

Hi agilabs

Thanks for your response I am still thinking hard what to do.
My bitch which I am thinking of breeding is great with kids , I have a six year old , she grew up with him but didn't know him as a baby. However I have a little niece that she has been around from being a baby , she really is a lovely dog.

I would never leave a baby or any child for that matter alone with a dog at anytime , there are too many horror stories , even if I am busy just in the next room my dogs are put in a different room to by son (I believe you can't trust any dog 100% around children ) and I love my dogs and don't ever think they would harm ever , but as a parent your number one resonsibility is your childs safety.

This will be her second litter , I own the stud dog , he lives at my grandmothers house , this will be a repeat mating , I had good results from their first litter . If she is ready when I'm in hospital my grandmother and sister will oversee the mating for me. Not ideal as I would want to be there , I'm not planning on being in hospital long , they were happy to let me out last time after my section , I moaned so much to go home they let me out after a day and a half!

Thanks for everyones views , I'm still thinking on it!

you sound like you have a very sensible outlook! I hate when I hear/read people who say that their dog is great when their baby is pulling at its jowls etc, but they always watch them together. What's the point of watching if you are 10ft away sitting in a chair and your child is crawling all over the poor dog!  one quick snap could do a lot of damage before they've even blinked.

you do sound like you've got all the bases covered and whilst the timing isn't ideal unless you decided not to breed from her at all in the next 18months then it will only get worse as the sprog gets more mobile. (can you tell I don't have kids.......! congratulations BTW :) )

can't remember if you said, are you planning on keeping a pup?

edited: just realised you've said you are keeping one, now that sounds like hard work!   

I think you are possibly mental!!  My baby is now 19months and I am only now thinking about a much awaited litter.  I had a section and I could barely move for a month afterwards.  I wouldn't like to think about dealing with puppies as they get a bit older.  And you would need to think about infections having a wound too.  I love having a toddler and a litter.  We've done it 3 times over the years and I find my kids are much more aware of bodily functions and are very caring individuals.  They love to help out with mum and the pups and, fortunately my girls love and trust the kids enough to let them. 
I also took a pup when my son was just 3 months old and even though he was sleeping all night, I felt I never gave that dog all I could have.  I love to have a bond with my dogs but I just couldn't get one with that dog at all and I feel it was lack of time.
But only you know how you will cope.  I, obviously, don't!!

Having had two sections, I can definately say that the second one is definately worse, they have to cut through scar tissue and it seems much harder to bounce back the second time (sorry :( )  It is also easy to forget just how difficult things are afterwards, you arent even meant to lift a kettle let alone sort out whelping bitches. I would concentrate on your baby tbh, you will always have your child, those first few weeks and months are so special and precious and you will never have them back.  It doesnt matter how much help you have, you need to spend time with your baby, and if your girl was also having a litter you would need to spend time with her and with the best will in the world that would be very very difficult. You can always breed another litter, it doesnt have to be now. 

I've just gone back and re-read your first post.  Some of the replies seem to be aimed at the litter arriving right when you get home rather than 2 months later.  Not that it will be much easier, but you will have had some recovery time.

The bottom line is that you have a child and you have had litters, so you have an idea of what each entails.  But do you really want the stress of both.  Do you want to lose the enjoyment of some of your early days with your new baby, or are you the kind that's superorganised and thrives on being busy?  I can see an argument for both ways (though if it was me I'd wait till next season).

I guess the answer is to follow your heart.

the dogues are great with him, especially having never been around children before never mind babies. They have a gentle nature anyway, but my little pickle is so happy to see him in the morning she wiggles her entire body.

My labour was nearly 72 hours long and i was tired beyond belief, i would fall asleep between contractions and often had to be caught from just dropping either on the ball or stood up. i couldnt stay still and when they put me on hormones i had to and it wasnt nice. Managed with gas and air, even though i begged for more. Worst thing was as soon as he popped out, i had him in my arms for all of 3 seconds and then he was whipped away i couldnt see him til that evening or hold him until the evening after. i was so sick of having baths my water birth wasnt happening. was really traumatic not knowing if he was ok or what was wrong. floods of people rushed into the room and i told noone but my mum he'd arrived. Breastfeeding was excruciating for the first 6 weeks but is sooo easy now n im lazy n glad i dnt have to get up in the night to make bottles, just lob them out. I have now gone from a 32c/d to a 32h so prepare for that and m&s bras rubbish debenhams are great. Good luck xx

Hi I have just had a litter three weeks ago and im due my baby in a week! Was dreading it, but so far it has been fine, its hopfully prepared me for the lack of sleep to come! I'm fortunate as i could goo anytime and puppies are much less delicate at this stage and mum is excellent with them. I have a very supportive family and friends though who have all been on standby incase i go into labour, as mum and pups are up with me at present in my room. Good luck whatever you decide.