the stud dog owner told me when the dog was mating my bitch that she was a bit (up and over) would that make it difficult for her when whelping?

I was told that with my bitch too, she had her first litter of 2 as easily as passing a stool, just one whimper with the 2nd puppy I think. The 2nd litter 3 years later was a C-section but I think that was because it was a singleton, nothing to do with the bitch's internal make up.

i think that goes for every bitch ???

Some bitches are more vertical than others. Some are so "up and over" they'd never achieve a natural mating. Matings are usually reasonably normal with an up and over as it tends to drop with the weight of a pup in the canal.

Never heard of this term before, can someone explain in more detail what this is about?

I think you will find she is pretty normal, most bitches are slightly up and over, just like everything some are more than others...i wouldnt be concerned at all and dont think this has any significance to the whelping itself.

Well - all of the bitches who have visited our boys have been like this - I assumed it was the norm

Jo

> Never heard of this term before, can someone explain in more detail what this is about?

Yes please do explain! I'm afraid it conjures up all kinds of images, and the poor dog in question probably doesn't want to think of herself as a garage door!

Basically, in extreme circumstances the bitch has a very vertical vaginal tract, then a drop down just before the cervix. Rather than a gentle slope.

How would the stud owner know of this deviation from the normal by simply mating the two dogs?

Only if a mating was particularly difficult (ie in the extreme cases) or an internal was performed.