Hi

When I bought my sheltie as a puppy it was with the intention of breeding her one day  but events got in the way and the time was never right.  However now is a good time but at four, is she too old for just one litter of pups? She will be 5 by the time they are born. I have spoken at length to her breeder (my mentor) who said she thought she was a bit old for a first litter but said that there is no reason to think  as she is fit and healthy that there is any undue risk.  I do have in mind an ideal stud dog (breeder knows her and her dog is an ideal match for my girl).

I am undecided as she is my pride and joy and I couldn't bear anything to happen to her.  I wonder what others think - do I or don't I?

Snowflake

ii wouldnt breed at 4 for the 1st time they are smallish dogs ,large breed dogs could be ok but i wouldnt risk it now.

Are all her health tests in place. 

What was her mother like in the whelping box, was she an easy whelper, good mother, and what age was she bred from.

What size litters does the female line tend towards and any whelping issues, C sections inertia etc.

With my breed this really would be last chance for a first litter, but they are a medium size (20kg bitches) of a usually natural whelping/mothering type.

How important is it to breed from this particular bitch, is she supposed to found a line, has she no sisters who have been bred from.  Could you achieve the same ends by having a puppy from her breeder, say from a sister/Aunt, who I assume would have already been bred from?

good advice from Brainless espcially what are your reasons for breeding. Could you have a pup from a sister/ aunt and breed from her

Another one agreeing with Brainless - find out how easy her mother was for whelping, and consider whether having a niece or great niece who you could breed from would be an option. I know this girl and she looks like a nice quality Sheltie, though I'm no breed expert on the finer points of the breed of course! So I wouldn't definitely advise against breeding, just be aware that she is older than ideal and consider other options before steaming ahead. :-)

I was a bit like you, but decided that I didn't want to take the risk. I will always regret not having a litter from her, but I know I would never have forgiven myself if something had gone wrong. I think I was influenced at the time as two people in our breed lost bitches during whelping at the time I was deciding. Good luck if you decide to go ahead. :)

ii wouldnt breed at 4 for the 1st time they are smallish dogs ,large breed dogs could be ok but i wouldnt risk it now

This is so not true for larger breeds. The code of ethics in my breed states that no bitch should have a 1st litter after the age of 5 yrs.

I would look carefully at your reasons to breed your bitch, is she going to give something excellent back to the breed ? or are you having a litter to keep a pup ? or is it just that you would like her to have a litter. If she is going to be putting something really good back into the breed then with carefull supervision I would say yes. If your reasons for the litter are not so important them maybe it would be better not to put her in any danger.
Aieen

I had a friend who took a first litter from her medium sized bitch at 5. Bitch was really fit competed in agility and had a CC and RCC. She didn't cope at all well with labour had her litter but with a great deal of stress to her and breeder. Friend swore she would never have a first litter at that age again.

Quite common for my medium breed to have first litter around the 4 year mark with no probs. Each breed is different though.

I mated both bitches within a wk of each other, hoping one might catch as both would be 5 by time any pups were born.  Low and behold, or murphy's law as my dad says, both whelped 4 pups each very quick labours, even litters producing 5 bitches and 3 dogs between them.   Both these girls had missed twice each with different males so a final attempt and last hope of keeping our lines going.  Yes schips are a small breed and keep themselves very fit naturally due to their curiosity but my father used to bred shelties had a 51/2 - 6 cut off age for their girls again fit bitches.

I've only had 2 c sections over 30 odd yrs and both times its been due to malpresentation of the first pup not the condition of my bitch and schips not my GSD's,  so it really is down to your knowledge of your girl and how she is and of course your motivation to breed.

talk to the breeder of your bitch.has good luck whatever route you take. 

Hi

Thanks for your responses.  I have taken on board what you have said.  My bitch's sister has had one litter successfully but the next time she was bred she didn't take.  Another of my breeder's bitches was scanned for one puppy but it was subsequently ( and upsettingly) born dead by C-section and this bitch was a healthy two year old.  My sheltie's mother was about 18 months when she had her first litter and then a year or so later had her second litter one of whom is my girl.  Don't think she had any problems.

However I have decided not to risk it as I would be devastated if anything happened to my girl.  I think the suggestion of getting a puppy maybe from her litter sister is a good one.  I am eager to do some more showing so my hope was to breed a better bitch - my girl is lovely,  right size etc but her eyes are too round!!  Then I could breed from new bitch  at the correct age.  So my breeder is going to bear this in mind and hopefully may come up with something in the fullness of time.

Bit disappointing but I could not live with myself if anything happened to my girl.  Most of you seem to feel the same.

Thanks again

Snowflake

>Most of you seem to feel the same

Yup!  :-)  At the end of the day, they are much loved pets.  I have a breed that are best mated at 18 months for a first litter.  All my bitches are spayed around 4 years of age.  If I haven't got a bitch in whelp before 3 years old, I just won't risk it.  I have heard of so many with my breed, just keeping them in the show ring, and mating at 3 years.  Always seems to end in disaster, so I won't even try. 

I do hope that your breeder comes up trumps for you.  You deserve to get a nice pup.