Just after some advice on how to go about breeding our black lab Jet, is she too old now? She is 5yrs old and so beautiful, although is a bit overweight as she is a house pet and we do tend to give her lots of treats with having a new puppy, (don't want her to feel left out) We have had lots of books from the library and all seem to be american and don't go in to detail about much just more about working your dog, this is the first web site I have found and seems to be very knowledgable about lots of different topics and probably get more info from real people than from any "best seller". I would love her to have a litter of her own as she sometimes looks as though she needs it, if that doesn't sound daft. I mean when my four year old was a new baby she really well, like looked after him, she sat by his moses basket and guarded him, and even now she sleeps in her bed in Cj's room. I wouldn't even know how to go about it as we don't know anyone in our area, would we put an advert in a shop window? paper? internet or what any info, advice or opinion would be gladly accepted!! I had read in one book I think that it is best to have a litter before "getting her done!" If I am being selfish please do tell me, but, as a mother and seeing the look on her face and when she is lying around huffing and looking depressed I really do think that is what she wants, surely she must have the "maternal instinct" looking forward to any replies ttfn

Hi Beth
I am not a breeder and really do not have any useful advice to give you other than DO NOT advertise in a shop window . If you are going to do it then do it properly with health checks and LOTS of advice from people in the know .
A "proper" breeder will never have the need to advertise this way

Good luck :)
Lel

I was just using this as an expression I don't think I really would look for a stud in this way, just wouldn't know where to start!!!!!!

Sorry :(
But you do hear of people doing things like this
Lel

Five years old is a little old for a first litter, especially if the bitch is a bit on the tubby side :-) If a bitch is to have a litter, she needs to be lean & fit - older, overweight bitches are more likely to have problems delivering a litter. It's an old wives tale that it does a bitch good to have a litter before having her spayed - in this day & age when Labradors are being bred in such high numbers resulting in a big rescue problem, you have to have a really genuine reason for breeding them & the fact that you think Jet would enjoy the experience really isn't a good enough reason. Just my opinion :-)

Jane

Sadly Beth I do feel you have left it rather late.

A five year old Lab bitch that is overweight too is not a good breeding prospect, and you could evn loose the bitch during whelping, as a bitch needs to be hard and fit to bree4d from.

She would need to have her Hips and Elbows x-rayed by your vet, and the x-rays sent to the British Veterinary panel for scoring, and the results would need to be good. Also Lavradors should have their eyes checked Annualy, and have a certificate in the current year before mating.

There are already 36,000 Labradors bred, some of them very poor quality and bred by Puppy farms.

In breeding your main aim should be breed improvement. You would need to know if your bitch is an outstanding example of her breed. It doesn't always follow, but you would expect to see quite a few Champions or Field Trial; hampions in her pedigree if she has been well bred by a breeder aiming to improve on their breeding.

It is very easy to be anthropomorphic, but really what she has never had she will never miss. Even though she seems maternal, ypou never know until a litter arrives if the bitch will be a good mother, and an older bitch that has been a spoilt baby herself may often show conflict between her duties and her attqachment to the family, and neglect her offspring.

If her breeder is a good breeeder then she will be able to advise if she is of sufficient high quality as regards the breed standard. I take it as read that her temperament is exemplary, and I suspect that she is yet to have the above mentioned health tests, so her status in this area is unknown.

You mentioned you have a puppy. If after study you think breed advancement and breeding are for you, then maybe, if tyhe pup is a good one, you could have a go at showing it, and get an idea of what the requirments in the breed are. Then some time down the road you could purchase a top quality bitch pup from lines you admire, and get into this mad world of breeding dogs.

Hope that helps!

Thank you very much for that I really do think she probably is too old, would you suggest we have her neutered then is this the best thing to do??

I would get her weight down first, as many neutered bitches have an adjustment in their metabolism which mens they require up to 20% less food after spaying. Also an overweight bitch is more likely to develop a problem with urine leaking.

If your bitch has had no problems related to coming in season, then maybe you should leve things well alone, assuming the pup is female? You should be awaare of the signs of Pyometra, a life threatening infection of the womb which more often occurs in older unspayed females. If caught early aaathey recover wel from the spaying, but they can become ill rather quickly.

With my own bitches I have had the older girls spayed once they had vbeen bred from, both by the time they were 7 years old, but have found I have to be more careful to not overfeed them.

2 of my dogs had first lktters at 5. The first the Husky, she sailed through it. The scond the Akita she had a great pregnencey but lost the pups, though according to the vet was nothing to do with her age.
I wouldn't breed while over weight though.

Yes but if she is already five, then by the time all the various tests have been done, research for a stud dog, and the bitch finally comes in season she may be nearer six, also the poster seems to be inexperienced, and breeding from an older bitch for the first time often leads to more problems. Getting an ovewrweight lab down to a good weight and then in fcondition could also take 6 months or so!

I still think that the posters best policy if they are really interested in Labs and breeding would be to start from Scratch with a puppy that they can learn with, and then breed if that is what after they have weighed up the implications and responsibilities, they still feel up to doing.

The books that say it's better to let them have a litter before spaying are way out of date. And if they're not out of date then the writers certainly are!!

As for maternal instincts, if you are looking for companionship for her then buying in a puppy from elsewhere would be much better than risking her health (all kinds of things can go wrong in having a litter - there are some very sad stories on this list) to have a litter of her own.

Not judging - just my .02:)

Wendy