My Golden Retriever bitch is 2 years of age. She had a very irresponsible Breeder originally who bred from her when she was only 1 year old. They got a Caesar for her as she was to young to birth naturally and when I got her, I’ve noticed a hernia (which I believe has been caused by the trauma of having pups so young. I put her in straight away to get it repaired (she’s had stitches and recovering really well). She’s so beautiful, very happy and settled in with me. My question is - will carrying a litter of pups damage her? Will she be able to deliver naturally and hold the litter of pups? She’s due to come on heat, is it to early to breed? I absolutely love my dogs and only want the best for them hence why I’m asking this question, thank you.

Why not give her more time? Two litters by 2 years old seems far too much too soon. Have you been more responsible than her previous owner and carried out health testing? Good hip and elbow score and a clear eye certificate are the least that should be done.

She's only had one litter (by her previous owner) - All the health testing has been completed when I first got her, thats why I'm posting this question.

Another who says give her more time between litters. She is only 2 & personally i would wait another year before letting her have another litter.

She's only had the one litter. I am fine to wait, I'm just asking if you thinking having a hernia(that has been repaired) would effect her carrying a litter?

If she delivers by c section again then she should have no more litters.  Seems strange that the original owner carried out the relevant testing but allowed her to have a litter at 1 year old. Were the results good? Have you taken her for her annual eye test?

The original owner did not carry out the testing, I did as soon as I got her 6 months ago. I got all her DNA & Hip and elbow scoring completed and it was cleared. Otherwise I would not even consider breeding her.

What about an eye certificate?

Was it a true Hernia (where) or a late closure (trapped omentum as the whole round the umbilical cord closes after birth?

If the first, then I would not breed from her.  Have bred from the second type 9small belly button) after consulting vets.

https://animalso.com/umbilical-hernia/

We never bred our bitches again if the first litter was via C.Section.

I personally wouldn't breed from her for at least 1 year if not longer to allow her to be fully mature.

Is she so outstanding either in confirmation or ability that she needs to be bred from again, being a responsible breeder isn't just about health testing nor age, it's about improving the conformation, health & ability of the breed.

I've never heard of a bitch developing a hernia through having a litter young or old. It could have been caused by the C section wound not healing properly of course. In which case I wouldn't risk her developing another if she needs another C section or if the repair site could breakdown during the pregnancy

I wouldn't breed from her without consulting a repro vet and going in for a consultation/exam and discussion about it.  I would also ensure that her notes from the original c-section and previous owner's vet are available at that consultation for the repro vet to see.

If she already had one c-section, it is very likely she would need another for her next litter - hernia or not, it is more likely if one has been needed in the past - and, with a risk like that, I wouldn't go ahead with a breeding. 

But the bigger question is:  How, by 2 years of age, can she have even done enough for you to know that she is worth breeding from?  Do you compete with her in dog sports?  Do you show her?  Is she in training for something?  Getting a dog and owning her for 6 months, and thinking of breeding her already is just way wrong with the priorities, in my book...

> We never bred our bitches again if the first litter was via C.Section.

100% agree.  Same here.

>They got a Caesar for her as she was to young to birth naturally

Is that what they told you? There's no need for a young bitch to need a c-section just because of her age; young bitches are perfectly capable of whelping normally even if irresponsibly mated at their first season. And being pregnant wouldn't cause a hernia - I assume you mean an umbilical hernia? It's more likely that any hernia was caused by the incision from the c-section not healing properly, because any vet would repair a hernia at the same time a stitching up after the section.

Where is the hernia?  I have a female who surprisingly developed a hernia in the abdominal wall.  She had to be operated on in the middle of the pregnancy and 3 of the four fetuses were absorbed.  The remaining "singleton" was born very successfully with a c-section.  Thinking that the problem had been corrected, she was bred again a year later.  The same thing happened again, though to a lesser degree.  But it had to be surgically closed.  That of course marked the end of her breeding career.