I was wondering if anyone had used the doggy pill ? I have been reading up on it alot and asking my vet but would like to know if any owner/breeder has used it. I am hoping to let my 2 cavaliers have at least 1 litter, but not for at least another year or so. I have been told the doggy pill can be used after the bitch's first season and will not harm her or stop her from being able to have a litter later on ??

I hope some one answers you as i would be interested to know to!!! Sorry i cant help

Hi,
apparently a doggy version of " the pill " ( not sure what its called though) is used on racing Greyhound bitches to stop them having seasons !
Years ago when i had a retired Greyhound it had been used on her - and she never had a season for over a year.
And i only found out about this because i made a few enquiries about why she had not had a season for so long....because i couldnt calculate the best time to get her spayed.
Jane.

All I can discover is that they are "very useful when used for short periods of time, but the possibility of side-effects increases when their use is prolonged".
Not much help, really. Sorry.
:)

Not heard of a pill, only "Delvosteron" is that what is meant?
Dawn.

If you are planning to breed I wouldn't ever give them any uneccesary hormone treatment ,personally.

I can understand what you are saying as I am not too keen, that is why i wanted the opinion of antone that had used it. I have found a magazine artical saying that there are either a pill or injection available to prevent the bitch coming into season. There could be side effects (unproven) which are hair loss and pyometra( anyone know what that is?) So really I am stilll unsure until I have spoken to my vet in depth, she says that they have to warn owners of side effects but she hasn't known of any as yet.

Cath, pyometra is a potentially fatal womb infection, which many years ago was linked to the product available then for suppressing seasons. Run a search on it on this forum to read previous threads on the subject.
:)

Hi, go to search on this site and type in pyometra - all boards and read about it. It is the most dreadful condition and one of the true medical emergencies. Once a bitch is showing symptoms of pyometra it can already be too late to save her, and unless caught really early on and you are very lucky they may be able to treat with A/B's. If they cant treat with A/B's she will have to be spayed on the spot - its a BIG time emergency. The death rate is high. Please dont chance it and read up on the symptoms so you can be sure to spot it if one of your bitches goes down with it. They usually only get it after mating or up to 8 weeks or so after a season - whether they are mated or not. In my opinion in season bitches should be kept at home and certainly never go to shhows/doggy events where they may pick up bugs. When the birth canal is open infection can intrude very easily. Get the Book of the Bitch by Kay White and Jim Evans as it covers everything that a bitch owner should know.

I have decided now for sure NOT to put my bitch on any kind of contraceptive. Looking into it I think it is too risky. I will have to find a way of keeping them apart instead !

The safest way is to put the male in boarding kennels or with a relative or friend who you would trust completely from about day 8 to day 20 of her season. Or unless you have a secure kennel or crate (NOT in the same room as the bitch - they can mate through it) they are almost sure to get together. If you have children or visitors that may leave doors etc open you have little chance of avoiding a mating - honestly.

This might sound silly...but if they can mate through a crate can they mate through a child's safety gate???? I hate the idea of my Ozzy having to move out for nearly 2 weeks and I couldn't put him i kennels so plan B would be to seperate them. Luckily I don't have young children and any visiters will watch what they do with doors etc if I ask them to. I could seperate them (1 in kitchen and 1 in utility room) by use of child's safety gate if that would work.

They can jump baby gates
I was looking after my friends in season bitch, and they came and collect3ed her on day 21 (were missing her) and kept her crated and her nephew behind baby gate.

On day 23 she decided to take nephew and his sister for a walk, and let the bitch out to have some freedom while they were out, and then decided to pop in the loo. When she came out of the loo he had already jumped the baby gate and mated the bitch, even though he had not been shoing interest in her after the first day of her return.

She went for the morning after jabs and will be spayed shortly.

Cricky, this is getting tough. Not sure what to do for the best. I don't really have anyone who can take one of the dogs for a couple of weeks (don't think i could be apart from one for that long). Will have to think long and hard about this problem

I dont mean to be unkind but you should have thought long and hard of this scenario BEFORE buying a dog and bitch to live together. They will mate through a baby gate if they cant jump it as Brainless rightly says. You will have several days of howling and uspet and both - though mainly the dog - will have a very miserable time. The chances are he will lose a great deal of weight as many dogs just will not eat for several days if they know there is a bitch nearby that they cannot get to.

To be honest if you are planning to breed and want to do it properly, unless he comes from a line of good winning dogs - I mean his parents and grandparents - NOT 5 generations back - AND has passed all the necessary health tests for the breed, then I would advise having him neutered and use a Ch or big winning dog on her when the time comes. You will continue to have this problem every time she comes in season,and hopefully you only plan to take 2 or 3 litters from her at the most - thats a lot of seasons to cope with when he is not going to be mating her.

Even those who have no aspirations to show, and intend to sell the puppies as companions, should still use only the very best available examples of the breed whose pedigree is compatable with your bitches or your motives for breeding will be suspect - ie you are in it for the money and to save on stud fees. Even a £250 stud fee is not even the price of one puppy and excellent "value". You will get a safe mating, loads of advice and the benefit of a health tested (with acceptable results) proven dog who has done it all before, who will hopefully give you puppies that are an improvent on the bitch Most stud dog owners offer a free return if the bitch misses.

There are many good non CH etc dogs about, but without show wins behind them, a novice breeder will not know how good they are (before someone jumps on me) and whether they ARE good examples of the breed. A cute face and sweet temp is NOT enough to warrant breeding from a dog or bitch. Even those with a CH parent or grandparent are still not necessarily good enough to breed from. Do your best for the breed and your bitch ( and dog) and think long and hard about what sort of breeder you want to be- reputable and responsible or after a fast buck.

I completely understand what you are saying ....As I would only like them to have 1 litter together and I am not wanting to be a breeder I am thinking about having one of them "done". I could never send Ozzy away to stay with someone else for 3 weeks, it would be too heartbreaking for me, and probably for him. I do have afew months to think about it as Tilly is only 3mths old. They are going to the vets today so i am going to discuss it with her.

Thankyou everyone :-)

Hi Cath,

Your bitch is only 3 months old - and your already thing of breeding her?

This has disturbed me , shes to young to even be thinking about this just yet.

HELEN.

It isn't that, it is because Cavs can have their first season at 6mths so I want to make sure there won't be a possability of my dog mating with her at such a young age (I have known it happen to other people's). I would rather be prepared than accidents happening. If I do let them mate she will be at least 18mths old (at the youngest).

Have a look here lots of cavalier information before you decide to breed from your dogs & bitch

Thankyou Moonmaiden, I will look at it in depth tomorrow.

Thankyou :-)

I tried to look at the forum link you sent me and for some reason I couldn't register so i couldn't view it. i will try again later on today.

They are not accepting any new members for a while as the forum owner is busy with other things for a little while

try contacting the forum owner via her website

I have e-mailed her. Thankyou :-)