Hi there

I bred my girl in November last year and she produced one healthy bitch puppy at the beginning of January.  I have kept the bitch as she is very nice and should do very well in the showring. The only problem I have is that I really wanted a dog puppy from this particular stud dog. My breeder suggested putting my girl back into whelp this season as the dog I wanted I wanted to use will be retired from stud in the next couple of months. I would obviously like to leave at least one season between matings as it is better for my bitch. However my bitch recoved very quickly from the birth last time and is as fit now if not more so than the last time. If she had produced a big litter I would not even contemplate back to back breeding but as she only had the one I am in a kind of limbo not knowing what to do. I do not plan to breed from my girl again as I feel two litters is plenty for any bitch and if it happens I do not get a dog puppy from this mating it is obviously not meant to be.

Just wanted some input from others who may have been in a similar situation.

Thankyou for any help

Jenny

If your vet is happy then I would not see a problem to the bitches health but if you could make an arrangment to use the dog at the following season it would be better.

Hi Jenny

My girl also produced a singleton pup in January and we are in a very similar situation. I have about 4 days to make the decision which is probably going to be the hardest I'll ever make. I'm looking at the pro's and cons as we speak. My bitch does not like showing and it is a great shame as she is very well made. I have her puppy to show and she is lovely too (First show will be Leeds)  :)   but I had set my heart on a dog puppy. My bitch really enjoys being a mum (she has had a phantom pregnancy with evey season)she constantly mothers things including my two cats, they regularly get their bottoms cleaned and she would produce milk in an instant if she thought something was needing fed. However I would really prefer to leave a season between litters. 

Alli

Well I do see a reason why the rush if the  stud dog is retiring choose another ! even the KC at last are not allowing registering of pups back to back breeding its a disgrace and Im amazed and disgusted that senior member of this board are encouraging it.especially when this board is read by so many.
I would say think of your bitch otherwise you have no more respect for her than a puppy farmer has :(

I have always been told that a singleton puppy is one of times when breeding on the following seasons is OK, and especially if the chosen sire, or the bitch herself are getting older.  After all one should try to use the best dog for that bitch, not just choose another.  am I missing something it is singleton litters we are discussing here?

we are discussing back to back mating as per title surely and singleton or not is no excuse for breeding again after six months. and before im shot down in flames I have bred some very nice dogs and if id wanted could have done very well if I had not cared  about my bitch and bred concientiously.
Jackie my post wasnt aimed at you before,  someone has deleted their post. therefore looking as if i meant you which of course i didnt I have utmost repect for you.

Actually the KC will allow back to back breeding.  There are certain circumstances when this may happen.  I did it once with one of my girls although there was a 12 month wait between the two litters, I wdn't do it if a bitch of mine came in every 6 months though. 

For the KC to accept it etc. and actually I think that they do accept it if you are not a registered breeder as others have said take her to your vets and they will advise on whether she's fit or not to have another litter.  If she's not in season yet then it does look like she will have a 12 month gap anyway!

My breed is a rare breed and a new dog had just been imported from new lines and it would have been her last chance to have a litter also.  The KC, my vet etc. were happy for it to happen.

This is always going to be a controversial subject, as while the simple answer is "no its not acceptable to breed back to back" there can be lots of different circumstances which may make it allowable.  For instance, I have just had a litter from back to back season matings, first litter of 5, 2nd litter of 6, HOWEVER, whilst the bitch was mated on consecutive seasons, the pups are 14 months apart in age, as the bitch has extremely irregular seasons (she is now 5 and this was her 3rd ever seasosn), so obviously I think that the gap between seasons as well as the fact they are consecutive is a factor.  Then, as in the original post, the singletone puppy issue - I dont see a problem, if a bitch has whelped only 1, and reared and recovered well, (and always providing that there was a gap before any previous litter) that a litter cant be considered on the next season, especially if there are other factors like a stud only being available for a short time.  It comes down to the condition of the bitch, i think, as in my experience most recover much more quickly from singleton litters.
bye
Gwen

Hi All

Just to add to my previous post, it was my girl's first litter and she was on her fourth season. After her puppy was weaned I had to seperate her from the puppy as she would still be allowing the puppy to have a fly suck now. I would also like to add that the dog I am thinking of using is the same dog as last time and to be quite honest he is the only dog that has really stood out as being a very good match for my bitch. I could use another dog which may produce "nice puppies" but there lies the problem, if I breed my bitch it is with the intention of breeding and rearing the best possible puppies I can, not just a "nice litter". I do not intend to breed from my bitch again as when the time is right I will search the country trying to find as perfect a match for her daughter as I did for my older girl. If I do go ahead with this mating the puppies will be almost 10 months apart, I do intend to keep one whether there is a nice dog or not as I feel if you breed a litter of puppies you should be willing to keep at least one if not all of them if the need arises. If this makes me as bad as a puppy farmer what does it actually make these people who breed at every season without any thought of the qaulity of puppies they are producing.

Rant over :)

Alli

Gwen Im sorry I was reading back to back as being every six months my mistake as My bitches have always come into season at 6 months so what I meant was six months would not be long enough for the bitch to recover.
My misunderstanding

Plus an idea if the sire required was retiring why not consider saving the spem till a later date " AI "  that way can choose when the litter is born nicer perhaps in summer than winter

Not permitted if the dog is resident in this country, Mattie.

Snap :D

If this is the UK then the KC will not allow AI from two dogs resident in UK.  And if semen from a dead dog is used it must be more than 15 years since it's birth.

Mattie, not my original question - the guest says, I think that there is more than 6 months between season, as pups will be 10 months apart (?) if she goes ahead with it.  I wasj ust using my bitch as an illustration that "back to back"  is not necessarily as straight forwrd as it seems.  And as the other posters have said, AI is not an option in the UK wiht a UK resident dog.
bye
Gwen