although very highly exercised my bitches breast are sagging badly after her 1st litter,is there anything i can do to get her stomach back into shape in addition to the exercise?

Only time I am afraid, as it is partly hormonal. some bitches never become really neat again, and others like my little bitch who is a petite slim thing, suckled 9 and you would never beleive she had ever been a mother. I have heqard that swimming in cold water helps, but am inclined to thik it an old wives tale :D

When I bred my very first litter I was advised to wean the puppies more or less overnight, rather than gradually, as this was one way to retain a neat undercarraige. I have always done this and never had "saggy girls" but dont know whether it was because of the advice followed or their genes.

WL,
It could be that they're small dogs and gravity isn't as cruel to them ;) (shrugging shoulders) :D

could be!! :-)

Sara, don't think it can be gravity as most deerhounds seem to go back to the pre-whelping shape in short order, though I've seen a few wolfhounds that could do with a bra post-whelping. Maybe it has more to do with the overall shape of the dog?

Welcome to the forum Cooper :-)

Take her swimming, it's not an old wives tale ......it works ;-)

HeHe, I tried swimming after having 2 kids, didn't help much in my case :( :D

Ah, but did you do doggy paddle ;-)

Alice my bullmastiff got worse and worse her undercarriage is disgraceful I tried everything excercise swimming , ice cubes massage with vinegar while she enjoyed it all she never got her figure back babs had her figure back in 6 weeks .
I dont know is it just hormonal or metabolism . Alice never got back to the ring , needing only seven points . Mari

Ahh so thats where I went wrong! :D

cooper, how old are the pups ? and how long have they been away from her, just out of curiosity what breed is she ? :D

I think its not only due to just how she is but
also the weaning is crucial for getting them back into
shape. The pups should never be allowed to hang
on the bitch at six weeks, as this will alter the shape.
I had one bitch that had two litters and you would
never know she had one. I takes at least 6 months
before her shape will go back but if the pups were allowed
to over suckle when they were strong the shape will not
go back. What breed?
Nutkin

dizzy the pups have been off her a couple of months and they were off her completely at about 4 weeks.strange thing is she always looked slightly saggy before she even had the litter.also it was only a litter of 2 so she never had loads of whelps hanging off her.she is a bull terrier.