if you have a bitch thats not a good whelper ie....sits back and dont want to give birth ....dont rip sacks ...carnt be left to do it , im mean sit help and be there if needed ....does this get past on to to her daughters ?

I am under the impression (not a breeder) that this kind of behaviour does get passed on, maybe there is someone experienced who knows for sure?

thankyou cocopop ive look all over to try and find out :)

my freind had a bitch twice she had a litter and both times a disaster she has 6 or 7 the first time and lost them all the second time she had 5 again was a terrible mother but managed to keep one. she spayed the mother and kept the puppy who is now a 4 year old and has reared 2 healthy litters of 8 and is such a natural mother. so in this case no. hope this helps

yes that helps alot thankyou ,my girl is terrable at whelping but shes a good mum ,i want to keep a bitch and if she does well id like to breed from her but if she was to turn out like mum i wouldnt do it ,she takes so long to whelp just lies there ,but hasnt been as gooder mum as she as been in the past we are having her spayed as soon as she done feeding the babys ,but i want to carry the line on ! x

In my experience, no, these sort of whelping problems don't seem to be passed on, although I understand that a tendency to need caesarians can be more common in certain bloodlines. At the moment, I have 4 generations of my bitch line and they all tend to whelp according to their individual personalities. Some of them just get on with it and some of them need more attention. I tend to find that the ones which need more attention are the bitches who are closest to me. The ones who want to be near me all the time. I think a lot does depend on how they have been brought up. I've known very spoilt pet bitches who are so used to having their every whim catered for that they won't even feed their puppies unless 'mummy' is there to help out.

Thats really interesting, my lab had her first litter 7 weeks ago and was really confused.. she kept going into the garden and thinking she needed a poo... we could see her first one coming down when she squatted in the garden, we rushed her inside and luckily she was in her whelping box when it came out. As soon as he came out she knew exactly what to do with him and just shot the others right out.

> she kept going into the garden and thinking she needed a poo...

That isn't surprising as any woman that ahs had a baby knows that the felign you get when you need to push is similar to that you have for a bowel motion.

My girl had her last but one pup in the garden!

bea had the 1st 3 pups in the garden !!! she wouldnt stay in the whelping box ,and it was raining so fast too .

Yes, Ellie was in and out of the garden all day before she had hers in the evening. She didn't do anything in the digging or crying way, just a couple of contractions, one whimper, and they popped out, pure luck she was in the whelping box and I shall know next time she hasn't read that part of the book, lol!

lol lucy ;)