hi all im breeding my large breed bitch and im wanting to know what to do at every step of the pregnancy and also while she is giving birth is there such thing as a step by step guide as to what to do and what not to do and what to expect
all help would be appriciated

thanks

The Book of The Bitch is an absolute essential.

I would go back to your bitch's breeder and ask their advice.  Maybe they would let you follow their next bitch due to be mated and watch the whelping for a start?  That's what I did.

Andy,

Please don't take this the wrong way but it appears you only recently decided to show your bitch and put her into your name(from reading your posts). Have you done all this just so you can breed from her? - I do hope not and that i'm reading more into this...
I do hope you are getting her health tested. How has she done at shows? Have judges and other breeders said she is a good example of the breed? Has the breeder lifted the endorsements on her? What about her temperament?
Have you got discussed with people who know her lines as to what dog would be suitable for her? Have you approached this owner to see if you can use him?

All this I would be looking at first and also why do you want to breed from a bitch who is nearly 5yrs old, what does she have to offer that the breed needs?

no i have not put her in my name so i could breed from her i didnt know that i had to so when i found out thats what i done,
hasnt entered any shows as of yet but have had all good comments from other owners,
she has just been put to a dog from a very well known breeder and if he didnt think she was a good example of the breed im 100% sure he wouldnt have gone a head with it and put them together, i have all the support i need from him as i could ever need but instead of asking him everything i would like to read up and learn by myself
suejawas for her temperment shes been brought up around children with people coming in and out of the home and is very well behaved
i know your just thinking about the best interests of my dog and the breed and i totally understand that and think its great you feel this way about the breed
i will be keeping 1 and my girlfreinds mum and dad will aslo have 1
if there are others they will only go to vetted homes if they dont find homes
i am 100% willing to keep them all

Infairness there are things specific to breeding your breed that you won't get from anywhere other than breeders of your breed, for example it is common pracitce not ot keep pups with mom but to have a heated bed for them to be in seperatly due to mom being so clumsy so a breeder would definatly be the best place to source your info.

Boody is 100% correct there are a number of breed specific problems you might come across with a litter of your breed (seeing several myself) and my best advice is read the book of the bitch as if it were a bible then get a good mentor within the breed one whom you can call upon for advice even in the dead of night as there are just some things that you need to know right there and then that just isnt in a book and they have learned from years of experience.

There are a number of breed specific things to look out for....

-As they are a deep chested breed you sometimes have to assist in clearing the airways.
-Though I myself have never lost a puppy yet (touch wood) many breeders do and have known half or more of a litter to die through various reasons.
-Some bitches can as Boody said be clumsy and if she sits on a pup unless you are there 9 times out of 10 its fatal, and believe me it only takes seconds so we do not leave a bitch unattended with a litter and use heat pads.
-Again not a problem Iv come across but cleft pallets do occur even in the best bred litters
-As they have big heads pups can get stuck in the birth canal so you might have to manipulate or C section (not that common but must be bared in mind).

Im not saying all of this will happen and I really hope it doesn't but you must be at least aware of all eventualities. 

Triona

Andy

As someone has advised - the Book Of The Bitch is your bible.  And it is true that breed specific advise will be a godsend.  I have a difficult to whelp toy breed, and people with toys will often approach me for advice specific to the breed.

Ask people with your breed for tales about whelpings that they have attended.  Listen and learn.  It is very important for you to know your own bitch well enough to know that things are not right.  Even if you don't know what it is that isn't quite right, you do need to be on your toes and go for help when needed - not when it is too late. 

That isn't said to scare - it is just that some novices leave bitches far too long, sometimes not even realising that labour has started - often with tragic results. 

Breeding in my breed, means mating a bitch at her second season.  This isn't so for many breeds.  Have you made sure that you have researched the best age for your breed?

Lots of things for you to learn, and not much time at all if the bitch has already been mated.  Start studying fast!

I researched my breed and breeding for 7 yrs before I had my first litter, had a mentor who helped me find the right studs who had all been health tested as recommended by the KC as had my girls and was there at the end of the phone when needed.

I read TBOTB from cover to cover umpteen times, watched whelping videos of any breeds, saved info to my favourites to fall back on, looked into recipes for hand rearing the pups incase Mum couldn't and so on.

Would hear of something mentioned that I was clueless about and go and research it.

Yes members will help out but you need to do the homework, the weeks will fly by and suddenly she is in labour and there is no going back.

> i know your just thinking about the best interests of my dog and the breed and i totally understand that and think its great you feel this way about the breed

That is totally where I am at. I'm sick of hearing about bad breeding practices on so called 'reputable' breeders.
I wasn't having a go and thankfully you didn't see it that way either :-)

Good luck with it all and yes find yourself a mentor in the breed, even if they can only be at the end of the phone. But make sure you have someone very close by who breeds who can be directly on hand to assist you if needs be.

TBOTB is brilliant. I've not had a litter, don't yet have a bitch, but do have the book and have been to seminars and still learning before i'll even consider dipping my toes into the breeding world..

Just something that is sometimes forgotten - don't forget to book your 8 to 10 weeks off work and make sure the car has fuel for the last month of the bitch being in whelp not just enough to get to your vets but even further if you need to go else where with the bitch. Also start buying in the needed equipment now, some things can be borrowed but most are safer if they are new.

Just a thought, Is this the bitch you said is 4 1/2 nearly 5 ? If so it is a little old for a 1st litter, and could cause problems.
Aileen

It is a bit old for first litter as the pelvic area will no longer be flexible - still providing the pups are not too big and the bitch is a model mother it may be OK. Think it important that someone with experience in whelping this breed should be on hand because only they will know when intervention is required, sadly something most vets do not know till matters have become touch and go.

i have been thinking about breeding her and reading up on it for nearly 4 years now but wasnt totally decided till last year ive looked at proberly 8-10 dog available for stud ive been got the train with my bitch to kennels in scotland to essex searching for a sutible dog ,
so i have done a bit of research so i know the basics just wondering if there are any owners of my breed on here with experiance in what to expect and what could happen
obviously the vets number will be on speed dial nearer the time
the kennel where the stud is, is goin to help me through it and will give me help and support all the way through just thought id read up on it my self and get other breeders opions and experiances

My parents breed your breed and to be honest me and my sister do 90% of the work rearing a litter as my parents work so weirdly enough we have more experience than they do. Iv listed several possible problems you could come across but to be honest there are an endless number not all breed specific, the best thing you need is a sensible head on your shoulders to get through situations without panicking, and unless your vet is a breeder themselves or have seen/ handled many litters they have a limited amount knowledge they can give you about whelping; having them on speed dial is a good idea but really an experienced breeder would be more beneficial for you.

It takes all 4 of us to raise a litter rotating shifts throughout the day and night, I know people do successfully raise litters on their own but for a first time breeder hopefully you have help as it is hard work. Our last litter picked up a little bug when they were very young during the weaning and it was only through sheer grit of me and my sister not going to sleep for 2 days did they survive having to feed a solution given by the vets through syringes every few hours and with 11 that was a task and a half. Any puppies that were particularly ill we ended up keeping them down our tops trying to keep them warm and keeping an eye on them.

The stud owners kept calling though out giving advice and at one point were willing to do the 2 hour drive at 1 in the morning to help with the sick litter, we didn't need them in the end but that is the sort of breeder or stud owner you really want, and the way I look at it we paid x amount for the stud fee but the knowledge they openly shared was invaluable.

Lucky I can drive and if me and my sister are at home with a litter insist that a car is left with us so that I can do any emergency trips without worrying, our bitch had a calcium deficiency developing the 'shakes' but Tash picked up on it very quickly whist I was in the shower and I had her in the car ready to go when I got out and took her to the vets right there and then. In this situation a car is a must! The vets know mine and my sisters faces so payment isn't an issue, with mum settling up on the way home from work. My point is one pair of eye just inst enough.

Good luck

Oh and make sure you have a whelping box big enough with pig rails/ roll bars to help stop mum sitting on pups, I find heat pads work better than lamps and... oh make sure you have a supply of puppy milk and bottles in the cupboard just in case. Get in touch with your bitches breeder and find out if her mum or grandmother had any problems whelping ask the stud owners if his mum had any problems etc (they probably didn't but it may give you a better idea). 

Hopefully your bitch and the stud have had their hips and elbows tested for HD as this is a hereditary problem within the breed, I know many of the older/ bigger kennels still do not health test and its even harder to choose the right stud but see if you can find any pups the dog has sired health results if you cant don't use him, results should be lower than 25 in total results can be found on KC website.